 We are thrilled to welcome Rabbi Susan Leider as Senior Rabbi at Kol Shofar. Click here for Rabbi Leider’s Videos and Blogs DRASHOT/SERMONS |
A Southern California native, Rabbi Leider received her Bachelor of Music and Masters of Fine Arts degrees from the University of California at Irvine. At the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, she earned her Master of Rabbinic Studies degree in 2002 and rabbinic ordination in 2006. Since ordination, she has served as assistant rabbi and later as associate rabbi at Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles. Prior to attending rabbinical school, she served as principal at the Pressman Academy Religious School and held other positions in Jewish education at the Orange County Bureau of Jewish Education, Temple EmanuEl in San Jose, Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto, Camp Ramah of California, Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo and the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center of Greater San Jose. Combining her love of Judaism and music, Rabbi Leider brings a welcoming presence to multi-generational and participatory services. Encouraging personal growth and connection between people with diverse backgrounds and religious commitments is a hallmark of her rabbinate. By integrating traditional texts with modern sources, she helps Jews to make meaning in their own spiritual journey. At the heart of her rabbinate is the belief that each person has a narrative to share with the community and it is through sharing these stories that we build stronger connections with each other. Rabbi Leider has taught in community-wide learning programs for those interested in conversion to Judaism. In the broader community, she brings her passion to congregation-based community organizing, building power for sustainable social and economic change through interfaith efforts. Her articles have appeared in Conservative Judaism and the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. At the national level, she serves on the Joint Placement Committee for the Conservative Movement. She recently returned from a United Jewish Communities Rabbinic Cabinet Mission to Hungary and Israel. At the Spertus Institute in Chicago, Rabbi Leider is a candidate for a Doctoral degree in Jewish Studies. She has been married to her husband Jeff since 1990 and has three children: Jessie, Sarah and Talia. Rabbi Leider is thrilled to return to the Bay Area after a twelve-year hiatus and is pleased to make Congregation Kol Shofar her new congregational home. Rabbi Leider can be reached 415.388.1818 ext. 110 or sleider@kolshofar.org. |
Join the conversation with Rabbi Susan Leider:
Phone: 415 388-1818 x110
sleider@kolshofar.org
Read: From our Rabbis
Rabbi Susan Leider’s quote in the Marin IJ story:
Holocaust survivors tell their stories at San Rafael event
Rabbi Susan Leider’s Videos and Blogs
Join the conversation with Rabbi Susan Leider.
Marking Sacred Time
Rosh Chodesh Elul, 5772
Click for Rabbi Leider’s bio – top of the page.
Bringing Shabbat into Your Life
August, 2012
Click here for the New York Times link that Rabbi Leider refers to.
Tikkun Olam, Repair of the World
August, 2012
Rabbi Leider’s bio/top of the page
July 11, 2012 • 21 Tammuz 5772
כא תמוז תשע”ב
Dear Congregation Kol Shofar Family:
In my brief time here in this synagogue community, I am profoundly aware of our commitment to social justice in the world. The Talmud tells us, לתקן את העולם – “l’taken et ha olam – to repair the world.” We know that we cannot do this alone. Holy partnerships are essential to the task at hand and I proudly share with you about one such partnership that will place Kol Shofar at the forefront of these efforts. During this past year, the American Jewish World Service (www.ajws.org) accepted my application to join a pluralistic group of thirty rabbis from across North America on a mission to Ghana. Click Here to Learn More.
Participating in such a mission demonstrates our community’s commitment to live out the core values that we hold. The purpose of this mission is to witness the challenges facing people in the developing world and the passion that drives grassroots change. This mission will allow me to work alongside human rights organizations and to further our congregation’s learning about global justice from the perspective of Jewish tradition. This mission will shape how I learn and teach Torah and I will be a part of a growing community of rabbis engaged in building Jewish communities with a commitment to social justice.
I invite you to join me in discussion as I prepare for this mission. There will be multiple portals in which the broader Kol Shofar community can learn about and benefit from this rabbinic mission which will happen August 5 – August 16, 2012.
Friday, July 20 from 6:30 – 8:15 PM, at Belvedere Park, Tiburon
Please join me for Shabbat services, a picnic dinner, a spirited discussion about social justice at Kol Shofar and in the global community.
Click to read Rabbi Zoe Klein’s moving piece about the power of her AJWS mission.
I look forward to sharing more about this journey and experience throughout my drashes at High Holy Days services. In the months to follow, there will be additional opportunities for us to bring the energy, learning and inspiration from the mission into our synagogue. I look forward to having this conversation with you as we seek to deepen Kol Shofar’s commitment to a more just world. May the remainder of your week be filled with blessing.
~Kol tuv – All good, Rabbi Susan Leider
Rabbi Leider speaks to us at our June, 2012 Annual Meeting:
Links:
D’var Torah – Nasso; Israel Religious Action Center of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism
D’var Torah – Mekor Chaim series on Parshat BaMidbar
HOT OFF THE PRESSES…. Senior Rabbi Susan Leider is introduced to the Bay Area Jewish Community this week with an interview in the Jweekly. Click to read article.
—Rabbi Leider is an alumnus and supporter of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies