Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Seven JRF conregations--five on the East coast, two on the West--have new Reconstructionist rabbis and all of them are graduates of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, including four from RRC's class of 2008. Here's a little bit about them [click "read more" to see the full list]:

Temple Beth Sholom in Salem, Oregon, welcomes Rabbi James Israel Greene (RRC '08). James moved to Philadelphia from South Florida after graduating from Florida Atlantic University with a degree in Holocaust and Judaic Studies. He has served as a JRF intern and led music and programming at Camp JRF.

String of Pearls in Princeton, New Jersey, welcomes Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum (RRC '08). Donna holds a B.A. in Ancient Greek from Swarthmore College and an M.A. in Latin Literature from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. While at RRC, she held internships at CLAL (the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership), the Academic Coalition for Bioethics, and Greenfaith (New Jersey's interfaith environmental coalition). She was honored this year by the Forward as an up-and-coming rabbi to watch! Rabbi Kirshbaum will also serve as String of Pearls' Education Director.

Bnai Keshet in Montclair, New Jersey, welcomes Rabbi Darby Jared Leigh (RRC '08) as Assistant Rabbi, working alongside Rabbi Elliott Tepperman. While at RRC, Rabbi Leigh received a bachelor of arts in religion, summa cum laude, from the University of Rochester, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a master of arts in religion from Columbia University. As an undergraduate, he spent a year at Gallaudet University, where he received the President’s Scholar Award. He served for two years as rabbinical intern at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah in New York City, and for two years as the student rabbi for the Ottawa Reconstructionist Havurah in Ottawa, Canada. In addition, Rabbi Leigh has worked as a counselor at the New York Society for the Deaf and as a rabbinic educator with Hillel at Temple and Drexel Universities in Philadelphia.

Mishkan Ha’Am - The Westchester-Riverdale Reconstructionist Group in Yonkers, New York, welcomes Rabbi Ben Weiner (RRC '08). Ben's undergraduate study in Yiddish language and culture led him to pursue programs in New York, Vilnius, and Paris. His interest in the rabbinate began through his work as a b'nai mitzvah tutor. At RRC he continued his work with young people but branched out, serving as a chaplain serving adults with mental illness, the elderly, and terminally ill hospital patients. Rabbi Weiner will also serve as Mishkan Ha'am's Education Director.

Temple Sinai in Amherst, New York near Buffalo welcomes Rabbi Alex Lazarus-Klein ('04). For the past 5 years, Alex has served as rabbi of Temple B’nai Abraham in Bordentown, New Jersey. Shortly after graduating from RRC, Alex served as JRF's Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, acting as liaison between the Reconstructionist movement and the 23 JRF congregations in Central/South Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. In 2006-2007, he served as the Director of Professional Partnership for the Jewish Outreach Partnership where he worked closely with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and the Kehillot, or neighborhood consortiums, of Lower Merion, Center City and Old York Road. Most recently, Rabbi Lazarus-Klein has been in the process of completing the necessary 4 units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA, to become a certified chaplain.

Tzedek v’Shalom in Newtown, Pennsylvania, welcomes Rabbi Anna Rosenfield (RRC '06). Prior to joining Tzedek v'Shalom, Anna served as rabbi of the Beth Samuel Jewish Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Before and during rabbinical school she worked for the Reconstructionst movement, and has served as a geriatric chaplain, as well as a student rabbi for communities in Punta Gorda, Florida; Flemington, New Jersey; and Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. As the daughter of a cantor, Rabbi Rosenfield grew up with a great appreciation for Jewish music and loves to share it with others. [Photo forthcoming.]

Keddem Congregation in Palo Alto, CA, welcomes Rabbi Elisheva Salamo (RRC '97). Rabbi Salamo is the former rabbi of Ner Shalom in Cotati, CA. She is also a Judaic artist who hand crafts magnificent one-of-a-kind talitot. [Expanded bio and photo forthcoming.]