Marcia Prager is an American

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

, teacher and spiritual leader. She was Director and Dean of the Aleph Ordination Program (now Emerita), and rabbi of the P'nai Or Jewish Renewal community in

Mount Airy, Philadelphia Mount Airy is a neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Geography Mount Airy is bounded on the northwest by the Cresheim Valley, which is part of Fairmount Park. Beyond this lies Chestnut Hill. On the we ...

Early life and education

Prager was raised in the

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-pag ...

tradition in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. She received a degree from

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

, an MFA from the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

and taught college-level photography classes. In 1984 she moved to Philadelphia, graduating from the

Reconstructionist Rabbinical College The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) is a Jewish seminary in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. It is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Assoc ...

in 1989.

Rabbinic career

In addition to serving as rabbi of P'nai Or of Philadelphia, Prager was also the founding rabbi of a sister congregation, P'nai Or of

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, where she served for thirteen years. In 1990, she also received personal

semikhah ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

from Rabbi

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Meshullam Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (August 28, 1924 – July 3, 2014), commonly called "Reb Zalman" (full Hebrew name: ), was an American Rabbi, writer, and activist, and one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement and an innovator in ecu ...

(Reb Zalman) with whom she worked to advance the Jewish Renewal movement until his death in 2014. Her work involves exploration of

Jewish prayer Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the ' ...

and spiritual practice. Towards that end, she authored and edited the P’nai Or

Siddur A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ''tef ...

for

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

and

Machzor The ''machzor'' (, plural ''machzorim'', and , respectively) is the prayer book which is used by Jews on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized ''machzorim'' on the three pilgrimage festiva ...

for

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

and

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

, which she designed to support a deeper worship experience. Many of the Hebrew prayers have been translated into English in a way they can be sung to the prayer's

nusach Nusach can refer to: * Nusach (Jewish custom) In Judaism, Nusach (, , plural ''nusaḥim'', ) is the exact text of a prayer service; sometimes the English word "rite" is used to refer to the same thing. Nusakh means "formulate" or "wording." ...

(melody). She is co-director with Rabbi Shawn Zevit of the Davvenen' Leadership Training Institute (DLTI), a two-year training program for rabbis,

cantors A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

and lay leaders in public prayer. ''

Daven Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the '' ...

'' is a

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

word for Jewish prayer. She has been quoted for her Jewish Renewal-inspired teachings. Her book ''The Path of Blessing: Experiencing the Energy and Abundance of the Divine'' aims to provide an introduction to Jewish Renewal. Her other publications include the chapter “Live With the Times: Spiritual Direction and the Cycle of Holy Time,” in ''Jewish Spiritual Direction: An Innovative Guide from Traditional and Contemporary Sources'' and “Friendship Counts Most,” the epilogue chapter in ''Interfaith Dialogue at the Grass Roots''. Prager has worked to promote Jewish inter-denominational and

interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religion, religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spirituality, spiritual or humanism, hum ...

, teaching classes in Jewish spirituality in Philadelphia and at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, as well as at

Quaker Meetings Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers b ...

including

Pendle Hill Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation Pendle Hill is a Quaker study, retreat, and conference center located on a campus in suburban Wallingford, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. It was named for Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England, that the first Quaker preacher described as the s ...

in Pennsylvania. Upon completing her rabbinic studies, she did additional training in individual, family and

group psychotherapy Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group. The term can legitimately refer to any form of psychotherapy when delivered in a group format, i ...

. On ''

Tikkun Magazine ''Tikkun'' was a quarterly progressive Jewish and interfaith magazine and website published in the United States that analyzed American and Israeli culture, politics, religion, and history in the English language. The magazine consistently publ ...

s 25th anniversary in 2011, Rabbi Prager was awarded the Tikkun Prize in recognition for her work with the Aleph Ordination Program. She was included in

Letty Cottin Pogrebin Letty Cottin Pogrebin (born June 9, 1939) is an American author, journalist, lecturer, and social activist. She is a founding editor of ''Ms.'' magazine, the author of twelve books, and was an editorial consultant for the TV special '' Free to B ...

's 2007 list ''The Other Fifty Rabbis in America'', and in a 2010 list of "America's most inspiring rabbis" by ''

The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

''.

References

External links

Aleph Ordination ProgramDavvenen' Leadership Training InstituteP'nai Or Philadelphia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prager, Marcia Women rabbis American Jewish Renewal rabbis Jewish Renewal women rabbis Reconstructionist women rabbis American Reconstructionist rabbis Reconstructionist Rabbinical College alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis