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RABBI CANTOR RAINA SIROTY

www.rainasiroty.com

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CONGREGATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Senior Rabbi

Temple Beth El, Knoxville, TN                                                       June 2023-Present

 

Provide visionary and operational leadership across all facets of congregational life as Solo Senior Rabbi of a 220-member community.

 

Ritual/Worship and Adult Education

●     Worship services: Plan and lead meaningful congregational services that integrate music and prayer, engaging participants of all ages. Compile and create services for: Healing Shabbat, Social Justice Shabbat, Confirmation, 2nd day Community Passover Seder, Yom Kippur Afternoon Services for Israel (2024) and Peace (2025)

●     Life Cycle events: Conducted personalized baby naming’s/ b’rit milah, b’nai mitzvah, weddings, funerals, and unveilings

●     Cantorial Duties:  Director of a 6 member weekly Professional Choir. Partnered with a Cantorial soloist. Mentor teens to sing at services. 

●     Adult Education:  Teach Adult Education Classes on Torah, Jewish History, Jewish Music, and the Holidays. Monthly Lunch and Learn on current events.

Classes on the holidays.  Community Speaker at Civic events and other houses of worship.

     

Pastoral Care and Counseling:

●     Bikkur Cholim /Bereavement Counseling. Extensive pastoral counseling experience. Provider of ongoing pastoral and emotional support for congregants in hospitals, convalescent homes, and hospice. 

●     Provide support for conversion candidates throughout the conversion process.

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Social Action/Social Justice

●    Member of Knoxville Interfaith: a broad-based coalition of congregations and community-based organizations in the greater Knoxville area, with the capacity to address community problems large and small.

●   Tennessee Holocaust Commission Presenter and 

●   Brought Confirmands to the Religious Action Center’s L’taken Program in Washington 

●   Helped B’nai Mitzvah students with implementing their B’nai Mitzvah projects 

●   Delivered Social Justice sermons with advocacy opportunities in Knox County.

   

Religious School, Youth/Family Programming and B’nai Mitzvah Preparation

●     Confirmation Teacher for 9th grade and Post Confirmation Program. (Institute of Southern Jewish Life- ISJL Curriculum)

●    Co-Religious School Music Specialist

●    Family Learning Programming

●    Guided B’nai Mitzvah students to discover the meaning of the morning liturgy and their Torah portion, writing their D’var Torah Co-leading the service with student and soloist.

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Senior Rabbi

Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim, Alexandria LA                            July 2017 – June 2023

 

Lead all aspects of congregational life as full-time solo clergy member of 100-member

community, while also serving as the Rabbi for all of Central Louisiana and the Fort Polk Army

Base.

 

Ritual/Worship and Adult Education

●    Create and lead all congregational services through music and prayer for all age groups. Compile and create services for: Healing Shabbat, Union Prayerbook Shabbat, Birthday/Anniversary Shabbat, Camp Shabbat, Religious School Shabbat. Created specific services for holidays and festivals: Family Machzor, 2nd day Community Passover Seder, Tu B’Shvat Seder.

●     Led meaningful lifecycle events including baby namings, b’rit milah, b’nai mitzvah, weddings, funerals, and unveilings for congregation and community.

●    Responsible for all the music for Shabbat and Holiday Services. Director of the Multi-Generational Choir. Mentor to Jr. Teen Cantors. Teach cantillation to students and adults to chant Torah at services.

●   Teach Adult Education Classes on Torah, Jewish History, Jewish Music, and the Holidays and beginning Hebrew classes.  

     

Pastoral Care and Counseling

●     Deliver compassionate pastoral counseling and sustained emotional support to congregants and families across hospital, rehabilitation, army base and hospice settings.

●     Conversion Counseling: Providing support for conversion candidates throughout the conversion process.

     

Social Action/Social Justice

●     Founding member of CENLA Interfaith, broad-based coalition of congregations in the greater Alexandria area, with the capacity to address community problems large and small.

●     Partnered with local churches for annual “Lunch on the Levee” for the homeless on Christmas Eve. 

●     Board Member of Fostering Community, a local organization that improves the lives of children impacted by foster care through advocacy, resources, and support.

●     Delivered Social Justice sermons with advocacy opportunities in our parish.   

