Bat-Sarah, Cantor Wendy (AJRCA 2014)
Wendy Bat-Sarah’s impressive professional experience reflects her passion for both, as well as her ability to seamlessly incorporate one into the other.
Schwarz, Chaplain Mitzi (AJRCA 2017)
During the past two years she was a High Holy Days Cantorial Soloist/Shlichat Tziburah at Congregation Am Ha Yam in Ventura. In 2014, Mitzi released her first CD, entitled “Remember Who You Are: Songs of the Spirit”. Upon graduation, Mitzi Schwarz will continue to work for Skirball Hospice as a Chaplain/Spiritual Counselor.
Upon graduation, Mitzi Schwarz will continue to work for Skirball Hospice as a Chaplain/Spiritual Counselor.
Salonius, Chaplain Michael Benjamin (AJRCA 2017)
Michael has pioneered the use of the mythopoetic intervention strategy for use in traumatized veteran and first-responder populations. His thesis for the Academy for Jewish Religion California is entitled “Jewish Mythopoetics: An Archetypal Examination of Four Jewish Stories with Emphasis on Masculine Initiation.”
Shapiro, Cantor Bruce Steven (AJRCA 2017)
For the past 17 years, Bruce has helped thousands of people understand and invest in life insurance. Before entering AJRCA in 2008, Bruce had been a lay-leader at Congregation B’nai Israel in Tustin, California for 10 years.
Friedman, Cantor Daniel Eli (AJRCA 2017)
Daniel Eli Friedman received his Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA in Theatre Arts, with a minor in Music and Philosophy. He went on to spend 15 years as a working actor based in New York. Daniel performed in such well-known musicals as Les Miserables, CATS, Forever Plaid, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. After having a spiritual epiphany, Daniel retired from “Show Biz,” and embarked on a career in “Shul Biz.”
Yussman, Rabbi Rebeccah Ilana (AJRCA 2017)
Rebeccah has worked in synagogues, camps, and other organizations for over twenty years in various capacities and across the country, including Temple Ahavat Shalom, Hillel at CSUN, Kaiserman Jewish Community Center and Beth Tikvah-Bnei Jeshrun in Philadelphia, Camp Hess Kramer, Camp Isaiah, and Camp Menorah.
Young, Rabbi Melvin Alexander (AJRCA 2017)
Upon ordination, Rabbi Mel Young looks forward to supporting a synagogue in its many roles, engage in Jewish education, and never be
far away from aiding those in need of spiritual comfort.
Lawton, Rabbi Allison (AJRCA 2017)
Rabbi Allison Lawton is a graduate of the Academy for Jewish Religion, California. Rabbi Lawton completed her undergraduate and graduate work at Pepperdine University.
Ginsberg-Margo, Rabbi Joshua M. (AJRCA 2017)
Joshua is a native of New York and a graduate of the University of Southern California, Joshua received a B.A. in English (Creative Writing) and East Asian Studies as well as a Master’s degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures, specializing in pre-modern Korean intellectual history.
Freidlin, Rabbi Shira Kaplan (AJRCA 2017)
Shira Freidlin received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and TV from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She holds a Master of Arts in Jewish Education from the Davidson School of Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Shira began her career in Jewish education at her home shul, B’nai Israel of Rumson,…