OUR LEADERSHIP

Clergy & Executive Team
Board of Directors

Clergy & Executive Team

Rabbi Josh Ratner

Rabbi Josh Ratner is a community leader, educator, spiritual adviser, and social justice advocate. He most recently served as the Director of Advocacy at JLens, a Jewish non-profit organization engaging corporate America on social, environmental, and Israel-oriented issues on behalf of Jewish foundations and philanthropies. Rabbi Ratner previously served as the director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater New Haven, Associate Rabbi and Jewish Educator at Yale Hillel, and as a pulpit rabbi at Congregation Kol Ami in Cheshire, Connecticut.

Rabbi Ratner is a board member of the Jewish sustainability organization Hazon, a Global Justice Fellow with American Jewish World Service, and a Rabbinic Fellow of CLAL’s Rabbis Without Borders program. His writings about the interplay between Judaism and contemporary topics have been featured on myjewishlearning.com. Rabbi Ratner was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, and is a graduate of both Columbia University and Columbia Law School. He was a corporate attorney before entering rabbinical school. He and his wife, Dr. Elena Ratner, are the proud parents of Dimitri, Elijah, Gabriella, and Sasha.

Cantorial Intern Max Silverstone

Max Silverstone (he/him/his) is a third year Cantorial Student at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Before attending JTS, Max graduated from Brandeis University, where he studied Judaic Studies and Music, and was an active leader at Brandeis Hillel. Max ran the campus Conservative Minyan for 5 semesters; and sang, beatboxed, and music directed in Manginah, Brandeis’ Premier Co-Ed Jewish A Cappella Group.

A lifelong New Yorker, Max grew up attending Park Avenue Synagogue, where he found his love for liturgical music and community engagement. He also attended Camp Ramah in the Berkshires for 8 summers, and has been working there on the music team for the past 7. Max attributes Ramah as a transformative experience that shaped him into the Jewish leader he is today, and he is always looking for ways to share Ramah Ruach (Spirit) with others.

Max currently lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with some of his JTS classmates, and his girlfriend, Hannah, a teacher at the Heschel School. In his spare time, he likes to bike, do photography, and collect vintage postcards. Max looks forward to bringing new and engaging melodies to Beth El, and to meeting and connecting with all members of the community.

Board of Directors

Standing Together.

Congregation Beth El Fairfield’s Board of Directors ensures that all voices of our congregation’s membership are heard in the governance and fiduciary oversight of every aspect of the synagogue, including worship, religious education, and programming. General board meetings are held monthly at the synagogue and are open to all congregants.

Additionally, all committees welcome congregant input, and most are currently accepting new members. Please feel free to contact Board members or committee chairs directly at any time by clicking on their names below.