Clergy
Rabbi Joshua Ben-Gideon
Cantor Jessica Futran Scheinman
Jessica became Cantorial Soloist and Music Educator at Congregation Habonim in July, 2021 and Cantor in May 2025.
Jessica serves as our Shlichat Tzibur, leading our community in prayer on Shabbat, the High Holy Days, and other services. Among her other responsibilities, Jessica prepares our B’nai Mitzvah students, as she has skillfully done for many years, and is engaged in all aspects of prayer and musical education for our entire community, from our youngest students to participants in our adult education programs.
Starting as a teenager and continuing through her education at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Jessica has trained under the direction of clergy in her local congregations and with our own Cantor Halev after she moved to New York and joined Congregation Habonim in 2013. In addition to her extensive experience with Jewish liturgy and musical traditions, Jessica also had a professional career in musical theater and opera, including as a member of the company for Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish.
Contact Jessica at cantorjessica@habonim.net. Her office number is 212-787-5347 x107.
Cantor Emeritus Bruce Halev
After 38 years at Congregation Habonim, Cantor Halev began serving as Cantor Emeritus in July, 2021. We look forward to his continued involvement with the Habonim community!
A graduate of the School of Sacred Music of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), he also holds MA degrees in Near Eastern Studies and in Jewish Education from New York University, as well as an MSW from Yeshiva University. In 2011 he received a Doctorate of Music, Honoris Causa, from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for 25 years of service to his synagogue and to the Jewish community.
With an ongoing interest in themes of Jewish spirituality, Cantor Halev completed a two-year program in Spiritual Direction through Lev Shomeah, an organization of Jewish Spiritual Directors. He also has a strong personal interest in Jewish Mysticism and has taught numerous courses on this subject at Congregation Habonim, The Open Center, and at other venues.
Cantor Halev began his professional life in the opera and theater worlds in Europe and Israel before deciding to pursue a career in the cantorate. He is a graduate of the London Opera Center, and also studied in Italy with Tito Gobbi, the great Italian baritone. He sings in four languages and his two favorite operatic roles are Don Giovanni and Rigoletto.
Contact Cantor Halev here.
