Resume

Rabbinical Experience

Temple Or Elohim (300 Families) Jericho, NY

Solo Rabbi, July 2017 – June 2018

• Crafted personalized lifecycle rituals for baby namings, weddings, recommitment ceremonies, bnei mitzvah, funerals, and unveilings.
• Taught adult education classes on Torah, middot (Jewish values), and holiday customs.
• Organized guest speaker series covering immigration, racism, and anti-Semitism.
• Designed and implemented engaging lesson plans for students in grades K-6, infusing Jewish values through song-leading with guitar, hands-on learning, and discussion.
• Created innovative programs for busy families with the Familyhood Committee.
• Partnered with the Interfaith Council to bring together Christian, Muslim and Jewish teens to break for a relationship-building event and Ramadan break-fast.
• Created organizational systems to boost communication between staff members, enabling us to better address congregant needs.

Temple Emanu-El (140 Families) Utica, NY

Solo Rabbi, 2011-2017

• Fostered meaningful relationships with hundreds of Jews, through one-on-one meetings, Havdalah dinners, house meetings, pastoral visits, and home hospitality.
• Revitalized the adult education committee, by mentoring leaders, inspiring new offerings, and expanding the scope of the committee’s work.
• Oversaw a multi-tiered focus on welcoming the stranger, with text study, speakers, volunteer opportunities, advocacy work, fundraisers, and family involvement.
• Taught classes including Bagels and Torah, Israel, Sacred eating, ethics, intro Judaism, Biblical Hebrew, Adult Bnei Mitzvah, Pirkei Avot, and civil discourse.
• Rejuvenated youth outreach, education and offerings for children of all ages through tot shabbat, family services, family playgroups, PJ library, and trips.
• Implemented a parents’ coffee hour during religious school.
• Designed religious school curriculum, with family learning opportunities, including a bnei mitzvah course, which culminated in a hike up a metaphorical Mount Sinai.
• Led intergenerational trip to Israel, with 22 participants.
• Spearheaded a visioning campaign to refocus congregational goals in alignment with the changing landscape of Utica Jewry.
• Reinvigorated worship through thoughtful musical selections and guitar, and the creation of a temple band.
• Served on the steering committees for the Jewish Community Federation of Utica, the Reform Jewish Voice, and the Interfaith Coalition of Greater Utica.
• Frequently spoke at prayer breakfasts, interfaith events, churches, and rallies in support of Refugees, Planned Parenthood, racial justice, and LGTBQ rights.
• Co-Founded InterFaith Matters, a group committed to community dialogue, text study, and social justice work to support the welfare of the diverse Utica population.
• Cultivated relationships with political leaders in the area. Served on the steering committee of Utica Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative (ESPRI).
• Participated in America’s Journey for Justice, Summer 2015.

Jewish Home Lifecare Nursing Home New York, NY

Rabbinic Intern, 2010-2011

• Partnered with clergy to create meaningful Shabbat services, with careful consideration for the needs, desires, and abilities of residents and their families.
• Provided pastoral care in individual and communal settings.

Related Experience

Crane Lake Camp Stockbridge, MA

Faculty, Summer 2016

Wandering Jews of AstoriaAstoria, NY

Founder and Leader, 2009-2011

• Co-founded a minyan for Jews in their 20s and 30s. Beginning with monthly services and potlucks of in our homes, the group has now expanded to include social and holiday events, with a membership base of over 400 people.

Hebrew Union College Soup KitchenNew York, NY

Volunteer Coordinator, 2008-2010

Education

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion New York, NY

Masters in Hebrew Literature, April 2010

Smikha (Rabbinic Ordination), May 2011

Thesis Topic: Ritualization of Self and Other: Purim as a Coping Mechanism

URJ’s “Engaging Families with Young Children” Community of Practice training, 2012-2013

Jewish Funds for Justice: community organizing training, Fall 2010

American Jewish World Service: Rabbinical Student Delegation to Mexico, January 2010

Presbyterian-Weill Cornell HospitalNew York, NY

One unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, Summer 2009

University of HartfordWest Hartford, CT

Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy, Religious Studies minor, May 2004