Meet Our Clergy
Rabbi Steven I. Rein
Originally from Fairfield, New Jersey, Rabbi Steven I. Rein received his rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary where he also earned an M.A. in Talmud and Rabbinics from the Graduate School at JTS. He joined Agudas Achim Congregation in 2014 after five years as the Assistant Rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan. Rabbi Rein is committed to building a caring community, fostering Jewish learning, and encouraging our members to turn words into action. He aspires to make Agudas Achim a true kehillah kedoshah, a holy congregation.
Read More
Outside of his synagogue responsibilities, Rabbi Rein is a reserve chaplain in the United States Air Force. Commissioned in 2005 he has served at Hanscom AFB, MA, the United States Air Force Academy, CO, Wright Patterson AFB, OH, Bolling Air Force Base, DC, Langley AFB, VA, and Joint Base Andrews, MD. Rabbi Rein was promoted to Major in October 2017 and currently serves as the Jewish Chaplain for Arlington National Cemetery. He has also served since 2011 as a member of the Religious Leadership Advisory Board of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
In his spare time, Rabbi Rein is an avid fan of the New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils. Rabbi Rein is married to Jodi Hirsch Rein, Principal of Gesher Jewish Day School. He and Jodi, along with their children, Ari and Ilan, are pleased to be part of the Agudas Achim family.
You may contact Rabbi Rein.
Hazzan Elisheva Dienstfrey
Whether she’s leading the congregation in prayer, helping a student or teaching a new melody, Elisheva Dienstfrey conveys the message that being a Hazzan is the world’s best work. A member of the class of 2000 of the Jewish Theological Seminary’s H. L. Miller Cantorial School, Hazzan Dienstfrey came to Agudas Achim fresh from graduate school, and has never looked back.
Read More
She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, singing in a children’s choir, led by her father, a radiologist. “People were always telling me that I should be a cantor,” Hazzan Dienstfrey says, but she didn’t take it seriously until Cantor Josh Perlman took her under his wing. Perlman taught her that a cantor’s job involves not only singing but also working with people in the community and being a “mentsch.”
Hazzan Dienstfrey majored in music and religious studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles. While living in L.A. she met her husband, Tobias, at a Hillel Shabbat service at the University of Judaism. “He asked me if I wanted an aliyah,” she recounts, thinking his offer was an interesting pick-up line. They were separated while she attended the first year of cantorial school at Pardes Institute in Jerusalem, where she studied Talmud, Hebrew, and Nusach. “The day after I returned from Israel, Tobias asked me to marry him,” the Hazzan says. They were married in 1998 after a two-year engagement.
Along with her musical talents, Hazzan Dienstfrey also has the distinction of being a female cantor with a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Influenced by the crime rate in Albuquerque, her mother decided to enroll both of her daughters (and herself) in self-defense classes, along with her son. Hazzan Dienstfrey still practices kickboxing and MMA (mixed martial arts) on her own.
In addition to her usual cantorial duties at Agudas Achim, Hazzan Dienstfrey is an officer of the Cantors Assembly, and an enthusiastic leader of the Agudas Achim house band, Ein Lanu Z’man, We Have No Time.
The Hazzan and her husband have called Alexandria their home since July of 2000, and not only have become part of the Agudas Achim family, but have expanded their own little family by four – Margalit, Akiva, Leo, and Lev. “We have so many blessings in our lives, and Agudas Achim has made that possible.”
Please stop by Agudas Achim to sing, pray, or learn, and introduce yourself to Hazzan Dienstfrey and her family. They’d love to meet you!
Hazzan Dienstfrey is happy to hear from you.
Rabbi Emeritus, Jack Moline
Greetings! I am Rabbi Emeritus Jack Moline, a title I earned after almost 27 years as the Rabbi of Agudas Achim Congregation. Before arriving in Alexandria, I served congregations in Danbury, Connecticut and as a student in Jerusalem and Northridge, California. I was ordained in 1982 by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, attending campuses in Los Angeles and Jerusalem. I then served as the president of Interfaith Alliance, a national First Amendment advocacy organization. Now, I am fully retired.
Read More
I am a graduate of Northwestern University, and I have served as Director of Youth Activities for Seaboard Region of United Synagogue and interim director of the Hillel Foundation at the University of Virginia. In 2011, JTS awarded me an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.
I am extremely proud to have spent most of my adult years in the Agudas Achim community. During my tenure, our congregation grew in both number of members and depth of caring -– caring about each other, about Jewish life, and about the larger community. We became a go-to congregation for almost every aspect of Conservative Judaism thanks to extraordinary members, excellent staff, and a spirit of spiritual adventure. We set a standard of intellectual integrity and inquiry that was exciting, especially to me!
During my years at Agudas Achim I was privileged to serve in leadership roles in a number of Jewish and interfaith organizations, as well as to represent our community to government officials of the United States, Israel, and a number of other countries. I taught at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria and at JTS in NY as an adjunct professor, and I served as mentor to interns who are now in prominent positions in synagogues, academia and the non-profit world (and one church!).
You can contact Rabbi Moline through this link.
