Rabbi Aviva Fellman
Even rabbis need to have rabbis. Three years ago we hired Rabbi Fellman, a fifth-year student at JTS, to read Torah and help out in our congregation. As the “senior rabbi,” my job was to serve as her mentor. Rabbi Fellman quickly became a colleague and an important part of our community, not just a student. By the middle of the year, we asked her to stay on as our associate rabbi. Rabbi Fellman has brought a new spirit of joy to our congregation, while dealing with two major hurricanes which devastated our community. During the first hurricane, while I was out of town, Rabbi Fellman managed to call all 300 families in our synagogue to check in on them. Most of all, Rabbi Fellman has inspired me to be a better rabbi. She is warm and caring. A Shabbat does not pass without guests at her dinner table. She teaches and lives Jewish values. Together we have learned and grown.
— Rabbi Mark Greenspan
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
