Rabbi-Cantor Michael McCloskey -
Rav-Chazzan at Temple Emeth in Chestnut Hill, MA, Michael is an accomplished lyric tenor, pianist and composer. As an accompanist, he has been privileged to play in Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera House, and David Geffen Hall. As a tenor soloist, he has performed with Koleinu, the Zamir Chorale of Boston, Magevet, the Bostonians Opera and Chamber Ensemble, and has performed all over both coasts with the Cantors Assembly, including premiering works by Cantor Charles Osborne and Cantor Joseph Ness.

His writing has been published in These Holy Days: A High Holy Day Supplement After October 7th, Seder Interrupted: A Post October 7th Haggadah Supplement, Masorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism, Association of Jewish Studies Perspectives Magazine, and Exploring Judaism. He currently serves on the Racial Justice Subcommittee of the Social Justice Commission, the Cantors Assembly Placement inCommittee, and the Committee for Jewish Laws and Standards of Conservative-Masorti Judaism

A passionate teacher of Torah and Jewish music, he has taught at Hebrew College, the Lehrhaus Tavern and House of Learning, T’nuah B’yachad: The Convening of Conservative-Masorti Judaism, Toronto Jewish Music Week, through the Cantors Assembly, and is currently on the faculty at the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York, teaching courses in Jewish Philosophy and Pluralism. He is the proud father of Leonardo and Momo.

David Ackerman is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, PA where he teaches Torah, plays guitar, and works with others to build up a sacred community rich in learning, spirituality and kindness. Educated at Princeton University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, David has served as Assistant Rabbi at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago, Rabbi at Tiferet Bet Israel in Blue Bell, PA, and Rabbi for National Outreach at JTS. David and Nomi Shapiro are the grateful parents of Josh & Dani, Elijah & Natalie, and Rosie and the even prouder grandparents of Liam, Gabriel, and a baby to be named later. Rabbi Ackerman is the immediate past co-president of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia; serves on Jewish Family and Children’s Service’s Board of Trustees; chairs JFCS’s Ethics Committee; and is active with Interfaith Philadelphia and Philadelphia’s Jewish Community Relations Council.

Rabbi Michael Bernstein is the spiritual leader of Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, Ga. Michael received his ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and is an alumni of the Rabbis Without Borders second cohort. and was inducted into the Martin Luther King Board of Preachers at Morehouse College. Michael specializes in Jewish philosophy, especially that of Emmanuel Levinas and focuses on how to see the directives inherent in Jewish tradition as meaningful, ethical, and relevant.

Rabbi Nate Crane has served as the rabbi of Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah in Wilmette, Illinois, since 2019. He is a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS), the Conservative movement’s central halakhic authority.
Rabbi Crane authored the CJLS responsum “Adoption,” unanimously approved, which explores the halakhic status and obligations of adopted individuals and introduces a ritual to mark adoption. In 2020, he co-authored the CJLS COVID-19 Guidance for Kol Nidrei with CJLS Chair, Rabbi Pamela Barmash.
He has been recognized for his engagement in Jewish thought leadership, including participation as a Rabbi Samuel T. Lachs Fellow with CLAL as a LEAP Fellow in partnership with the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Rabbi Crane serves on the boards of the Anti-Defamation League’s Midwest Region and the Community Mikvah of the Conservative Movement. He is also a recipient of the Start Me Up! Fellowship and Grant from Valley Beit Midrash.
Previously, he served at Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Deerfield, Illinois, and Congregation Or Tzion in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he founded Hagigah, a nonprofit supporting inclusive Jewish holiday experiences. He holds degrees from American Jewish University and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.

Rabbi Andrew Jacobs has served for over two decades as the spiritual leader of Ramat Shalom Beth Israel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, guiding a vibrant, multi-generational congregation. He is known for translating Jewish tradition, liturgy, and text into meaningful, accessible experiences that resonate in contemporary life, fostering a community—and a wider circle of learning and connection—where individuals feel both intellectually engaged and personally seen.

Rabbi Jacobs is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and holds a Master’s degree in Jewish Art and Material Culture from the Jewish Theological Seminary, completed in consortium with Columbia University and The Jewish Museum. He is a founder and board member of Beit Kaplan, a rabbinic initiative emerging from the Reconstructionist tradition, dedicated to renewing a peoplehood-centered vision of Jewish life rooted in Ahavat Yisrael—the enduring, loving relationship between the Jewish people and Israel.

A respected teacher, speaker, and writer, Rabbi Jacobs creates sermons, classes, and digital content that connect ancient wisdom to modern ethical and emotional questions. He cultivates strong partnerships with lay leadership and civic institutions and develops innovative approaches to community engagement, pastoral care, and Jewish education.

Rabbi Jacobs is committed to building inclusive, thoughtful, and values-driven communities grounded in connection, learning, and purpose.

A Wexner Graduate Fellow, Rabbi Carl Perkins completed his rabbinical studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, also earning a masters degree in Talmud and Rabbinics. He served as rabbi at Temple Aliyah (Needham, MA) for 31 years before retiring in 2022. After earning his A.B., summa cum laude, at Haverford College, I taught for several years at the Commonwealth School in Boston as a Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellow. He holds a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, and an appointment as a Senior Rabbinic Fellow, Hartman Institute, Jerusalem.

Peini Feng is a recent graduate from Boston College majoring in Political Science and Philosophy and minoring in Ancient Greek. He is interested in a holistic understanding of human nature in the age of technology, especially the hopes available to human beings and the conditions necessary for them. Accordingly, his research focuses on medieval political philosophy in which the highest hopes for human beings clash with the most brutal political necessities. He hopes to further understand the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle, and Alfarabi, especially how logics, metaphysics, and political philosophy can be understood in a coherent whole.

Ethan Yu is an MA student at the UChicago Divinity School and Research Fellow at the Kierkegaard Summer Institute. He recently finished an MA in Psychoanalysis at the Global Centre for Advanced Studies and wrote his thesis on Freud and projection. He finished his BS in psychology and BA in philosophy, religious studies, and Asian American Studies at UC Santa Barbara in 2022. He is interested in the intersection of Marxism, psychoanalysis, and phenomenology and their deep inheritance from the Jewish and Christian traditions, especially in their construals of the concept of love.