:: Our Clergy

M. Bruce Lustig, M.A.H.L., Senior Rabbi

Rabbi Bruce Lustig is senior rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation. Along with the daily responsibilities of leading a 3,000 member congregation, he has shown community involvement in the Jewish Council for the Aging, the Executive Board of Israel Bonds of the Greater Washington Area, the UAHC Rabbinic Network on Youth Suicide, the Mayors Faith Advisory Board, the National Liaison for National Day of Prayer, and the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society, District of Columbia Division. He is a pro-active leader of Washington’s Interfaith Community and organized the nation’s first Abrahamic Summit bringing together Christians, Jews and Muslims for dialogue.

Rabbi Lustig received a Bachelor of Arts degree (with honors) from the University of Tennessee. He holds a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

To contact Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig,
please forward correspondence to his assistant Layne Weiss at: LWeiss@whctemple.org

Joui Hessel, M.A.H.L., M.A.J.E., R.J.E., Associate Rabbi and Director of Religious Education and Engagement

Rabbi Joui Hessel is currently serving Washington Hebrew Congregation as an associate rabbi. At the congregation, Rabbi Hessel works in a variety of capacities, including youth programming, adult education, life cycle events, counseling, pastoral care and much more.

Rabbi Hessel was ordained from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, NY in May of 2001. While in Rabbinical School, she served several congregations, including Shaaray Tefilah in New York City’s Upper East Side and Temple Sinai in Glendale, California. In addition, she served as the Education Intern at Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles, California, and the Rabbinic Intern at the UAHC (the Reform Movement’s central office) in New York City.

Rabbi Hessel received a Masters Degree in Education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1999. She received her Bachelors Degree in Secondary School Education from The University of Georgia in 1995.

Rabbi Hessel has co-authored The Hanukkah Family Treasury, published by Running Hill Press. She has also been published in a book on parenting young adult children, Mom, Can I Move Back in with You: A Survival Guide for Parents of Twentysomethings, published by Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium. Rabbi Hessel has also offered the opening prayer at the United States House of Representatives. She serves on the Greater Washington Federation’s Professional Advisory Board to the Outreach Commission in the Metro-DC area, the CCAR Youth Committee, the CCAR Task Force on Addiction and the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial SPARKS Programming Committee. Rabbi Hessel is a STAR PEER rabbinic fellow, a program supported by the Schusterman Foundation.

To contact Rabbi Joui Hessel,
please forward correspondence to her assistant Marsha Humphries at: MHumphries@whctemple.org

Susan N. Shankman, M.A.H.L., A.M.R.S., Associate Rabbi

Rabbi Susan Shankman is an Associate Rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation. Along with officiation at services, life cycle events and pastoral care and counseling, Rabbi Shankman also focuses on adult education, youth programming, social action, outreach and programming for young families, and Sisterhood.

Rabbi Shankman was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2001. As a rabbinical student at HUC-JIR in Cincinnati, Rabbi Shankman served student pulpits in Valparaiso, Indiana and Columbus, Mississippi, providing their sole rabbinic support. She worked as an intern in the Youth Programs Department of HUC-JIR and was also an intern in the Outreach Department of HUC-JIR. Upon ordination, Rabbi Shankman received the Ferdinand M. Isserman Prize, an award recognizing her contributions toward the development of community relations.

Rabbi Shankman received a Master’s Degree in Religion from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 1992. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 1991, having majored in History and Religion.  Prior to rabbinical school, Rabbi Shankman was Regional Director to NFTY-Long Island, and Assistant Director of URJ Eisner Camp.

Rabbi Shankman is co-chair of the Outreach and Membership Committee of the URJ Mid-Atlantic Region. She is Vice President of the CCAR Mid-Atlantic Region, regional rabbinic advisor to NFTY-MAR, and Vice President of the Washington Board of Rabbis. In addition to serving on the Israel Quest committee of the Partnership for Jewish Life & Learning, she is also a member of the National Alliance Advisory Board of Jewish Women International. Rabbi Shankman was recently named to JWI's National Clergy Task Force on Domestic Abuse and was honored with the Community Leadership Award at JWI's Women to Watch luncheon in 2006.

