B’nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton is opening a new chapter in its leadership while celebrating a major show of support from within its membership. The congregation, which describes itself as the largest Conservative synagogue in the Southeastern United States, is welcoming the arrival of new Senior Rabbi Bryan Wexler.
The transition comes alongside a significant act of generosity. Longtime members Eda and Cliff Viner have stepped forward with a 1 million dollar matching gift to help secure the congregation’s future. Matching gifts of this kind are designed to multiply their impact by encouraging others in the community to give, turning a single major commitment into a broader fundraising drive.
The leadership change and the gift land at a moment of momentum for the congregation. Membership renewal for the 2026 to 2027 year is now open, and the synagogue is rolling out an expanded slate of adult education programming through its academy for adult Jewish learning, promising a variety of classes, scholars in residence, and author series events in the year ahead.
B’nai Torah’s strength has long rested on continuity across generations. Longtime members speak of families who have prayed, celebrated, mourned, and learned within its walls over decades, with children who once sang in its preschool now raising families of their own in the congregation. That sense of rootedness gives weight to a leadership transition, as an incoming senior rabbi inherits both a large active community and the expectations that come with it.
The arrival of a new senior rabbi at a flagship congregation is closely watched across South Florida’s Jewish landscape, a region that has seen sustained growth as Jewish families continue to settle in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and the surrounding communities. New leadership at a synagogue of this size shapes not only its own trajectory but also the broader communal scene.
For B’nai Torah, the message heading into the new year is one of confidence: fresh leadership at the pulpit, a substantial financial commitment from devoted members, and a full calendar of learning and programming aimed at carrying the congregation forward.
Harlan Kilstein has been a Boca Resident since 1997. He know the ins and out of Boca
