Rabbi Fred Greene is a community partner striving to make Congregation Har HaShem a dynamic, inclusive, inspiring Reform congregation in the Boulder County area. He aspires to provide a safe space for those looking to connect or reconnect to Judaism and Jewish community. As religious life seems out of touch or irrelevant to some, Rabbi Greene’s goal is to help make our Jewish experiences meaningful and compelling, all the while helping us reclaim faith, hope, and our own prophetic, moral voice.
Rabbi Greene comes to Har HaShem with a range of experiences, serving congregations in New York, Connecticut, and Georgia. He was ordained from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and is an active member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Along with his wife, Deborah, Rabbi Greene is the proud father of their daughters Yael, Leora, and Noa, who are each working to create their own vision for leading a meaningful Jewish life.
Rabbi Emerita – Rabbi Deborah Bronstein of Har HaShem
Rabbi Emerita Deborah Ruth Bronstein is known nationally for her passion for causes of justice and compassion. She loves to teach adults and children alike, using stories to define life issues and provide personal meaning while addressing serious themes in her sermons. Rabbi Bronstein thinks of herself above all as a pastoral rabbi, devoting great personal attention to the ill, the mourner, or the individual person in conflict or need. In this respect, she likes to call Har HaShem the “home of hope.”
She delights in lifecycle simchas and personal joys in the lives of her congregational family as well as in the fun and joyous holy days for our diverse community. With deep concern for those who live on the margins of society, she is an inspiring voice on the role of synagogues in providing a spiritual haven for those struggling with mental illness, and she sits on the boards for various mental health programs, safe houses and shelters.
Adjunct Rabbi – Rabbi Ruth Gelfarb of Har HaShem
Rabbi Ruth Gelfarb has a B.A. with honors from Harvard College and received a Masters of Arts in Hebrew Letters and Rabbinic Ordination from HUC – JIR . While at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Gelfarb was commissioned as an officer in the US Navy (Chaplain-Retired) and received the Stephen Pierce award for counseling excellency.
Rabbi Gelfarb is certified through the Institute for Jewish Spirituality in Jewish Mindfulness and Meditation Practice.
Rabbi Gelfarb is passionate about social justice, teaching, Jewish spirituality and making connections with world Jewry. Prior to joining Har HaShem, Rabbi Gelfarb served as the Director of Service at American Jewish World Service, Program Director at the Chicago Foundation for Women, and as the Senior Jewish Educator at the University of Chicago’s Hillel. While a rabbinic student, Rabbi Gelfarb interned at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, the world’s largest synagogue for LGBTQ Jews and their families.
She has also traveled to Jewish communities in Ethiopia, Turkey, Israel, France, Argentina, El Salvador as well as to India, Nepal, Thailand and Ghana.
Rabbi Gelfarb, a New York native, lives in Boulder with her husband Tom Hopson, an atmospheric scientist, and their rescue dog, Cappy.
Rabbi Gelfarb joined the Har HaShem community in 2011. Presently, Rabbi Ruth E. Gelfarb assists the clergy team in conversions and providing pastoral care. She also leads our monthly Tikkun Middot/ soul trait program, our monthly contemplative Shabbat experiences and our Women of Har HaShem Rosh Hodesh group. A master educator, she enjoys teaching mindfulness and Jewish history, philosophy, and poetry.
Cantor Devorah Avery of Har HaShem
Cantor Devorah Avery is passionate about meeting and honoring the sacred humanity within each person. Inclusivity and spirituality are two focal points of her work, and she affirms that all people deserve a place and a voice at the community table. She endeavors to create loving, gentle spaces through music and prayer that form connection to one another, to faith, and to self.
Cantor Avery has served congregations in New York, Illinois, and Texas and is an active member of the American Conference of Cantors. Ordained in 2007 from Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) with a Master’s in Sacred Music, she also has a B.A. in Music (voice and viola) from The University of Tulsa in Tulsa, OK. Cantor Avery recently completed the Clergy Leadership Program through the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. She and her husband live in Broomfield with their dog and two cats.