Rabbi Heidi Hoover
Rabbi Heidi Hoover is the rabbi of Beth Shalom v'Emeth Reform Temple 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.
Articles by Rabbi Heidi Hoover
Claiming Our Spiritual Ancestry
In the year 2000, I was still a newly-minted Jew, having completed my conversion in March of 1999. As Passover ...
Should What is Said on Campus Stay on Campus?
Have you heard of Rachel Beyda? I hadn’t until a week or so ago. Then I began to see the ...
What’s an Interfaith Rabbi?
Last week The New Republic ran a story saying that the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the seminary of the American Jewish ...
Working for Meaning
On January 4, my family and I were privileged to attend the final Broadway performance of the revival of Pippin ...
‘Tis the Season to Create a New Religion
Christmas trees are for sale on every corner, it seems, bringing the scent of the woods to the streets of ...
Intermarriage Questions Go Beyond “How Will They Raise the Kids?”
A couple of years ago I received a call from a long-time congregant, Steve (I’ve changed his name and other ...
Do We Find in the Torah Just What We Want to See?
Earlier this month in The New York Times, Reza Aslan continued an ongoing argument against Bill Maher’s blanket condemnation of ...
Apologizing for Our Parents’ Sins
My mother was born in Germany in 1939. She grew up there, emigrating to the United States in 1968, after ...
Treat Every Person with Dignity
I was a college student doing about 78 mph on my way from Pittsburgh to New York City to visit ...
Jews in the Pew (Survey)
Like everyone else I know who is active in the Jewish community, my Facebook page and email inbox have been ...