In her role as Dean of Students and Director of the Jewish Ideas Fellowship at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Gross-Prinz collaborates with students to create an authentic, supportive, and invigorating community of learning. Prior to assuming her role, she was Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Emanu-El of New York City where she launched Gather, a small-group initiative bringing together congregants to learn, grow, and connect more deeply.
A Wexner Graduate Fellow, Rabbi Gross-Prinz has served congregations, organizations, and hospitals throughout the midwest. As a rabbinical student, she was awarded academic prizes for creativity and imagination, as well as for sermon writing and delivery.
Prior to rabbinical school Rabbi Gross-Prinz worked at Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps and the Jewish Outreach Institute. A graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, Rachel studied Sociology, Religion, and the fine art of communal living while producing a thesis entitled “Disorganized Religion,” which integrated ethnography, social theory, and literary analysis. Her graduate research at Hebrew Union College focused on mindfulness meditation in Reform Jewish practice and joy in Jewish education.
Rabbi Gross-Prinz enjoys biking, dancing, and spending time with her partner, Noam, and children Ami, Pele, Lior, and Ziv in Brooklyn, NY.