Senior Rabbi

Dr. Dennis C. Sasso is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, Indianapolis, Indiana, and has been our Rabbi since 1977. He is a native of the Republic of Panama, and a descendant of Sephardic (Spanish-Portuguese Jewish) families who settled in the Caribbean during the 17th century.

Associate Rabbi

Rabbi Hal Schevitz was ordained at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts in 2013. He served as the Assistant Rabbi at Beth-El Zedeck from 2013-2016 and Rabbi at Congregation or Atid in Virginia from 2016-2022. Rabbi Hal is married to Jena, and they are the proud parents of Naomi and Arielle.

Cantor

Cantor Melissa Cohen grew up in Lakewood, New Jersey and earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Master of Music from DePaul University.

Senior Rabbi Emerita

Rabbi Sandy served as Rabbi from 1977-2013 and is now the Rabbi Emerita of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck.

Hazzan Emeritus

Cantor Bob was our beloved cantor at Beth-El Zedeck from 1961 to 1989 and is now our Hazzan Emeritus.

Executive Director

Shari grew up at Beth-El Zedeck. She worked as our Program Director for seventeen years before becoming our Executive Director in 2014.

Education Director

George has been our Education Director since 2002.

Early Childhood Director

Christie became our Early Childhood Director in 2021. Our amazing program is for children 12 months through pre-kindergarten.

Rabbis' Assistant

Sharon has been the Rabbis' Administrative Assistant since 2002. She's also the contact for the Mi Shebeirach list and unveilings as well as handling many details of baby namings, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and weddings.

Human Resources Director

Bonnie handles human resources, administration for the Beth-El Zedeck Foundation, payroll, various IT and communications projects, and is the editor for the print newsletter, the Besamim.

Staff Accountant

Kelly Butler manages day-to-day financial activity, overall budget and individual staff budgets, and accounts payable. She's been at Beth-El Zedeck since 2016.

Membership Services Coordinator

Jennifer keeps our membership data up-to-date, maintains yahrzeit reminders and plaques, sends donation cards, helps organize events, and much more!

Mashgiach and Early Childhood Chef

Becky has been our Early Childhood Chef since 2004 and took on our Mashgiach role in 2006. She's devoted to providing nutritious meals for our children and keeping our facility kashrut.

Librarian

Building Supervisor

Willie has been on our staff since 1990, first as a member of our maintenance team and then as our Building Supervisor. He and his maintenance staff keep the building and grounds clean, beautiful, and in good repair.

Organist

Charles Manning earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He's affiliated with a number of musical groups in central Indiana and can be heard on his YouTube channel, Piano Pizzazz! Charles has been Beth-El Zedeck's organist for many years.