We are pleased this year to have Rabbi Ilyse Glickman, cantorial soloist Audrey Kaufman and lay leader Dr. Marc Brenner.

Rabbi Ilyse Glickman

Rabbi Ilyse Glickman is the spiritual leader of Am Shalom Congregation in Barrie, Ontario.

A product of the Reform Movement in Toronto, she spent many years as a member of, and educator with Temple Har Zion in Thornhill. Her summers for the better part of a decade were spent working for the Union for Reform Judaism at Camp Coleman and Camp George.

After completing her Undergraduate degree in Psychology from York University, Rabbi Glickman was ordained in 2004 through Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. She has since served as Director of Education for Temple Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan; Program Director for Hillel at York University, and as National Social Action Co-ordinator at the Canadian Council for Reform Judaism.

In addition to her roles as rabbi at Am Shalom Congregation, she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Religion at the University of Toronto, with a focus on gender and sexuality in Judaism.

Rabbi Glickman’s passions include social justice and the environment, women in Judaism, poetry, and meditation. She enjoys helping others find their own sacred space within communal prayer. Rabbi Glickman is happily married to Cantor David Rosen of Beth Radom Congregation in Toronto, where he serves as Cantor and Director of Education.

Cantorial Soloist Audrey Kaufman

Cantorial Soloist Audrey Kaufman is delighted to be affiliated with Am Shalom.

Audrey was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario where she and her family were active members of Agudath Israel, a traditional Conservative synagogue. Audrey developed her love for Chazzanut from her family’s beautiful Shabbat Z’mirot sung every Friday night, as well as listening to her father lead Shabbat and Yom Tov services at the synagogue. As a teenager, Audrey sang as a soloist in the Ottawa Jewish Choir.

In 1972 she moved to Toronto to study nursing. During her first year in Toronto, she joined the Beth Sholom Synagogue Choir as suggested to her by her uncle, Rabbi David Monson. Over the past 20 years, Audrey has sung in several Jewish choirs in Toronto.

In 1997, Audrey became the Cantorial Soloist of the Chevrat Torah Services at Temple Sinai Congregation in Toronto and has continued to lead their services for the past 10 years. Audrey has done numerous performances at the Baycrest Centre entertaining the residents and their families with a variety of music including Yiddish melodies, Cantorial selections, Broadway tunes and contemporary Hebrew pieces.

Audrey has studied Chazzanut with Cantor Marshall Loomer since 1999 and has also had the privilege of being instructed on voice technique by Cantors Louis Danto and David Bagley. Audrey has also studied voice training with the well-known and respected David Dunbar. She is indebted to Cantor Thomas Schwartz and his wife Leslie, who started her on her Cantorial path and continue to provide both their professional support and wonderful friendship.