Authors

Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder PhD. is the Rabbi-in-Residence at Be'chol Lashon and the editor of the blog Jewish&. A culinary historian and mother of 2, she lives and meditates in San Francisco. Follow her on Twitter @rabbiruth

Rabbi Larry Bach serves Temple Mount Sinai, the Reform Jewish congregation in El Paso, Texas. He is a leader in his city's congregation-based community organization, Border Interfaith, and is currently serving as Vice President of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, an asylum and legal aid agency. He loves teaching the deep spiritual wisdom of the Hasidic tradition, from a more universal and open perspective. Larry is married, and is the father of three beautiful girls. Away from work, he enjoys road cycling and helping his wife prepare delicious vegan cuisine.

Rabbi Michael Balinsky is the Executive Vice President of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, an organization representing two hundred rabbis of all denominations. Previously he was Director of Faculty Development for the Florence Melton Adult Mini-Schools and was a Hillel director for twenty- two years, over nineteen of those as the director of the Louis and Saerree Fiedler Hillel Center at Northwestern University, after two and a half years as the Associate Director of Hillel at the University of Michigan. He is a long time member of the Jewish Catholic Scholars Dialogue in Chicago and is an executive member of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago. Rabbi Balinsky is a graduate of Yeshiva University where he also received his ordination. He is married to Dr. Myra Rapoport and they are the parents of three daughters.

Laura Duhan Kaplan is rabbi of Or Shalom Synagogue in Vancouver, Canada, a traditional-innovative spiritual community affiliated with ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Laura, also a retired philosophy professor and a faculty member at ALEPH ordination programs, has a passion for teaching philosophy, theology, and spirituality. Laura lives with her husband Charles, psychologist and musician; their two young adult children, who are active in the Habonim-Dror socialist Zionist youth movement; and many companion animals. Follow her blog at onsophiastreet.com.

Pamela Jay Gottfried is a rabbi, parent, teacher and the author of Found in Translation: Common Words of Uncommon Wisdom. An alumna of the Jewish Theological Seminary and Clal's Rabbis Without Borders, Gottfried currently teaches in Atlanta, as well as blogs at Kveller.com and pamelagottfried.com.

Ben Greenberg received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in New York City. He has also completed graduate coursework in both Medieval Jewish History and Public Administration. Rabbi Greenberg has worked in the college campus and in synagogues from Boston to Denver. He is the author of two books and has written numerous articles on topics of Jewish thought, philosophy and contemporary issues. Rabbi Greenberg is married to Dr. Sharon Weiss-Greenberg and together they have two sons.

Rachel Gurevitz is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B'nai Shalom, Westborough, MA. In her congregation she is helping individuals to nourish and deepen their own path to positive Jewish living. Her passions include working on interfaith interaction and cooperation, music, chant, and meditation, and Jewish mysticism. Rachel was ordained at Hebrew Union College where she completed the rabbinic studies she began at Leo Baeck College, London. Prior to this, she received her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from University College, London, researching, consulting and publishing on environmental and sustainable development education from a multi-disciplinary perspective.

Rabbi Heidi Hoover is the rabbi of Temple Beth Emeth v’Ohr Progressive Shaari Zedek, a Reform synagogue in Brooklyn, NY. She was ordained in 2011 by the Academy for Jewish Religion (New York) and holds a MA in Jewish Studies from Gratz College. She was a Rabbis Without Borders Fellow, has been profiled in the New York Times, and has guest blogged for The Lutheran magazine. She is a participant in the Sacred Stories Project, a joint venture between Clal and the National Museum of American Jewish History. Her interests include the relationship between Jews and Germany, the experience and history of conversion to Judaism (she is a Jew by choice), and assumptions made about religious identity based on appearance and other superficial characteristics. Before rabbinical school, she had a career in publishing technology as a consultant and trainer.

