Rabbis 2014
For many mortals, Psalm 23:4 is an exaggeration. It is scary to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, which is why I am inspired by Rabbi Rena Arshinoff, a trained nurse who works as a chaplain specializing in palliative care. Last winter, my daughter died in utero two days before her scheduled…
In 2002, a recording of Martin Luther King giving a speech at Beth Emet The Free Synagogue in 1958 was discovered in a congregant’s home. In 2012, the tape prompted Rabbi Andrea London to invite members of a nearby Baptist church to co-host a Shabbat evening to discuss race relations in our community. The evening…
Rabbi O left the corporate world to become the best rabbi I’ve ever had. He is an incredible teacher, and has made this 77-year-old science nerd a lover of history, and achieved the impossible: I now meditate most mornings! He married my partner and me two years ago, and when marriage equality passed in Washington…
As an Orthodox rabbi, some students expect him to force them to think and feel a certain way about their Judaism. That has never been the case. Through weekly learning with students, Moshe demonstrates an intense passion for Torah alongside a commitment to knowledge of all sorts of other kinds — regularly delving into side…
He is the glue for a 90-family congregation of the “Frozen Chosen.” He travels throughout a 200-mile radius, teaching Hebrew to children and adults, leading home Shabbats and making hospital and sick calls. For 25 years he has been as constant as the Northern Star. — Jerry Goldberg
Rabbi Natkin entered the rabbinate with the sole purpose of becoming a military chaplain, and he served for 25 years in the Navy and the Marines. The glory he sought was to bring Judaism and spirituality to our troops overseas, often following them into the field and conducting “Shabbat” services regardless of what day of…
Rabbi Falcon helped heal the childhood wound in my soul of being “half” Jewish; not quite acceptable in my Jewish family and not understood in my non-Jewish world. This left me feeling intimidated and inauthentic. In 1996, I walked into a Rosh Hashanah service lead by Rabbi Ted. The congregation was warm, happy and engaged….
I moved to Jacksonville, Fla., almost two years ago with my fiancée (now my wife). We were in the midst of planning our wedding in Jacksonville and had yet to find a rabbi to marry us. All of the synagogues in Jacksonville required us to become members in order to perform our ceremony. Since we…
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…
Searching for a shul within walking distance of my new home in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood, I tried the Temple of Aaron and found it not to my liking. Let’s be honest — as an aging Conservative synagogue, it seemed to be dying. A year later, my grown daughter suggested I try the shul…
I am 26 years old. I am not Orthodox. I go to shul. In some ways, I believe these three statements alone should be enough to convince you how amazing this rabbi is. How is she amazing? Let me count (just a few of) the ways: Rabbi Orenstein tries to connect the parshah to situations…
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