Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles has responded to a lawsuit filed by its former CFO, Dana Rubin, by submitting a defense and cross-complaint on July 25 that dismissed her allegations as “baseless and without legal merit.” The filing seeks more than $100,000 in damages, calling for restitution, punitive damages and legal fees.
The move follows a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on June 4 by Rubin, who served as finance chief of the Reform synagogue from February 2023 until her dismissal on Jan. 31, 2025. Rubin claims she was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for raising concerns about questionable spending by clergy. She is seeking damages and attorneys’ fees under California’s Labor Code and whistleblower protections.
Rubin’s lawsuit points to more than $30,000 in spending she describes as inappropriate use of discretionary funds by senior clergy. The examples she cites include airfare for family members to accompany rabbis on trips to Israel and a spa visit for the senior cantor.
One of the examples Rubin raises involves a reimbursement request for a first-class ticket to Israel for Rabbi Josh “Yoshi” Zweiback’s wife. She says she discussed the $4,720 charge with Executive Director Jodi Berman. According to the transcripts included in her lawsuit, Rubin pointed out the cost was just below her approval limit and warned that “if someone started digging into any of this, it could look not good.” Berman responded with a one-word reply in all caps: “AGREED.”
Her complaint also points to a June 2024 email exchange in which Rabbi Sari Laufer asked Zweiback if she could use discretionary funds to cover her daughter’s airfare to Israel, writing that “flights to Israel this summer are CRAZY.” Zweiback replied that he had done the same in the past to bring family members along and argued that such spending “benefits the congregation.”
Rubin further contends that she was pressured to sign a management representation letter to outside auditors affirming she had no knowledge of fraud or questionable transactions. She refused, saying she believed the temple had entered into an improper agreement that could violate federal law.
The synagogue’s filing rejects Rubin’s version of events and portrays her termination as performance related. It describes her as an at-will employee dismissed for legitimate business reasons, not retaliation. Among the claims, the synagogue claims that Rubin overstated projected surpluses by $600,000 and $1.8 million in two separate years, ignored follow-up from an auditing firm that could have produced a rebate and disclosed internal salary data in meetings.
It also accuses Rubin of mishandling sensitive information, including downloading data to personal devices, retaining confidential material after leaving and making unauthorized recordings of colleagues. It further asserts that she shared private financial details about clergy with a subordinate in what she referred to as “hot gossip,” prompting the employee to report the incident to human resources.
In its filing, the synagogue argues Rubin misunderstood the purpose of discretionary funds, and the issues she raised were investigated internally and found “largely unfounded.” Rather than disciplining clergy, the congregation says it clarified its policies to address any ambiguity.
Rubin, who has since moved to Texas, maintains that her actions were guided by a fiduciary duty to protect the temple from possible IRS penalties, audits or the loss of its tax-exempt status. Her lawsuit also names 100 unidentified individuals and entities she says were involved in her dismissal, seeking to hold them jointly responsible under California law.
Founded in 1964, Stephen S. Wise Temple is one of the largest Reform congregations in Southern California, operating a synagogue, early childhood center, elementary day school and religious school.
The case now pits a major religious institution against its former finance chief, with both sides preparing for what’s next. For CFOs and nonprofit finance leaders, particularly in faith-based organizations, it serves as a reminder of the risks that can come with raising concerns about spending by top leadership, and the organizational tensions that can follow when financial stewardship and internal politics collide.
