Staff

RABBI JENNIFER WEINER, INTERIM

We are honored to welcome Rabbi Jennifer Weiner as our Interim Rabbi beginning July 1, 2025. With warmth, wisdom, and a deep commitment to community, Rabbi Weiner brings over two decades of experience guiding congregations through times of growth, healing, and transition.

Ordained in 1996 by Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Rabbi Weiner also holds a Master’s in Jewish Educational Leadership and was awarded a Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) in recognition of 25 years of service to the Jewish people. She is a proud graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University.

Most recently, Rabbi Weiner has served as an Intentional Interim Rabbi through the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), specializing in supporting congregations during times of change. In Baltimore, she led the historic merger of Har Sinai and Oheb Shalom congregations, helping them transition successfully to new settled clergy. She then served Temple Emanu-El in Honolulu, Hawai’i—at the time, the only URJ congregation in the islands—where she bridged the congregation’s past and future with care and vision.

Rabbi Weiner’s rabbinate is deeply rooted in Jewish learning, social justice, and spiritual presence. A lifelong activist, she served as a rabbinic legislative assistant at the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C., and continues to advocate for human rights, interfaith dialogue, and community partnership. She is a founding member of the Women’s Interfaith Ministerial group of Prince William County and has received multiple awards for her service, including the Prince William County Human Rights Award and ARZA’s Prize in Educational Programming about Israel.

In addition to congregational leadership, Rabbi Weiner has proudly served our country in the U.S. Navy Chaplain Candidate Corps and as a police chaplain in Northern Virginia. She is known for her calm presence, thoughtful systems leadership, and ability to help organizations find clarity, stability, and renewed purpose.

Rabbi Weiner is joined by her husband, Jeffrey Sachs, their two children, Aaron and Micah, and two beloved dogs, Ruby and Oliver. She is excited to get to know the Beth El community—sharing in life’s sacred moments, exploring Jewish learning together, and helping guide our congregation with compassion and care during this season of transition.

Jweiner@bethelhebrew.org

Rabbi Emeritus Brett Isserow 

Rabbi Brett Isserow served as Senior Rabbi of Beth El Hebrew Congregation from 2001 until his retirement in 2018. Now Rabbi Emeritus, he continues to be an enduring presence in the life of the congregation he considers home.

Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Rabbi Isserow’s path to the rabbinate began not in childhood, but as a deeply personal journey in adulthood. Originally trained and working as a Chartered Accountant, he reconnected with Judaism through involvement in a Reform congregation, where his growing love for Jewish life and learning led him to pursue rabbinic ordination. He was ordained by Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion after studying in both Jerusalem and Cincinnati, where he also met his wife, Jinny.

Before coming to Beth El, Rabbi Isserow served for eleven years as Assistant and then Associate Rabbi at The Temple in Atlanta. His rabbinate has been marked by a deep love for the Jewish people, a strong commitment to building sacred community, and a gift for pastoral care and teaching.

At Beth El, Rabbi Isserow fostered a spirit of warmth, meaning, and inclusivity. He also played an active role in the broader community through interfaith work, hospital ethics committees, and Jewish communal leadership.

Rabbi Isserow and Jinny are the proud parents of Anna and Jesse. His enduring answer to the call to serve the Jewish people remains a heartfelt and unwavering “Yes!”

Education & Ordination

• Ordained by Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion

• First-year studies in Jerusalem; completed at HUC-JIR Cincinnati

• Chartered Accountant, trained in South Africa

Professional & Community Involvement

• Senior Rabbi, Beth El Hebrew Congregation (2001–2017)

• Assistant/Associate Rabbi, The Temple, Atlanta (11 years)

• Member, Ethics Committee, Inova Alexandria Hospital

• Board President, Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia

• Vice President, Washington Board of Rabbis

• Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR)

Bisserow@bethelhebrew.org