Shanna Zell & Matt Green

Shanna Zell is a fifth-year cantorial student and Matt Green is a fourth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. They both intern at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, where they are also the co-directors of Brooklyn Jews, a community of young Jewish seekers.

NiSh’ma: Chidush

Shanna Zell & Matt GreenFebruary 12, 2017

Leah Sarna’s assertion that Yeshivat Maharat is pushing the envelope today demonstrates precisely the essence of Rav Kook’s aspiration for the old and new to work in concert with one another. To meet this challenge meaningfully, we should recognize that radical religious change is not necessary. A rising generation of American Jews continues to find meaning in the very same rituals of generations past. But it would help if rabbis and cantors would become curious fellow travelers, imbibing the culture of those they serve and curating experiences that reflect these patterns. For example, we might invite people for Shabbat dinner through a dating app, or serve flavors of the Old World as cocktails, or use the Jewishly inflected television show about a trans family, Transparent, as an entry point for discussing Jewish identity and memory.