Greetings Sinai Family,
I’m thrilled to announce that Rabbi Rebecca Benoff will be our next Assistant Rabbi at Sinai, beginning on July 1. She will share rabbinic duties with Interim Rabbi, Michael Weinberg and Associate Rabbi, Amanda Greene.
Here is what Rabbi Benoff said in a recent email to us: “I am so excited and honored to be joining the Sinai Community. I was inspired by the way the Congregation has such a rich history and is also looking towards the future. Everyone I spoke to during the interview process was so warm and welcoming and I cannot wait to call Sinai and Chicago home!”
Rabbi Benoff has a deep passion for helping people of all ages to feel included. Here is what she said in her personal essay: “Every person with whom I interact, I hope to inspire their Jewish journey to be one of community and belonging. There are so many reasons why I love what I do as a Rabbi. Bringing people closer to their Jewish identities and creating a sense of belonging are what drive every aspect of my
Rabbinate.”
She has served in a wide variety of roles: student rabbi, educator, a spiritual director of a Jewish camp, and chaplain. Our search Committee members reported how easy it is to speak with Rabbi Benoff, and how much they enjoyed learning from her. She is proud to officiate at interfaith weddings.
Rabbi Benoff grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia as a member of a Reform community. She will be ordained on the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion this May. She has also earned a Master’s in Education Administration from Xavier University, a close partner of HUC-JIR, and will be able to bring that knowledge and experience to our Sinai Community as well.
You can read more about her on her on her personal website,
https://www.rabbirebeccabenoff.com.
I’m deeply grateful to our committee chair Alison Tothy and members Hart Billings, Adrienne Rainey, Clive Kamins, Neal Kulick, Rachel Kline, Alexandra Salomon, and Josh Silverman. I’m also grateful to Rabbi Weinberg for shepherding us through the process and for his excellent contributions to our application form.
Overall, we received extremely high-quality applications to our search. We were able to invite four finalists to visit our community, to meet our search committee and staff, and teach. The caliber of each candidate was fantastic, and Rabbi Benoff was the unanimous first choice of our Committee.
We are lucky to have Rabbi Benoff join the team, and thankful as well to attract such wonderful candidates and see firsthand the high caliber of our Reform movement’s newly ordained rabbis.
Best Regards,
Alec Harris, President