 

Religious School, Youth/Family Programming and B’nai Mitzvah Preparation

●     Religious School Director in charge of choosing and implementing curriculum for PreK-Post Confirmation classes. (Institute of Southern Jewish Life- ISJL Curriculum)

●     Teacher of 5th/6th and 7th Grade Class, Kehillah High 8-12th grade and Confirmation

●      Tot and Religious School Music Specialist

●     Support Religious School students in the creation of their own Friday Night Shabbat Service

●     Assist B’nai Mitzvah student to learn the chanting of all prayers and Torah portion. Helping them discover the meaning of the morning liturgy and torah portion. We work on the writing their D’var Torah, encouraging the completion of mitzvah project. Co-leading the service with student.

 

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Temple Isaiah, Los Angeles, CA                 Fall 2001 - Summer 2008, Fall 2012-Spring 2017

Served as part of the education, musical and clergy team of +600-member synagogue throughout Cantorial and Rabbinical programs.

   

  Ritual/Worship 

●     Limited-Service Clergy for B’nai Mitzvah and Shabbat services (2012-2017).  

●     T’filah advisor to song leader and Co-service leader in the Religious School (2012-17)

●     Hired as the substitute Cantor during Cantor’s summer sabbaticals (2006-08)

●     Cantorial Soloist Shabbat/ High Holy Days’, Hasharim adult choir member (2001-05)

      Adult Education, Pastoral Care and Counseling

●     Led Torah Study and Library Minyan services when the Rabbis were away

●     Spiritual Leader for Bereavement Group (2016-2017)

           

Religious School, Youth/Family Programming and B’nai Mitzvah Preparation

●     Religious School Hebrew Specialist: leader of “Hebrew Through Movement”, Hebrew teacher for those with learning issues (2013-2017)

●     T’filah advisor to song leader and Co-service leader in the Religious School (2012-17) 

●     2nd and 3rd Grade Religious School Teacher (2004-2005)

●     4th and 6th grade Sunday School Teacher (2016-17)

●     Assistant Director of Children’s Choir “Cantor’s Chanters” (2004-05, 2012)

●     Instituted a 7th/8th grade curriculum entitled “What was God Thinking-A Guide to the Holidays” (2012-14)

●     Preparer of over 60 students for B’nai Mitzvah (2012-17)

 

Limited-Service Cantorial Positions                                                                     2012 - 2015

While in Rabbinical School, served as the cantor for several Reform communities

●     Temple Shalom, Succasunna, NJ – High Holy Days 2014 and 2015

●     Temple Israel of West Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, FL – High Holy Days 2013

●     Temple Beth El of South Orange County, Aliso Viejo, CA – Interim Cantor September 2012-June 2013

●     Temple Isaiah, Lexington, MA – High Holy Days 2012

 

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Congregation Shomer Emunim, Sylvania, OH             July 2010 – July 2012

 

Full-time Cantor of 500-member congregation 

 

 Ritual/Worship and Adult Education

●     Conducted life cycle events including baby naming’s/ b’rit milah, B’nai Mitzvah, weddings, funerals, and unveilings, both in collaboration with and without the congregational rabbi 

●     Co-created Shabbat and B’nai Mitzvah services integrating new musical selections along with the congregation’s existing musical traditions

●     Delivered monthly sermons on Shabbat

●     Created community-wide breast cancer awareness worship, as well as “Friday Night Live”, religious school focused, and worship honoring synagogue auxiliaries.

●     Facilitated Shabbat Morning Torah study in conjunction with the congregational Rabbi

●     Producer and Director of Multiple Purim Shpiels

●     Musical director of Adult Choir and Children’s Choir, who performed at services, Temple and community events                         

●     Produced and taught an Adult beginning Hebrew Program

●     Taught a Co-Ed adult study group utilizing the Women’s Torah Commentary

●     Collaborated with the Toledo JCC and co-sponsored events with the local Conservative and Orthodox synagogues

     

Pastoral Care and Counseling

●    Provider of ongoing pastoral and emotional support for congregants at hospitals, convalescent homes, and hospice

     Religious School, Youth/Family Programming and B’nai Mitzvah Preparation

●     Envisioned, fundraised and implemented the teen programs “Rosh Chodesh: It’s a Girl Thing” and “Shevet Achim: A Brotherhood” to the Jewish community of Toledo

●     Compiled and created new family machzor for congregational use

●     Implemented and created an age-appropriate music curriculum focusing on holidays and core Jewish values within the Religious School

●     Responsible for young family musical engagement through Tot Shabbat and special preschool age musical and movement programs

●     Manager of the B’nai Mitzvah Program and tutor of 20 students per year

 

Temple Beth Miriam, Elberon, NJ                                   Fall 2008 – June 2010

