Adas Israel, Prominent Washington Synagogue, Hires Co-Senior Rabbis
Image by Wikimedia
(JTA) — A prominent Washington, D.C., synagogue has hired co-senior rabbis.
Adas Israel announced Monday that it hired Rabbis Lauren Holtzblatt and Aaron Alexander to succeed Gil Steinlauf, who left the congregation four months ago to create an Innovation Lab for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Adas Israel President Ricki Gerger in the announcement of the new leadership said Holtzblatt and Alexander “are already recognized as two of the most celebrated and prominent rabbis in the nation, and as role models for clergy working in our movement and beyond.”
“They have both distinguished themselves as scholars, teachers, innovators, leaders, and as individuals of extraordinary sensitivity and caring,” he said.
The rabbis already have been working together at the congregation.
“While this partnership model is new to Adas Israel, it is not new to these two rabbis, nor to the synagogue world as a whole, Gerger said.
During her association with the congregation, Holtzblatt has revitalized its caretaking and bereavement efforts, co-created the MakomDC adult learning curriculum and led the “Return Again” worship services, the announcement said.
Alexander served for 10 years as associate dean and lecturer in rabbinic and Jewish law at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
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.
