Rachel Kohl Finegold
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Rachel Kohl Finegold (born 1980) is a
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
-based Open Orthodox
Rabba Rabba () is a town in Jordan in the Karak Governorate. As ancient Areopolis, it is a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. Rabba lies about 15 kilometers north of the city of Al-Karak. It had a population of about 7200 in 2015. ...
at Congregation Shaar Haashomayim, and the first Orthodox woman to serve as synagogue clergy in Canada.


Biography

Kohl Finegold grew up in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, before attending
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
, where in 2003 she earned a B.A. in
Religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
with a minor in
Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
. In 2007, she received a certificate from the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education in New York. 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 Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel (Hebrew for: "People of Peace" followed by "Children of Israel") is a Modern Orthodox congregation located in the Lakeview neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Illinois. History The Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Co ...
in Chicago. In June 2013, she was one of the first three women to graduate from Yeshiva Maharat, a four-year program in
The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
that ordains
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
women as spiritual leaders. In August 2013, Kohl Finegold became the Director of Education and Spiritual Enrichment at
Congregation Shaar Hashomayim Congregation Shaar Hashomayim () is an Ashkenazi synagogue in Westmount, Quebec. Incorporated in 1846, it is the oldest traditional Ashkenazi synagogue in Canada and the largest traditional synagogue in Canada. History Former building of Sha ...
in Montreal, the largest and oldest traditional Ashkenazi synagogue in Canada. 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. 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 The International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF) is a Modern Orthodox rabbinical organization founded by Rabbis Avi Weiss and Marc D. Angel in 2007 and soon elected Rabbi Barry Gelman as its president. The group is open to graduates of Yeshivat Chovevei ...
. In 2022, Kohl Finegold created the podcast Verses, which draws links between Broadway and Torah. Kohl Finegold lives in Westmount with her husband Rabbi Avi Finegold and their three children.


See also

*
Sara Hurwitz Sara Hurwitz is an Open Orthodox Jewish spiritual leader. She is considered by some to be the first female Orthodox rabbi. She serves as "Rabba" at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, and the president and co-founder of Yeshivat Maharat, both in ...
*
Dina Brawer Dina Brawer (born Dina Elmaleh) is an Orthodox woman rabbi and the founder of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance division in the United Kingdom (JOFA UK). Brawer received her rabbinical ordination at Yeshivat Maharat in the United States and is ...
*
Shira Marili Mirvis Shira Marili Mirvis (Hebrew: שירה מרילי מירוויס; born 1980), is an Israeli Religious Zionist leader and teacher. In April, 2021 she was chosen as the spiritual leader of thShirat HaTamarsynagogue in Efrat, Israel. She is the first ...
* Alissa Thomas-Newborn


References

1980 births Living people Boston University alumni Canadian Orthodox Jews Open Orthodox Jews Modern Orthodox Jewish feminists Clergy from Montreal Orthodox women rabbis People from Brooklyn {{Judaism-bio-stub