Student Cantor

●     Co-officiated with Rabbi for Shabbat, High Holy Days’ and B’nai Mitzvah services

●     Director of the Adult Choir who performed for High Holy Days, Shabbat services and within the community

●     Implemented music curriculum with the religious school mentored NFTY song-leader          

●     Co-Director of Children’s Choir who performed at services and within the community

 

Temple Beth El of Huntington, Huntington, NY         Fall 2007 - Spring 2008

Cantorial Intern 

●     Co-officiated for Shabbat, High Holy Days’, and B’nai Mitzvah services

●     Created first trope class at the synagogue to 6th and 7th grades

●     Led Shabbat Morning Adult Learner’s Minyan

 

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati, OH Summer 2020, 2021

Adjunct Alumni Instructor to Rabbi Doctor Gary Zola for the (remote) summer course “An Introduction to the Reform Jewish Experience” for 1st year Rabbinical and Cantorial students.

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA   Fall 2013-Spring 2014

Provided pastoral support and counseling to patients and families of all faith groups, including documenting patient charts as a student chaplain. Collaborated with chaplains of all faiths, and partnered with Jewish clergy to create Shabbat worship broadcast over the hospital’s television channel.

 

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, CA     2014-2015

Taught Synagogue Music Class for 2nd year Rabbinical Students and served as HUC-JIR T’filah Intern and Advisor.

 

EDUCATION

 

Yeshiva University-Wurzweiler School of Social Work (18 credit online program), New York, NY            

             ●    Certificate in Gerontology and Palliative Care December 2022

 

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, CA      

Rabbinical Ordination, May 2017; Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters, May 2014

●     Rabbinical Thesis: “Sisterhood is Powerful: The Impact of Sisterhood on the Reform Movement”

 

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, School of Sacred Music, Jerusalem, Israel and New York, NY       

Cantorial Ordination, May 2010; Master of Sacred Music, May 2009

●     Cantorial Thesis: “The Life and Legacy of Hazzan Gershon Sirota”

 

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, CA      

Mechina Pre-Cantorial Program with Cantor Evan Kent, Michael Isaacson, 2001-2005

                 

University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA      

Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice - highest academic honors, June 2001

 

LEADERSHIP

 

Reform Movement

          ●     Membership Committee Women's Rabbinic Network 

          ●     2nd Cohort of the Eilu v'Eilu Fellowship  (2022) 

          ●     Past President of the Board: Southwestern Association of Reform Rabbis (2020-22)

          ●     Secretary of the Board: Southwestern Association of Reform Rabbis (2018-2020)

          ●     Presenter at URJ Biennial in San Diego (2013) and Toronto (2009)

          ●     Visiting Faculty at Jacobs Camp (2017-22) Camp Coleman (2024) Six Points Sports (2025)

          ●     Visiting Faculty at Goldman Union Camp Institute (2011)

 

Auxiliary Organizations

         ●     Board Member Knoxville Interfaith

          ●    Tennessee Holocaust Commission 

          ●     Board Member of The Jewish Federation of Central Louisiana

          ●     Vice President Alexandria Holocaust Memorial Organization

          ●     Jewish Heritage Chair, Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority

          ●     Board Member of the Central Louisiana Fostering Community

          ●     Founding Member of Alexandria's Interfaith Assembly

 

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

         ●     HUC-JIR student group secretary, Volunteer at HUC Soup Kitchen

         ●     Participant in “Germany Close Up-American Jews Meet Modern Germany” Program

         ●     Participant in FSU Pesach Project in which I led Passover Seders in Belarus

 

American Conference of Cantors/ HUC-JIR Alumni/Cantors Assembly

        ●     Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music (DFSSM) Working Group committee 

         (June 2011-2014)

        ●     DFSSM Recruitment committee (2014-17)

        ●     Chazzanut presentation-Cantors Assembly Conference (January 2008, 2013, 2014)

 

Hillel/UCSB

        ●     Co-led services for the Graduate & Professional group of USC/UCLA Hillel

        ●     Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority, Jewish Heritage Chair, Alpha Epsilon Phi liaison to Hillel

        ●     UCSB Hillel, IU Hillel Membership Chair

 

ACADEMIC AND PERFORMANCE AWARDS

         ●    HUC-JIR Rabbinical scholarship recipient

         ●    American Jewish Archives Fellowship

         ●    HUC-JIR Cantorial scholarship recipient

         ●    Dean's List

         ●    National Organization of Collegiate Scholars

         ●    Golden Key Honor Society

         ●    UCSB Excellence at Entrance Award