Golden Hanassi Fellow, Yael Schweid, Explores American Reform Community Life with Fellowship

Yael Schweid, one of HUC-JIR’s current Golden Hanassi Fellows, recently spent time with NYC Shaaray Tefila immersing herself in the vibrant life of a North American Reform community. The fellowship allowed her to engage deeply with vibrant communities, like Temple Shaaray Tefila, and learn from leading Reform rabbis. From her recent experience, Yael shared:

“I went to the big city. Not Tel Aviv—New York. I traveled as part of the HUC-JIR Golden Hanassi Fellows to meet a Jewish community that agreed to host me, to shadow a rabbi who welcomed my questions and curiosity. I went to see how a Reform Judaism that does not need to justify itself to Orthodoxy—one that is seen by the majority of the Jewish public as a self-evident possibility and operates in a place with complete separation between ‘church’ and state—is conducted. Of course, Reform Judaism here has its own challenges.

I was a guest at Congregation Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan with Rabbi Joel Mosbacher ‘98, Rabbi Jill Rubin ‘22, and Cantor Todd Kipnis ‘07. I spent 80% of my time with Rabbi Joel and managed to attend eight (!) different services. I joined a baby naming, a bat mitzvah, a challah baking, and the Sukkot activities, which I partly led. I also attended many work meetings with the executive director, the rabbinic and cantorial team, and was invited into the homes of congregants—and so much more.

It was a strengthening, welcoming, and supportive experience. I can’t wait for my second visit to Shaaray Tefila in February!”