Rabbi Glusman became the rabbi of Temple Beth-El in July 2001. Rabbi Glusman received his rabbinic ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York, the only multi-denominational pluralistic rabbinical seminary. He also has an M.A. in counseling and certification as a marriage and family therapist. Before his arrival in Birmingham, Rabbi Glusman was the rabbi of Temple Shalom in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Previously, he served as Rabbinic Associate at Temple Emanu-El in Palm Beach, Florida. He has conducted many workshops for Jewish educators and has been a featured speaker at seminars for Jewish leaders. He has served as scholar-in-residence at the JNF's National Young Leadership Retreat and at the Southeastern UJC's Young Leadership Conference. Glusman has also been involved in extensive outreach work with recovering Jewish alcoholics and substance abusers. Rabbi Glusman is a member of the RRA (Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association) and the Rabbinci Cabinet of the UJC (United Jewish Communities). In recognition of his work for K’lal Yisrael, he was one of only 25 rabbis chosen nationally in February, 2002 to participate in a Rabbinic seminar and retreat on “Religious Pluralism-Judaism in the 21st Century” sponsored by the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. Rabbi Glusman is a native of Alabama and fourth generation to live in Birmingham. His great-grandfather was a teacher in the community Hebrew school and early member of Temple Beth-El. Rabbi Glusman and his wife Laurie have three children, Nathan, Rebecca and Deena. Laurie owns and operates OyToys.com which specializes in Jewish toys and crafts and Sleepwellbaby which offers white noise machines and other products for sleep, rest and relaxation.

Cantor Daniel Gale joined the Temple Beth-El professional staff in July, 2005. Born in Bay City, Michigan, he began the study of hazzanut at an early age, and in his teens began to serve as cantor for Bay City’s Temple Israel, as well for nearby congregations in Saginaw and Midland, Michigan. Cantor Gale studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Active in interfaith affairs, Cantor Gale has worked with the Bridge Center for Racial Harmony and the Ecumenical Council/Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan, developing programs to promote interfaith understanding and religious tolerance. In recognition of his work in community affairs, he received the Bridge Center’s Spirit of the River Award for Religious Leadership, and the City of Bay City’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Keep the Dream Alive” Award. As a concert artist, he has performed extensively throughout the United States with such groups as the Santa Fe Opera, the Northwood Orchestra, and Ars Musica Baroque Orchestra. At The Temple in Atlanta, he performed the world-premier of Laurence Sherr’s Fugitive Footsteps, a work for cantor and choir memorializing victims of the Holocaust. He appears on a CD entitled The Spirit of Passover: Voices of the Conservative Movement, a recording project of the Cantors Assembly and the United Synagogue. Cantor Gale was invested by the Cantors Assembly and the Jewish Ministers Cantors Association, and has served on the boards of the Michigan Board of Cantors and the B’nai B’rith Great Lakes Regional Arts Council. Cantor Gale has one teenage son, Noah.

Laura Kisber Benjaminson became executive director of Temple Beth-El in 2001 and traces her dedication to the Birmingham Jewish community to her childhood and education at Temple Beth-El, which she describes as always having been her second home. She attended kindergarten at Beth-el and has celebrated all of her life cycle events here. Laura attended Emory University and graduated first in her class from UAB School of Dentistry in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene for hospital and surgical settings. She is currently nearing completion of a Master of Arts degree in Jewish Studies and is a recent recipient of the Excellence in Bible award from Siegal College of Judaic Studies. Laura’s special interest is working on the professional team and with lay leadership to build community and ensure opportunities for spiritual growth and learning. Mrs. Benjaminson and her husband, Ari, have four children, three in universities around the US and one in high school.

Jerrold Leeson joined our professional team as Temple Beth-El’s Director of Education in July 1, 2002. Mr. Leeson has been working in Jewish Education for over 30 years. He has served congregations in Detroit, North Miami Beach, Charlotte, Denver, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Sarasota and Colorado Springs. He comes to Temple Beth-El from Temple Shalom in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mr. Leeson’s Jewish education experience is extensive having directed Early Childhood, Religious School, Hebrew School, and B’Nai Mitzvah programs. He has worked with youth groups, taught adult education classes, been a camp director, and directed leadership development programs. He has written numerous plays, musicals, songbooks, and books. He is a lecturer on all aspects of Jewish Education and faculty training, youth activities, drugs, sex, parent-child relationships, cults, etc. Mr. Leeson was the founding President of JYDA (Jewish Youth Directors Assn.) of United Synagogue of America.

Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Raya spent her childhood in South Carolina, Illinois and Florida. In the fall of 1991, Raya was an anthropology undergraduate student at the University of Florida, and imagined herself becoming a female Indiana Jones. She spent the summer after her first year of college in Israel, taking classes in archaeology and Jewish Women's Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. With an intensified love of Israel and all things Jewish, Raya returned to Gainesville and changed her major to Jewish Studies. During college, she worked at her synagogue's religious school during the year and at a JCC camp in the summer. After graduation from UF, Raya worked at a public school for a year, and then enrolled at Gratz College in suburban Philadelphia, earning a Master's degree in Jewish Communal Studies. Raya moved to Birmingham in June 1998 to become the first Jewish Educator at the Levite Jewish Community Center. She joined the professional staff of Beth-El in May 2005. Raya and her husband Eric have been married since 1999 and their daughter Sophie was born in 2006.