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Rabbis 2015
Wayne Franklin
Rabbi Wayne Franklin, the senior rabbi of our congregation of over 750 families, embodies the multiple and diverse skills that a rabbi must have in order to connect with congregants and lead the synagogue community in an effective way. Rabbi Franklin accepts congregants and other members of the Jewish community on their, not his, terms….
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Rabbis 2015 Arthur Ocean Waskow
The Shalom Center is a national organization, so its community reaches across the U.S. But though the thousands who are inspired by Rabbi Arthur Waskow to fulfill the mitzvot of tzedakah and tikkun olam may live many miles apart, they form a community dedicated to core Jewish values of caring and healing. For that ever-growing…
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Rabbis 2015 Laura Geller
For 20 years, Rabbi Laura Geller has encouraged congregants to discover holiness in their lives, and to fulfill Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills’ mission statement, which reads: “We honor each individual’s unique Jewish journey at every stage of life.” Recently she led the congregation and the wider L.A. Jewish community to honor a new stage…
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Rabbis 2015 Avi Winokur
Rabbi Avi Winokur has been a leader in many ways. He is warm and welcoming, but also insightful. His combination of intelligence and passion has brought many new and diverse members to our synagogue. Rabbi Winokur has a son who struggles with very serious health conditions. Watching the grace with which Rabbi Winokur handles this…
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Rabbis 2015 Shefa Gold
I completed a two-year chant leadership program called Kol Zimra with Rabbi Shefa Gold in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her unique style allowed me to connect with Hashem (God) and the divine essence within myself. Through repetition of sacred text, chanting took me to a place where I could reframe and recontextualize my life’s experiences so…
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Rabbis 2015 David Joel Wolpe
Though Rabbi David Joel Wolpe’s community comes together through social media, he inspires 55,125 Facebook followers six days a week with his insightful comments on Shabbos, Torah, life, and our relationship with God, His world, and each other. I have shared so many of Rabbi Wolpe’s thoughts with my own Facebook friends that many of…
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Rabbis 2015 Samuel Gordon
Rabbi Samuel Gordon has made a difference and enriched our community through providing spiritual and personal guidance, provocation and inspiration, and serving as the still point in a turning world. For many years, Congregation Sukkat Shalom did not have its own building in which to conduct worship services or to gather. Instead, congregants were truly…
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Rabbis 2015 Eric Woodward
In just 20 months, Rabbi Eric Woodward has made a powerful impact on Jewish Columbus, Ohio, both communally and individually. From the start, Rabbi Woodward was eager to work with people whose spouses are not Jewish, people who are themselves considering conversion, or whose children have intermarried — people who sometimes struggle to feel comfortable…
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Rabbis 2015 Lisa Grushcow
Inclusive. Sure, I could say “inspirational,” because she is that, but I was looking for one word to define Rabbi Lisa Grushcow — and that word is “inclusive.” As a newly disabled Jewish woman, I have noticed that most people dismiss the disabled. Rabbi Grushcow made sure that there was a visible ramp in front…
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Rabbis 2015 Elizabeth Bahar
As Temple B’nai Sholom’s sole full-time employee, Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar is an administrator, spiritual leader, teacher, event planner, media spokesperson, and parent. With that many hats, there’s barely room for a kippah, yet she’s also a leader in the wider community. “Welcoming the stranger” sounds easy in principle; it’s a lot more difficult when many…
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Rabbis 2015 Leslie Gutterman
I served with Rabbi Leslie Gutterman first as cantorial soloist, and later, as ordained cantor. He was my first and most profoundly influential mentor, and I know that other rabbis and cantors who served with “Rabbi Les” would make this same claim. His remarkable capacity for kindness, patience, humor, insight and true menschlichkeit make Rabbi…
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