Rabbi Shankman is married to Rabbi Michael Namath, Program Director at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and they are the proud parents of Isabel, Jacob, and Evie.

To contact Rabbi Susan N. Shankman,
please forward correspondence to her assistant Marsha Humphries at: MHumphries@whctemple.org

Rabbi Noah Fabricant, Assistant Rabbi

Rabbi Noah Fabricant joined Washington Hebrew Congregation as an assistant rabbi in July 2009.  He was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, where he also earned a master’s degree.  During his time in rabbinical school, Rabbi Fabricant served congregations in La Salle, Illinois and Terre Haute, Indiana.  He also served for two years as the rabbinic intern at Cincinnati’s Rockdale Temple, where in addition to sharing pulpit, pastoral, and educational responsibilities, he advised the junior and senior youth groups.  Rabbi Fabricant earned several rabbinical school prizes for academics and preaching.

Originally from West Orange, New Jersey, Rabbi Fabricant grew up in a Reform congregation, was active in youth group, and attended Jewish summer camp.  He attended Harvard University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Literature and a language citation in Modern Hebrew.  He is particularly interested in Hebrew and Jewish poetry, which he reads avidly in his spare time.  As a former camp and youth group songleader, Rabbi Fabricant also enjoys playing guitar and learning new Jewish music.

Rabbi Fabricant will very soon be married to Alexandra Harwin, currently a student at Yale Law School.

To contact Rabbi Noah Fabricant,
please forward correspondence to his assistant Marsha Humphries at: MHumphries@whctemple.org

Mikhail Manevich, Cantor

Cantor Mikhail Manevich was born in Leningrad, USSR.  He received a degree in choral conducting from Leningrad State Conservatory of Music in 1975.After immigrating to the United States he studied and graduated from Hebrew Union College-School of Sacred Music. Cantor Manevich was appointed Cantor with Washington Hebrew Congregation in 1989.During his tenure with the Congregation, Cantor Manevich has performed at all of the major halls of the City-Kennedy Center, Constitution Hall and National Cathedral. His voice can be heard on six recordings.

To contact Cantor Mikhail Manevich,
please forward correspondence to his assistant Carolyne Ojwang at: COjwang@whctemple.org

Susan Rachel Adelman Bortnick, Associate Cantor

Susan Bortnick is the Associate Cantor of Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, D.C.  A graduate of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's School of Sacred Music, she served congregations in Arnold, Maryland and Ft. Worth, Texas as a student cantor before coming to Washington Hebrew Congregation in 2001.

Inspired by Cantor Robert Gerber, Cantor Sharon Kohn, and Rabbi Liza Stern, Cantor Bortnick enrolled in the School of Sacred Music after receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas, Austin.  The first cantor from Amarillo, Texas, Cantor Bortnick is a member of the American Conference of Cantors (Reform) and The Cantors Assembly (Conservative).

In addition to regularly sharing the bima with Washington Hebrew’s Cantor Mikhail Manevich, she has performed with the various talents that Washington Hebrew Congregation has hosted over the years, including Marvin Hamlisch, Ken Kanter, Hershey Felder, Tova Feldshuh, Itzhak Perlman, Ken Ludwig, Michael Feinstein, Lainie Kazan, John Pizzarelli, Murray Horwitz and Susan Stamberg.  Cantor Bortnick has recorded two CD’s with Cantor Manevich.  One, a collection of their favorite duets titled, Together, the other a recording of their innovative Shabbat service, Shirei Shabbat.  She currently lives in Takoma Park with her husband David, their daughters, Naomi and Eliya and dogs, Serena and Riley.

To contact Cantor Susan R. A. Bortnick,
please forward correspondence to her assistant Carolyne Ojwang at: COjwang@whctemple.org