A native of Detroit, Steven Kushner is an ordained Reform rabbi and served as the spiritual leader of Temple Ner Tamid of Bloomfield, New Jersey from its inception in 1980 until his retirement in 2018. In his 38 years of service to the congregation, Rabbi Kushner helped grow the synagogue not merely in size but in programming and influence. During that time he also served as Adjunct Lecturer of Religion at Bloomfield College which honored him with a Doctor of Laws honoris causa degree. He was the president of multiple community-based organizations including notably the Coalition of Religious Leaders of New Jersey and served as the editor of the Central Conference of American Rabbis Newsletter. Upon retirement Steven was honored with the title of Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Ner Tamid.
Steven’s creative instincts during his rabbinic career were predominantly limited to writing and speaking, but in 2017, in anticipation of retirement, he decided to explore that part of him that was visual. A multiple-occasion award-winning photographer, to date Steven’s photographs have been accepted into numerous juried shows including at Studio Montclair, The Belmar Arts Council, Jersey City’s International Museum of Art and the internet-based New York Center for Photographic Art (NYC4PA). In 2025 Steven’s work was accepted into the prestigious statewide New Jersey Council on the Arts "Annual" at the Montclair Art Museum, and was interviewed in a podcast at the Street Photography Magazine website, where his work has been featured on multiple occasions. Most recently, Steven was awarded with the New York Center for Photographic Art’s Grand Prize in their “Decay, Corrosion, Rust” competition.
Steven practices what can perhaps be best described as “observational” photography.
Photo Credit: Nick Levitin