Our Clergy

Rabbi Nicole Roberts

Senior Rabbi

Rabbi Nicole Roberts came to NSTE in November 2012, and was appointed Senior Rabbi in March 2017. Her longtime mentor Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman officiated at her “installation” ceremony in a memorable occasion for the whole community, as Rabbi Nicole became the first woman to be appointed Senior Rabbi in Australia.

Born and raised in Manhattan, Rabbi Nicole moved to Nashville, Tennessee, at age 18 to attend Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Anthropology. Later, she earned a Master of Accountancy degree and worked as a CPA for nine years. During that time, she helped found and served as President of NJOY (the Nashville Jewish Organisation for Young-Adults), joined a Reform synagogue named Congregation Micah and served on its Board of Trustees, and served as Treasurer on the community board of Vanderbilt University Hillel. She regularly attended the URJ Kallah (Adult Study Retreat), as well as regional and national Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) “Biennial” conventions. Falling in love with Jewish study, she took local classes in Talmud and Mishnah, taught herself Modern Hebrew, and in 2007 entered rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College (HUC).

During her five years at HUC, Rabbi Nicole served as rabbinic intern at her home congregation in Nashville, completed 800 hours of Clinical Pastoral Education at two Cincinnati hospitals, and held a seven week internship at Temple Micah in Washington, D.C., under visionary Senior Rabbi Daniel Zemel. She was honoured to receive three academic prizes during her years at HUC: two for highest academic standing, and one for excellence in Midrash. Rabbi Nicole was also awarded the Tisch Rabbinical Fellowship, a three year fellowship granted to only five students each year. The Tisch Fellowship offered extra-curricular enrichment aimed at developing rabbis who think constantly and creatively about what vibrant synagogue life could look like in the 21st century. Rabbi Nicole continues to attend Tisch Fellowship alumni retreats annually.

Rabbi Nicole is a recent past Chair of the Assembly of Rabbis and Cantors of Australasia, served on its Executive as Treasurer for eight years, and served on the Clergy Task Force of Jewish Women International (JWI). Her writing has been published in two volumes of Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman’s popular book series, Prayers of Awe, in Rabbi Menachem Creditor’s Ending Gun Violence: Essays, Prayers, and Poems, in Kenden Alfond’s Feeding Women of the Bible, Feeding Ourselves, in the JWI’s “Rethinking” holiday guides, and in a number of CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis) Press publications, including the current Rabbi’s Manual and its Supplement, the CCAR Journal ("Reform Jewish Quarterly”), and Prophetic Voices: Renewing and Reimagining Haftarah. She has also published articles in the Australian Jewish News, Sydney Jewish Report, and the UPJ (Union for Progressive Judaism) newsletter.

Some of Rabbi Nicole’s initiatives at NSTE have included the Community Wellbeing Program and expanded Care Team of volunteers, the Temple Tribes, “This I Believe, NSTE,” the Teen Torah Tag Team, “Phosphorescence” Rosh Chodesh group (for all genders), “Growing Souls” Shabbat for tots, and the transition to Livestreamed services during the Covid pandemic lockdowns of 2020-2021.

Rabbi Nicole’s non-work passions include hiking in national parks, playing guitar, learning foreign languages, and reading in a beautiful outdoor setting. Rabbi Nicole is married to David Roberts, also a former CPA (now personal trainer and surfing aficionado). The majority of their family lives near Washington, D.C.

Cantor Toby Glaser

Cantor

Cantor Toby grew up in Melbourne and studied at the University of Melbourne, majoring in German and Music History with a Diploma of Modern Languages in French. 

After working as a cantorial soloist at Leo Baeck Centre and Temple Beth Israel in Melbourne, Cantor Toby pursued his passion for Jewish music at Hebrew Union College first in Jerusalem in 2015, and then in New York, graduating in 2020. He sang as a student cantor at Greenwich Reform Synagogue in Connecticut and East End Temple in New York, before working as Cantorial Intern at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Manhattan for three years. He has also taught students at Central Synagogue, Temple Shaaray Tefila and the Jewish Community Project Downtown. On graduation, he began his career at Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco, California, before serving as the first ordained cantor at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Cantor Toby is delighted to be returning home after a decade abroad to serve the NSTE community. 

Cantor Toby has always had a passion for classical and choral music and has studied with leading voice teachers both in Australia and Germany and performed with many of Australia’s opera companies including Victorian Opera, Melbourne Lyric Opera, Melbourne Chorale, and numerous choirs and vocal ensembles. In his worship services, Cantor Tobyloves infusing traditional and well-loved melodies with contemporary flare, leading the community in a variety of musical styles with percussion instruments and guitar. His style is always eclectic, but draws heavily on folk and contemporary melodies, traditional prayer modes and Jewish chant with an emphasis on improvisation and innovation. 

Rabbi Emeritus Richard Lampert z"l

After 26 years as NSTE's Senior Rabbi, Rabbi Lampert retired and took up the position of Emeritus Rabbi on 31 December 2003.  Sadly, Rabbi Lampert died on 22 March 2025. 

Rabbi Lampert was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He spent five years in a printing company before studying at the University of Witwatersrand and the Leo Baeck Rabbinical College in London.

Prior to taking up the position in our congregation, Rabbi Lampert was the Rabbi of Temple Emanuel, Johannesburg for 12 years.  Rabbi Lampert arrived in Australia in 1977 with his wife, Diane, their two daughters, Sharon and Yael, and his mother-in-law, Hilda Wohlgemuth (z"l) who has since sadly passed away.

Under his leadership, the congregation grew from 270 families to over 700 families. Rabbi Lampert was proud that the congregation became affiliated with the largest organisation of Jews in the world, the World Union for Progressive Judaism, which represents over two million Jews world-wide.

View Hesped (Eulogies) here.