Rachel Kohl Finegold Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Rabba
Rachel Kohl Finegold
Synagogue:Moriah Congregation
Deerfield, Illinois
Birth Name:Rachel Kohl
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York
Denomination:Orthodox Judaism
Spouse:Avi Finegold[1]
Alma Mater:Boston University
Yeshiva Maharat

Rachel Kohl Finegold (born 1980) is an Open Orthodox Rabba at the Moriah Congregation in Deerfield, Illinois. She was the first Orthodox woman to serve as synagogue clergy in Canada, serving as Associate Rabba at Congregation Shaar Haashomayim in Montreal until 2023.[2] [3]

Biography

Kohl Finegold grew up in Brooklyn, New York, before attending Boston University, where in 2003 she earned a B.A. in Religion with a minor in Psychology. In 2007, she received a certificate from the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education in New York.[4] [5] She interned at the Ohev Sholom Synagogue in Washington, D.C., before spending six years as Education and Ritual Director at Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel in Chicago.[6] In June 2013, she was one of the first three women to graduate from Yeshiva Maharat, a four-year program in The Bronx that ordains Orthodox women as spiritual leaders.[7]

In August 2013, Kohl Finegold became the Director of Education and Spiritual Enrichment at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal, the largest and oldest traditional Ashkenazi synagogue in Canada.[8] In doing so, she also became the first Orthodox woman to serve as synagogue clergy in Canada. In 2019, she changed her title from Maharat to Rabba.[9] Since 2019 she has been the president of the Montreal Board of Rabbis, and since 2020 she has served as Vice President of the International Rabbinic Fellowship. In 2022, Kohl Finegold created the podcast Verses, which draws links between Broadway and Torah.[10]

In 2023, she became rabbinic leader of the Moriah Congregation in Deerfield, Illinois, where she lives with her husband Rabbi Avi Finegold and their three children.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rachel Kohl Finegold. 2012 Double Chai in the Chi. Oy!Chicago. January 13, 2014. 2012.
  2. Web site: Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold - Congregation Shaar Hashomayim. 2022-02-13. www.shaarhashomayim.org.
  3. Web site: Meet Our Rabbis. Moriah Congregation. January 25, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240125073851/https://moriahcong.org/about-moriah/rabbis/.
  4. Web site: Meet the Maharats: Questions for Rachel Kohl Finegold. Breger. Sarah. Moment. 22 May 2013 . January 13, 2021.
  5. Web site: Jewish Women's Archive. Profiles: Rachel Kohl Finegold. January 13, 2021.
  6. News: Arnold. Janice. Montreal Orthodox shul hires first female clergy. The Canadian Jewish News. April 12, 2013.
  7. Web site: Bronis. Leeor. The Orthodox Madame Rabbi. Women in the World. The Daily Beast. December 24, 2013.
  8. Web site: 24 Jews who are changing the world. April 1, 2015. The Canadian Jewish News. en-US. February 14, 2019.
  9. Web site: I Am An Orthodox Clergywoman, And I Am Changing My Title.. 2022-02-13. forward.com. 27 June 2019 .
  10. Web site: Esther D. . Kustanowitz. 2022-02-09. 'Verses,' a new podcast, connects the Bible and Broadway. 2022-02-13. eJewish Philanthropy.