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Your Story

These interviews were recorded in collaboration with StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world www.storycorps.org.

Central + StoryCorps is supported by the Tanner Family,
in honor of their mother, Nicki Newman Tanner.

LIBRARY OF STORIES

Click a name to hear their story!

Now Playing

Published June 2, 2023

A New Year

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Published May 19, 2023

Freeman Shore and Winifred Freund, Part II

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Published May 12, 2023

Gail Sinai and Rabbi Sarah Berman

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Published April 28, 2023

Alexandra Singer and Carrie Connor

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Published April 14, 2023

If you or a loved one is having suicidal thoughts, please call or text 988, or access help through the online chat at https://988lifeline.org/chat/

Doris Manville-Wagstaff and Scott Wagstaff

Now Playing

Published April 7, 2023

Alissa Ballot and Ed Saslaw

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Published March 31, 2023

Nancy Fisher and Jill Sharfstein

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Published March 24, 2023

Estelle (Nicki) Tanner and Burton Lehman

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Published March 17, 2023

Freeman Shore and Winifred Freund

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Published March 10, 2023

Arden Donohue and Gail Sinai

Now Playing

Published February 24, 2023

Zach Rolf and Hadley Rolf

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Published February 17, 2023

Nancy Hannah Levy Torres and Marion Greenup

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Published February 10, 2023

Livia Thompson and Rabbi Sarah Berman

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Published February 2, 2023

Ruth Perelson and Lois Perelson-Gross

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Published December 16, 2022

Sylvia Smoller and Jordan Smoller

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Published December 9, 2022

Patricia Rich and Michael Silverberg

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Published December 2, 2022

Sue Dorn and Rabbi Sarah Berman: Part 3

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Published November 18, 2022

Sue Dorn and Rabbi Sarah Berman: Part 2

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Published November 11, 2022

Sue Dorn and Rabbi Sarah Berman

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Published November 4, 2022

Sherry King and Rabbi Hilly Haber

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Published October 28, 2022

Ed Saslaw and Sharon Gunderson

Listen to full conversation
Now Playing

Published October 21, 2022

Carol Olmstead and Tom Olmstead

Listen to full conversation
Now Playing

Published October 14, 2022

Cantor Daniel Mutlu and Saya Mutlu

Now Playing

Published October 7, 2022

Susan Davis and Miles Gerstein

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Published September 30, 2022

Rabbi Dan Ross and Rabbi Jade Sank Ross

Now Playing

Published September 23, 2022

Carolyn Breidenbach and Audrey Zucker

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Published September 16, 2022

Freeman Shore and Lauren Dickel

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Published September 9, 2022
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Central Synagogue member Robin Lynn and her daughter Carla Steckman about how the fatal Tay-Sachs disease has affected their family.

