After serving two years as our interim Rabbi, Rabbi Gershon was recently elected our Senior Rabbi. Rabbi Gershon is a past President of the Rabbinical Assembly, the international organization of Conservative Rabbis. He has served on the boards of directors or advisory leadership committees of many major national Jewish organizations including the National Council of AIPAC, The Jewish Theological Seminary, Council of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, Mercaz USA and the Chancellor’s Rabbinic Cabinet of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Rabbi Gershon is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and has been honored by Israel Bonds with The Israel Freedom Award for his tireless efforts and impassioned support of the State of Israel. He received the UJA Rabbinic Cabinet Leadership award for his visionary and outstanding leadership in the rabbinate.
Rabbi Gershon was raised in New Jersey and grew up in the Conservative Movement. He graduated with distinction from the Joint Program of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and Columbia University with degrees in Bible and Ancient Near-Eastern Languages. He received his Master’s in Jewish Studies and Rabbinic Ordination from JTS in 1987. In addition, he was the recipient of many academic awards.
Prior to coming to B’nai Israel, Rabbi Gershon served with distinction pulpits in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Southfield Michigan and Dallas, Texas.
Since joining CBI Rabbi Gershon has made an indelible impact on our Congregation through his warm outreach to our members, his inspiring sermons, dynamic teaching and creative leadership. The rabbi is a beach lover and foodie. He has three wonderful adult children, Benji, Eliana and Yoni.
Cantor Vadim Yucht
Cantor Vadim Yucht was born in the town of Nikolayev, Ukraine. Religion was
forbidden in the former Soviet Union, and there were no synagogues or even prayer
books allowed. Owning a Hebrew book was a criminal offense. However, many Jews
tried to keep the tradition alive in their homes. On Rosh Hashanah, they ate gefilteh
fish and on Passover they made matzah.
Although Jews were discriminated against in employment and educational settings,
Vadim Yucht's outstanding abilities won him a place in a government-sponsored
Boys Choir School in Moscow. Before he left his home at age 8, he never forgot what
his grandmother told him. She advised him to say that he was Christian and not
Jewish. By pretending to be Christian, he wouldn't be subjected to the
discrimination that Jews typically endured.
Cantor Yucht received his bachelor's degree as a choir conductor and music teacher, and he continued his musical studies until he was awarded a master's degree from the Moscow Academy of Music and
Culture. At the Academy, Vadim met and soon married his wife, Dina, who awakened
his "Jewish roots." Shortly thereafter, Vadim got called to serve in the Former Soviet
Union's Army where he was accepted to its elite Red Army Chorus. He excelled in
their program and was rapidly promoted to conductor and musical arranger. Vadim
was young, talented, and successful, and yet he was like all Jews in the former USSR:
a lost soul not knowing who he was and he was prohibited from finding out.
In 1991, the Yucht family with their two little children, Angelina (Gila) and Gregory
(Tzvika), left Communist Russia to start a new life in Israel. In Israel, Vadim's musical
skills and talents overcame all obstacles. His first job was as a singer in The Great
Jerusalem Synagogue Choir. Vadim recalled that when he heard the Hazzan for the
first time, it touched the bottom of his heart. Without understanding a single word
of Hebrew, he knew at that moment that he wanted to be a Hazzan. His deep
interest landed Vadim at the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute where he studied with the
Chief Cantor of The Great Jerusalem Synagogue, Naftali Herstik. In addition to singing in the Synagogue Choir and studying at the Cantorial Institute, Vadim became a member of The New Israeli Opera performing with world-famous conductors like Zubin Mehta.
In 1998, Vadim headed to the United States with his family after accepting a
Cantorial position in Rockland County, New York. He and his wife enrolled in school
to learn English as a second language. Subsequently, Vadim began graduate
education at The Jewish Theological Seminary, where he earned his Master of Arts
degree in Jewish Education. He then became a member of the Cantors' Assembly of
America, through which Vadim earned his title of "Hazzan – Minister."
Since arriving in the United States, Vadim has served multiple congregations
including Orangetown Jewish Center, Morristown Jewish Center Beit Yisrael,
Temple Sholom of Bridgewater, Temple Beth Rishon of Wyckoff, NJ, and Temple Beth
Israel of Port Washington, NY.
