Rabbi and Cantor Steven Blane is the founder and Dean of JSLI. He believes there is a great need to train and prepare liberal rabbis to meet the needs of millions of unaffiliated Jews and Interfaith couples and their families. The modern liberal Jewish paradigm is one in which traditional Jewish observance and regular synagogue attendance or synagogue membership is simply not a reality. Yet, a respect for life-cycles and some Jewish Holiday observance is still of deep significance. It is up to the modern liberal rabbi to find the right point of entry and meet the needs of more than half of the world's Jewish and Interfaith community.Rabbi Blane has held several traditional pulpits as Rabbi and as Cantor. His most recent was in New Milford, NJ. Echoing the experience of his mentor Rabbi Joseph Gelberman (of Blessed Memory), he heard a voice in his heart. "I was in pain- I was sad. Yes, I was doing well- I was serving a lovely community. I was making a good salary but I was not growing- my vision was much larger than I could realize in the Conservative or any particular movement. And so I left the traditional pulpit to journey on my own." Rabbi Blane is founder of Havurah Sim Shalom in New York City. He holds Weekly Online Services on Friday evenings, Shabbat mornings or Sunday for "Tallit & T'fillin." Blane served as Cantor at Congregation Beth Israel in Bergenfield, N.J. from 1999-2006. *He was a member of the Cantor's Assembly from 2001 through 2009- a collection of the finest Hazzanim in the world. He served as Rabbi and Spiritual Leader of Congregation Beth Tikvah-New Milford Jewish Center from 2006-2009. Blane was ordained as Rabbi in June 2001 at Rabbinical Seminary International after completing a course of study with Rabbi Joseph Gelberman in New York City. He is a member of the International Federation of Rabbis. Rooted in Jewish tradition but comfortable among the most progressive movements, he has led services in Lubavitch, Orthodox, Conservative and Reform communities. As Rabbi and Cantor, Blane’s commitment is to nurture, heal and bring joy to the community. His vision is one of universal solidarity inclusiveness and his mantra is "No is not in G-d's vocabulary." Steven Blane majored in Voice and obtained a B.A. in Music Education from Jersey City University. Following college, he performed as a singer/actor off and on Broadway, most notably, in the show "STRIDER" in 1978-79. He was a film extra (look for him in "The Chosen" but don't blink) and wrote an Off-Off Broadway Musical, which he produced in 1981. In 1986, he co-founded Blane & DeRosa Productions, an audiobook and children's audio production company. To date, they have produced thousands of audio recordings for major publishers. He plays guitar, ukelele and piano and loves to sing Jazz Standards. *Resigned in 2009 when he was offered the option of resignation or expulsion by the Cantor’s Assembly when he began officiating at Interfaith Weddings. |
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