Rabbi Rachel Kobrin is the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim (CAA), a vibrant spiritual community in Austin, Texas. A 2009 graduate of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, Rachel is passionate about building Jewish community and engaging people in meaningful prayer, acts of social justice, and transformative Jewish learning. Rachel was the co-founder of Minyan Malei Shirah, a soulful and song-filled Friday night minyan in Los Angeles and is spearheading Selah -- an innovative South Austin satellite community of CAA. She is on the faculty at the Austin Jewish Academy and is a contributing author in the book God: Jewish Choices for Struggling with the Ultimate (2008). Rachel is married to Rick Brody -- also a rabbi -- and they are the parents of Noa and Adin.

Rabbi Tsafi Lev, is a CLAL Rabbis Without Borders Fellow. He is the Rabbinic Director of New Community Jewish High School in West Hills, CA, and a Lecturer for the Fingerhut School of Education Master of Arts in Education program at the American Jewish University.

Rabbi Tamara Miller is a graduate of the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York City. She is currently the Spiritual Director at the Center for Integrative Medicine in Washington, D.C. A CLAL Rabbis Without Borders Fellow, Rabbi Miller also has an independent practice as a Judaics teacher, spiritual counselor and life ritualist.

Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman is the Associate Rabbi of Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, and also blogs for The Huffington Post (particularly on the intersection of Judaism and science), as well as for Science and Religion Today. Ordained by HUC-JIR in Cincinnati in 2007, Rabbi Mitelman received The Cora Kahn Prize from the Cincinnati faculty for the most outstanding sermon delivery and oratory. He is an enthusiastic scholar; having won multiple prizes in Judaic and Biblical Studies at Princeton University, and he is always exploring how the intersection of Judaism and cognitive science can lead us towards greater personal fulfillment and a deeper impact on society.

Rabbi Joshua Ratner is the rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in Cheshire, CT. Ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in May 2012, Rabbi Ratner was a Joseph Neubauer Fellow and also earned a Master's Degree in Midrash and a Certificate in Pastoral Care. He also worked as an attorney for five years prior to entering rabbinical school. Rabbi Ratner is passionate about the interplay between Judaism, public policy, and American culture. He has received training in congregation-based community organizing and was part of the original rabbinical student cohort of Rabbis Without Borders fellows. He and his wife, Dr. Elena Ratner, are the proud parents of Dimitri, Eli, and Gabriella.

Ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Rebecca Einstein Schorr is a CLAL Rabbis Without Borders Fellow and the editor of the CCAR Newsletter. Writing at her blog, This Messy Life, Rabbi Schorr finds meaning in the sacred and not-yet-sacred intersections of daily life. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccaschorr.

Rabbi Amy Joy Small is the founding Rabbi and Director of Deborah's Palm Center for Jewish Learning and Experiences. She was ordained from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1987 and has served congregations in New Jersey, Michigan and Indiana. She is a past president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, with many years of board service. She is a fellow of Rabbis Without Borders and a senior fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute. She is currently on the Board of Governors of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the Jewish Federation of Metrowest NJ, National Interreligious Leadership Delegation for Peace in the Middle East, and the MetroWest NJ Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life. She was a Vice Chair for the National JNFA Rabbinic Cabinet, and served on the boards of Religions for Peace USA, the American Zionist Movement, and the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation Israel Committee. Among her interfaith activities, she co-taught an intensive course, Building Abrahamic Partnerships at the Hartford Seminary. Rabbi Small previously was Dean of Academic Administration and Director of the Education Program at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Rabbi Alana Suskin is an educator, activist, and writer published in dozens of anthologies and journals, including the Daily Beast, Lilith, Sh’ma and "The New Jewish Feminism: Probing the Past, Forging the Future," a finalist in the 2010 National Jewish Book Award. She is a senior managing editor of Jewschool.com, the Secretary of T'ruah (formerly Rabbis for Human Rights-North America) and sits on the board of American Rights at Work. Rabbi Suskin is Director of Strategic Communications for Americans for Peace Now.

Elianna Yolkut is a rabbi without borders, thinker and educator who strives to bring comfort, Jewish wisdom and connection to people at all life stages through a deeper engagement with Judaism. Ordained in 2006 by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, she was later an adjunct faculty member there while serving as assistant rabbi at the Conservative synagogue Adat Ari El in nearby Valley Village. Elly, who holds a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and Sociology from Brandeis University, now lives with her partner and their young twins in Washington D.C. (Learn more at www.rabbielianna.com)