Photos Courtesy of Louis Davidson, Synagogues360.org

Shabbat Services

Please join us for Shabbat services every Friday evening at 7 PM.  Shabbat Services are also held on select Saturdays at 10 AM.  Friday night and scheduled Saturday morning services are announced on our website, Facebook page, and our weekly newsletter. Our services are in person and online through Zoom.  At the conclusion of services, enjoy our Oneg Shabbat.

Shabbat Services are led by lay leaders and visiting Rabbis.  Mt. Sinai is currently conducting a search for a new Rabbi.

Previous Religious Leaders

Rabbi Moshe Halfon

Rabbi Halfon served as the spiritual leader of Mount Sinai Synagogue from 2021 to 2025.

Rabbi Moshe Raphael Halfon has served as a pulpit rabbi, cantor, Hillel director, and chaplain, as well as a musician and special education teacher.  “Reb Moshe” is an accomplished guitarist and singer who performs Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Middle Eastern, blues, jazz and folk music.  His album of Jewish healing chants Let There Be Light is used by communities and healers worldwide.  Some of his past pulpits include Temple Israel of Long Beach, CA (Reform), Temple Ami-Shalom of West Covina, CA (Conservative), and Agudas Achim of Attleboro, MA (Reconstructionist), and in each position he enhanced membership, education, and the synagogue’s community profile.  He has officiated at hundreds of B’nai mitzvah, weddings, conversions, and funerals, including mixed and same-sex weddings.  He has taught Jewish history, Kabbalah, meditation, percussion and dance internationally, and served as adjunct professor of religion at Cypress College from 2001-2005.  From 2006-2021, he served as Jewish Chaplain at the California Institution for Women in Corona, California, a minimum-security prison, where he established Congregation B’not Or.  He founded and directs Am Or Olam (People of the Eternal Light), a non-profit spiritual organization for the arts, counseling, and adult education.

Rabbi Halfon was ordained and received a Doctor of Divinity at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia, as well as a Masters in Educational Psychology at Temple University.  Among his mentors there were Rabbis Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l, Arthur Green, Arthur Waskow, and Cantor David Tilman.  He also studied voice and music theory with renowned Hollywood voice coach Joel Ewing, and African, Latin and Middle-Eastern percussion with several professional performers.  While completing his BA in Jewish Studies at UCLA, he founded the Westwood Bayit student co-op, edited Ha’Am newspaper, and ran the first Jewish Arts Festival.  Rabbi Moshe is fluent in Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish, and Portuguese, and lived in Israel for two years.  His perspectives are broad and deep: he was raised in the Reform movement, yet studied in Orthodox and Hasidic circles; he is a Reiki Master healer who regularly practices yoga, meditation, and Tai Ch’i; and his hobbies include swimming, cycling, snorkeling/scuba, hiking, and organic gardening.

Rabbi Moshe says, “People often tell me that I have been a midwife for their soul.  I integrate tradition with contemporary life issues in order to heal the imagined rifts between Soul, Mind, Heart, and Body; between tradition and creativity; justice and mercy; male and female; Divine and human; intellect and intuition.  This is part of my task in this life.”

Rabbi Larry Moldo

After a lengthy illness, Rabbi Moldo passed away in August 2020. The congregation mourns his passing.

Rabbi Larry Moldo was born and raised on the Minneapolis side of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, he worked in Peoria (Illinois), Omaha (Nebraska), Kansas City (Kansas), Elmwood Park (New Jersey), Buffalo (New York), Modesto (California), Baldwin, (Long Island, New York) before coming to Mount Sinai Congregation here in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Prior to Ordination at the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York City, Rabbi Larry had written materials on Torah notes and liturgy in the religious realm, and on management and tutoring in the secular world. As part of the Ordination process, he wrote for his senior thesis a large document called Unsuccessful Pregnancies and Neonatal Deaths: Pastoral Care for the Rabbinate and Cantorate.

An avid reader, he was especially fond of Science Fiction & Fantasy while dabbling in mysteries and philosophy for fun.

He was joined in Cheyenne by his wife Andrea. His son Samuel lives in Denver

Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman

Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman served as the spiritual leader of Mount Sinai Synagogue in Cheyenne, Wyoming from 2010 to 2013.

