Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold
Core Semikha, Class of 2013
Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold is the Director of Education and Spiritual Enrichment at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal, one of Canada’s largest synagogues. The first Orthodox woman to serve as synagogue clergy in Canada, Rachel has been the driving force behind many new initiatives to engage young families in synagogue life, and has spearheaded new offerings for young professionals in their 20s and 30s.
Rabba Rachel is the president of the Montreal Board of Rabbis, a vice president of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, and she received the Brenda and Samuel Gewurz Award for Jewish Educational Leadership. She participated in the Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI), a two-year fellowship to help rabbis become transformative change agents in the communities that they serve. She previously served as a member of the clergy of Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in Chicago, is a graduate of the Drisha Scholars Circle in New York, and received her B.A. in Religion from Boston University. Rabba Rachel lives in Montreal with her husband, Rabbi Avi Finegold, and their three daughters.
Available Writings
Title | Type | Category | Topic | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Modern Eshet Chayil - Warrior Woman | Dvar Torah | Ketuvim | Mishlei | May 25, 2021 |
Power Hour of Torah: The Shavuot Edition | Multimedia; Dvar Torah | Video Divrei Torah; Panels and Discussions; Holiday | Shavuot | May 12, 2021 |
If Only… | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Rosh Hashana | 2019/5780 |
Starting the New Year Awake | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Rosh Hashana | 2013/5774 |
Rosh Hashana Address | Dvar Torah | Holiday | Rosh Hashana | 2013/5774 |
We Are Here to Stay | Teshuva | Ordination | Current Articles and Press | February 8, 2017 |
Big Ideas: Growing Old Ain’t What It Used To Be | Article | October 16, 2018 | ||
I Am An Orthodox Clergywoman, And I Am Changing My Title. | Article | June 27, 2019 | ||
It’s okay — Anne Frank had “first world problems” too | In the News | April 21, 2020 | ||
Leading From Behind | Dvar Torah | Bamidbar | Shelach | January 10, 2019 |
Moses The Model Mentor | Dvar Torah | Devarim | Vayelech | March 27, 2019 |
The Rabbinic Intrapreneur | Article | December 4, 2019 | ||
Family Education: Lessons from Sesame Street | In the News | April 28, 2019 | ||
The Maharat Behind the Mechitzah | Fall 2016 |
In the News
Title | Publication | Published |
|---|---|---|
The Changing Face of the Rabbinate | Tablet Magazine | June 8, 2021 |
14 Jewish Women To Watch in 2014 | The Forward | December 31, 2013 |
With synagogues off-limits for the High Holidays, attention is turning to Jewish practice at home | Jewish Telegraphic Agency | August 14, 2020 |