Thrilled to serve as Interim Rabbi for Reconstructionist Bet Am Shalom Synagogue in White Plains, New York, for a year (2024-25), I am Founder & Chief Rabbi of Joyful Jerusalem Lifecycles & Destination Celebrations.
Over the past decade I have conducted soulful, egalitarian bar-bat mitzvahs in Israel and officiated at weddings and other life cycle ceremonies around the globe. I continue officiating at events in the United States, and will do the same in Israel and abroad when my interim service is completed.
My greatest passion has been working with young people as they learn about Torah & mitzvot, find inspiration in their heritage and take pride in their Judaism. I help students find their voice and express their unique vision of a better world. I celebrate as they identify the gifts they bring and wish to share in this life. This joyful and inspiring project is the one to which I have dedicated myself at Joyful Jerusalem!
I am the creator of the Sacred Hebrew Chant & Drum Experience TM and was a co-founder of VOCOLOT an internationally acclaimed ensemble with whom I performed for a decade and recorded 3 CDs. In addition to recording a 4th CD with singer-songwriter Naomi Hannah I’ve composed a collection of original chants and niggunim.
Prior to making aliyah in 2012, I was senior rabbi of former Congregation Beth Israel Judea, in San Francisco, and over the years I continued to serve in the US as both High Holiday Rabbi and Musical Liturgist. These synagogues included USCJ Temple Sinai, Cinnaminson, New Jersey, USCJ Sof Ma’arav in Honolulu, Hawaii USCJ Temple Beth El, Poughkeepsie, New York and former Reconstructionist Congregation Beth Emeth, Hewlett, New York. I teach Judaism individually to students young and old as well as to families and I offer spiritual & pastoral counseling for every life circumstance. A member of the Hevraya of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and trained in a variety of body-mind healing disciplines, I was certified as a Jewish meditation instructor at Chochmat Halev in 1998.
In my spare time I cook vegetarian food, hang out with my five sabra nieces & nephews, hike, swim, make beaded jewelry and sing around the table after a great Shabbat meal, with a pop-up vocal ensemble with the Kibbutz Revadim band, or perform new country & contemporary roots music.
Early career
After completing my rabbinic training in 2003, I became the spiritual leader of USCJ Temple Beth Shalom, Brigantine, a small island just North of Atlantic City, New Jersey. During that time I also taught adults at Reconstructionist Congregation Mishkan Shalom in Philadelphia. Prior to my rabbinic studies I served as Cantorial Soloist and Coordinator of the Bar & Bat Mitzvah Experimentation Program at Kehilla Community Synagogue under the supervision of Cantor Linda Hirschhorn, Rabbi Burt Jacobson z’l and Rabbi Zari Weiss.
As an undergraduate I studied voice at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. During rabbinical school I was the student-intern at the Kolot Center for Jewish Women and Gender Studies and also as a chaplain-in-training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. My student pulpit was at URJ Temple B’nai Israel in Laconia, New Hampshire. I received a Master’s degree in Hebrew letters and was ordained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2003 and I hold a BA in Human Movement Studies from San Francisco State University with a minor in Holistic Health. Trained at the ReSource School of massage therapy, I am a former member of the Bay Area Body Therapy Guild, where I co-edited our professional newsletter for seven years. I also worked as a therapeutic bodyworker for a decade and I have served many tours as a work-scholar at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
Professional Activities
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- Rabbinic Vice Chair (former), International Association of Rabbis for Women of the Wall
- Member, Rabbis for Human Rights Israel and North America (former)
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- Member, Hevraya, Institute for Jewish Spirituality (current)
- Member, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (current)
- Member, OHALAH, Rabbis for Jewish Renewal (current)
- Member, Neshama, Associate for Jewish Chaplains (current)
- Member, MARAM, the Israeli Council of Progressive Rabbis (former)
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- Co-Chair (former), Year of Civil Discourse Task Force, NORCAL Board of Rabbis
- Rabbinic Advisory Committee Member (former), Shalom Bayit Jewish Response to Domestic Violence
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- Rabbinic Advisory Council Member (former), Progressive Jewish Alliance
- Rabbis Circle Member, Year of Civil Discourse (former), San Francisco JCRC, Jewish Community Relations Council
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- Founding Member, Women Clergy Network, San Francisco Interfaith Council
- Founding Member, Rabbis for Respectful Dialogue
- Steering Committee Member (former), Friends of Women of the Wall – Bay Area
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- Member, Clergy Advisory Council (former), CLUE, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice
- Member Synagogue Transformation and Renewal (STAR), PEER Alumni Association for Professional Excellence in the Executive Rabbinate (former)
Rabbi Rosalind Glazer at Robinson’s Arch and with colleagues at the Western Wall.