Ordained in 1984 through the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Cincinnati, Ohio), he served as Rabbi for — Temple of Israel in Wilmington, North Carolina; Temple Beth Or in Everett, Washington; and Congregation House of Israel in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he was also Chaplain for Levi Hospital, Levi Hospice, and Levi Towers (B’nai B’rith) Retirement Community.  Before that, he was a Director of Hillel (serving Jews on college campuses) at Tulane University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Colorado.  A native of Los Angeles, Rabbi Karz-Wagman practiced for five years as an attorney, after graduating UCLA School of Law.

Rabbi Karz-Wagman’s community activism includes: organizing and teaching for Holocaust Education Committees; creating groups to celebrate diversity and fight prejudice; as well as leadership roles for — Israel advocacy; domestic violence; interfaith education; and United Way.
His wife, Barbara previously worked in fund raising and non-profit management for American Red Cross, Arthritis Foundation, Jewish Federations, and Levi Hospital, as well as management and sales positions for Bank of America. They have two sons — Daniel, a San Francisco based musician, audio-visual technician, and graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston; and Noah, who earned a degree in economics from the University of Washington.

Rabbi Arinna Moon Shelby

In March 2008 Rabbi Arinna Moon Shelby was hired to be the rabbi at Mt. Sinai Congregation after an almost twenty year hiatus in that position. She was not only the first woman rabbi at the synagogue, but the first woman rabbi to hold a pulpit in the state of Wyoming.

Rabbi Shelby spearheaded an increase in programming at Mt. Sinai – monthly Shabbat dinners, movie nights, lectures, and the 2010 Tu B’Shevat Seder, to name a few.  She organized and taught many classes, including Introduction to Judaism, Beginning Biblical Hebrew, Continuing Biblical Hebrew, and Torah Study with the Rabbi.  She worked closely with various committees and the Sisterhood and was involved in the larger community as well.  She met with her peers from the faith community in Cheyenne and greatly increased Mt. Sinai’s presence in that community.  She facilitated Mt. Sinai becoming a support community with the CIHN (Cheyenne Interfaith Hospitality Network).

In addition to her scholarship and outreach endeavors, Rabbi Shelby also gifted us with her beautiful singing voice.  She taught us new songs, and new ways of singing the songs we already knew.  Her sermons were always thoughtful and interesting, as were the lively discussions she led at Shabbat services.

In August 2009 Mt. Sinai hosted the first rabbinic bet din ever held in Wyoming. Organized by Rabbi Shelby, the bet din also included Rabbi Sara Gilbert from Greeley and Rabbi Ted Stainman from Ft. Collins.

Rabbi Shelby divided her time between Cheyenne and Los Angeles, where she works as a hospice chaplain providing spiritual care for patients and their families at the end of life. She is a member of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California and a member of the Sandra Caplan Community Bet Din of Southern California.

Rabbi Shelby received her Master’s degree in Psychology from Antioch University Seattle in 1986 and her Rabbinic ordination from The Academy for Jewish Religion California in 2008.

Uri Neil

Uri Neil served as Mt. Sinai’s Cantor for 19 years, driving up from Denver two weekends a month, with extra trips for holidays and life cycle events.  No one who has met Uri can ever forget his warmth and enthusiasm.  Services were always a joy when Uri was leading, and his singing was unforgettable.  Many from the Cheyenne community learned Hebrew from Uri, studied for their bar and bat mitzvah with him, and were wisely counseled by him.  He nurtured others along the path to conversion.  He also led study groups on Saturday afternoons – everyone was welcome to attend, and the discussions were often wide ranging and always interesting.

Uri also served as an Adjunct Professor of Hebrew at the University of Denver Center for Judaic Studies since 1979. His years of service and commitment to his students were honored in 2004 when Uri was awarded Adjunct Professor of the Year at the University of Denver.

In early April 2007, shortly after leading the Passover Seder at Mt. Sinai, Uri suffered a stroke.  His students and those that have come in contact with him through his many Bar and Bat Mitzvah services, serving as Cantor in Cheyenne, and through the many organizations he has dedicated countless time and energy to as a volunteer, have responded. As a way to express their positive thoughts for his continued healing, students and members of the community have established the Fund for Hebrew Education in honor of his 28 years of service at the University. The Fund for Hebrew Education will be used to further Hebrew Education at the University of Denver.