Robin Lynn and Carla Steckman

Now Playing

Published September 1, 2022

Ami Samuels and Susan Picker

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Now Playing

Published August 26, 2022

Elizabeth and Susan Wagner

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Now Playing

Published October 27, 2021

Jill and Howard Sharfstein

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Now Playing

Published September 1, 2021

Monica Corton and Laura Strauss

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Now Playing

Published December 10, 2021

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Rabbi Peter Rubinstein

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Now Playing

Published September 2021

Sharing Our Stories: 5782 Jewish New Year's Edition

A New Year
Our final Story presents the many voices of our Central community, recorded when we gathered together at Rosh Hashanah this past fall. Many thanks to everyone who joined us, reflected, and recorded their thoughts.
Freeman Shore and Winifred Freund, Part II
Central members and siblings Freeman Shore and Wini Freund share more about their childhood, and their family’s extraordinary relationship to the Israeli state’s founding generation of leaders.
Gail Sinai and Rabbi Sarah Berman
In this conversation, study partners Gail and Sarah discuss their paths to their second careers.
Alexandra Singer and Carrie Connor
Central staff members Alexandra Singer and Carrie Connor share how they came to the Central community and connected with each other.
Doris Manville-Wagstaff and Scott Wagstaff
Doris Manville-Wagstaff speaks with her husband Scott Wagstaff about her journey to Central and Judaism, her mental health struggles, and her father’s incredible connection to a Holocaust survivor.
If you or a loved one is having suicidal thoughts, please call or text 988, or access help through the online chat at https://988lifeline.org/chat/
Alissa Ballot and Ed Saslaw
Central congregant Ed Saslaw hears from fellow congregant and friend Alissa Ballot about her family background and the ancestors who inspired her name.
Nancy Fisher and Jill Sharfstein
Jill Sharftstein interviews her friend Nancy Fisher about the aftermath of the 1998 fire, Central's embrace of Avery Fisher Hall, and Nancy's enduring connection to Central even while hospitalized.
Estelle (Nicki) Tanner and Burton Lehman
Members Estelle (Nicki) Tanner and Burton Lehman talk about Burt's path to leadership in the Reform Movement and the inspiring teachers he met along the way. 
Freeman Shore and Winifred Freund
Central congregants and siblings Freeman Shore and Wini Freund have a conversation in which they share some special family memories.
Arden Donohue and Gail Sinai
Members Arden Donohue and Gail Sinai discuss how Arden first came to Central, her Jewish journey, and the process of becoming b’nei mitzvah.
Zach Rolf and Hadley Rolf
Zach Rolf and Hadley Rolf remember how they first met as Central staff members, and how their Jewish home remains at Central years even now, years later.
Nancy Hannah Levy Torres and Marion Greenup
Central member Nancy Hannah Levy Torres speaks with her friend Marion Greenup about her Jewish upbringing, and her journey to a fulfilling spiritual life.
Livia Thompson and Rabbi Sarah Berman
Central’s former Executive Director Livia Thompson shares her Jewish journey, discussing the path she took to become a Jewish professional and a member of Central’s senior leadership team at a pivotal moment in our congregation’s history.
Ruth Perelson and Lois Perelson-Gross
Longtime members Ruth Perelson and Lois Perelson-Gross (Ruth’s daughter) talk about Shabbat, and Ruth’s project to bring meaningful Shabbat practice into the lives of more Central families.
Sylvia Smoller and Jordan Smoller
Sylvia Smoller talks with her son Jordan Smoller about her family’s escape from the Nazis, and the legacy of resilience she has passed on to future generations.
Patricia Rich and Michael Silverberg
Congregants Patricia Rich and Michael Silverberg share the story of how they met and fell in love because of their connection to Central Synagogue.
Sue Dorn and Rabbi Sarah Berman: Part 3
Sue Dorn shares more memories of her extraordinary life with Rabbi Sarah Berman. Part 3 of 3.
Sue Dorn and Rabbi Sarah Berman: Part 2
In this second clip from their conversation, Rabbi Sarah Berman and Central member Sue Dorn discuss Sue’s experiences of antisemitism and other discrimination, her marriage, and her positive approach to life.
Sue Dorn and Rabbi Sarah Berman
We’re thrilled to share our most recent StoryCorps recording by Rabbi Sarah Berman and Central member Sue Dorn. In this first clip from their conversation, they discuss Sue's earliest childhood memories during World War II, her experience with antisemitism, and how she and her siblings were taught the importance of working toward justice.
Sherry King and Rabbi Hilly Haber
Partners in Central social justice programming, Sherry King and Rabbi Hilly Haber discuss how their Jewish values and experiences bring them to this important work.
Ed Saslaw and Sharon Gunderson
Friends, and Central members, Ed Saslaw and Sharon Gunderson share their unusual first meeting, their growing friendship and community at Central Synagogue.
Carol Olmstead and Tom Olmstead
Members Carol and Tom discuss the premature birth of their first grandson, Sam, and find joy in the incredible transformation he has gone through.
Cantor Daniel Mutlu and Saya Mutlu
Central Synagogue’s senior cantor Daniel Mutlu speaks with his son Saya on the eve of Saya’s bar mitzvah about the meaning of this important moment.
Susan Davis and Miles Gerstein
Members Miles Gerstein and Susan Davis talk about their family’s Jewish journey, and how they came to Central.
Rabbi Dan Ross and Rabbi Jade Sank Ross
Rabbi Dan Ross speaks with his wife, Rabbi Jade Sank Ross, about their different paths to becoming rabbis
Carolyn Breidenbach and Audrey Zucker
Members Carolyn Breidenbach and Audrey Zucker reminisce about Sisterhood and how it connected them to each other and to others in the Central community and beyond.
Freeman Shore and Lauren Dickel
Congregant Freeman Shore talks with staff member Lauren Dickel about their different paths to Central.
Robin Lynn and Carla Steckman
Central Synagogue member Robin Lynn and her daughter Carla Steckman about how the fatal Tay-Sachs disease has affected their family.
Ami Samuels and Susan Picker
Ami Samuels and Susan Picker talk about their Jewish backgrounds and their shared love of Central’s Saturday morning Mishkan service
Elizabeth and Susan Wagner
Elizabeth and Susan Wagner, congregational leaders and popular b’nei mitzvah tutors, talk about their Jewish identities, their family, and their long history of engaging with Central.
Jill and Howard Sharfstein
Howard and Jill Sharfstein speak about their marriage, and their 40 years as congregants of Central Synagogue.
Monica Corton and Laura Strauss
Friends, Monica Corton and Laura Strauss, converse about the impact that their involvement at Central has had on their lives.
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Rabbi Peter Rubinstein
Central Synagogue’s Senior Rabbi Angela Buchdahl talks with her predecessor Rabbi Peter Rubinstein about their experiences coming to and leading Central.
5782 Jewish New Year's Edition
Central congregants recorded short responses to a variety of questions as they celebrated the new Jewish year.
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