Uri Neil was born in Haifa, Israel but moved to Los Angeles at the age of 16. He graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D. Degree from the School of Law. After ten years as a practicing attorney, he found his true calling and passion as an instructor which led him to the Center for Judaic Studies in 1979, and as a Cantor, which led him to Mt. Sinai.

Earlier Religious Leaders

1987-1991 Rabbi Nathan Lerer.  Rabbi Lerer was born in Jerusalem but moved to the United States when he was 4 years old.  He was interested in becoming the Chief Rabbi for all of Wyoming.  He passed away in 2002.

1978-1987 Rabbi Myron Movsky.  Rabbi Myron Movsky and his wife Hadassah came to Cheyenne in the 1970’s after his retirement from a synagogue in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  Highlights of their time in Cheyenne included the formation of a choir of 12 to 15 voices, coached by Hadassah.  Rabbi Movsky passed away in 2013.

1962-1977 Rabbi Samuel Morris Susman.  Rabbi Susman was the Rabbi at Mt. Sinai from March of 1962 to 1977.  As spiritual leader, he was especially known for his ability to integrate the Jewish community into the broader religious life of the city of Cheyenne.  In 1977, Rabbi Susman and his wife Anita fulfilled their life-long dream by following their children to Israel.

1960    Rabbi Louis Diament

1957    Chaplain Rabbi Boris Rackovsky

1956    Chaplain Philip Silverman

1955-1956 Rabbi Milton Polin.  Rabbi Polin was born in 1930.  He became the Rabbi at Mt. Sinai shortly after his marriage to Shainee Sachs.  He established daily morning and evening services and enrolled every elementary and high school age Jewish child in the congregation’s Talmud Torah school after regular school.  Rabbi Polin left Cheyenne after two years and became the Rabbi for the largest Orthodox Congregation in Louisville, Kentucky. He passed away in 2018.

1951-1962  Reverend Harry Gillman assisted rabbis until his death in 1962.

1950?  Rabbi Max Leader.  Under his leadership, plans were approved, property was purchased, construction completed and the congregation moved into its new Synagogue.

1947  Rabbi Goodman and Reverend Mayer combined the two congregations into Mt. Sinai.

Late 1940’s  Rabbis Silver, Goodman, Schwartz, Herbst, and Reverend William Mayer

1939-1945  Rabbi Hyman Krash.  Rabbi Krash was a Lithuanian immigrant who moved to Cheyenne from Salt Lake City.  He was not popular because of his strict teachings and ethnic mannerisms.  The congregation divided, and from 1943-45, the second one was called Beth Shalom, and was led by Rabbi Samuel Rubenstein.  Rabbi Krash and Rabbi Rubenstein both left Cheyenne in 1945.

Late 1930’s – Early 1940’s  Rabbis Rosen, Schwartz, DeKoven

1917-1938  Rabbi Abraham Hoffman. Rabbi Abraham Hoffman and his wife, Mary, emigrated to the US from Vilna, Lithuania in 1906.  They settled in Kalamazoo, Michigan, living there until 1914.  The family traveled to Pueblo, Colorado, where he served the community as Rabbi until 1917.  At that time he accepted the Rabbinate in Cheyenne.

Rabbi Hoffman was active in all facets of religious life in Cheyenne, fulfilling the many duties required of a growing Jewish community, including Rabbi, mohel, Schochet, Bal Koreh, and Hebrew teacher.  He guided the Jewish education of Cheyenne youth during the period 1917-1938.

Rabbi Hoffman founded the A. Hoffman Livestock Company with Sam Chvar, Peter Smith, and Nathan Smith.  He bought and managed several homesteads and farms purchased from early Jewish pioneers in southeast Wyoming.  He passed away in 1951.

?   Rabbis Zimmer, Metz, Rosen

1915-1917  Rabbi Lazarus Leherer.  He wrote the message put in the 1915 cornerstone.  He took boarders into his home to help himself financially.

1912-1914  Rabbi S.B. Schein.  He came from Virginia.  In 1911 he lived in the house that had been on the land purchased at 20^th Street and Pioneer Avenue.  In 1915 he moved to Wisconsin to become leader of a larger congregation.

1903    Rabbi Gershon Immerman.  He was born and educated in Russia.  He died in 1913 in Cheyenne.