Rachel Gross-Prinz

Wexner Graduate Fellow

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute for Religion, Cincinnati, OH

Rabbinic Ordination, expected May 2019

Thesis: Sh’ma Yisrael, Notice Israel: Jewish Mindfulness Meditation & The Reform Rabbinate

Masters in Religious Education, May 2016

Thesis: Joy & Judaism, a Parent Experience for Family Education

Hampshire College, Amherst, MA,

Bachelor of Arts, May 2008

Concentration: Anthropology, Social Theory, Religion

Thesis: Disorganized Jews, an ethnographic study

Assistant Rabbi 2019-2020 Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York

In addition to the full range of pulpit responsibilities:

Youth and Teen Engagement
- Led teen service-learning program
- Launched racial-justice working group

Relationship building and leadership development:
- Collaborated strategically with lay leaders to create a small group initiative called “Gather"
- Empowered and trained lay leaders to lead groups of fellow congregants
Spiritual Leadership:
- Worked one-one-one to nurture the spiritual journeys of conversion students
- Created a mindfulness meditation community at the synagogue

Rabbinic Intern, 2018-2019 and 2015-2016, Isaac M. Wise Temple, Cincinnati, Ohio

Pulpit
- Regularly led Shabbat morning services for a 1,200 member congregation
- Delivered words of Torah at Shabbat morning services
Youth:
- Led services in the religious school for elementary grades
- Created a semester-long educational experience for teens connecting Tikkun Olam with self care
- Led community building programs for elementary age students
Adult Education:
- Led an entire cohort of adults through the Adult B’nai Mitzvah process. This included: coordinating faculty, community-building experiences, and teaching Hebrew and Jewish study seminars/lectures
- Taught various adult education programs on relevant topics such as contemporary spirituality and Jewish text & the #MeToo movement
Family Education
- Organized, planned and implemented annual family retreat
- Led family education and parent-learning programs in the religious school

Rabbinic Intern, 2017-2018, Temple Sholom, Cincinnati, Ohio

Pulpit
- Led shabbat services and offered sermons on Shabbat and High Holidays for groups of 30-300.
- Served as spiritual leader while the senior rabbi was on sabbatical
Youth:
- Created innovative High Holiday worship opportunities to engage families with young children
Adult Education
- Initiated a Shabbat morning mindfulness meditation group
- Led Shabbat morning Torah study on a regular basis
Pastoral Care:
- Sustained relationships with congregants in nursing homes, making regular visits and phone calls to provide pastoral care and some Jewish ritual.
- Provided grief counseling in moments of crisis, loss or illness

Clinical Pastoral Education 2017-2018, Mercy Health/Jewish Hospital Cincinnati, Ohio

Pastoral Care
- Catalyzed sacred moments for diverse patients receiving in-patient care
- Empowered families experiencing death and crisis

Student Rabbi, 2014-2017, Congregation B’nai Abraham, Portsmouth, Ohio and Temple B’nai Israel, Kokomo, Indiana

Pulpit:
- Served as sole spiritual leader to a series of post-industrial communities, including the town considered ‘Ground Zero’ for the Opioid epidemic. Led all services, offered all sermons for Shabbat and festivals
- Performed life cycle rituals, including baby namings and funerals
Community Organizing:
- Collaborated with lay leaders to increase opportunities for community building and ritual observance, including holding one of the largest Passover Seders in recent memory in Kokomo, Indiana

Education and Counseling Fellow Summer 2015, Interfaith Hospitality Network/Family Homeless Shelter, Cincinnati, Ohio

Pastoral Care
- Facilitated intake process for families experiencing homeless
- Supported families during their time in the shelter
- Led mindfulness experiences for parents in shelter
Education
- Created training curriculum to educate volunteers about structural racism and generational poverty in the United States

Education Fellow, September 2014-May 2015, Adath Israel Synagogue, Cincinnati Ohio

Youth
- Facilitated student’s application of Jewish values to daily life and the transition to young adulthood in preparation for B’nai Mitzvah
- Created experiential learning opportunities for language acquisition, cultural exploration and text awareness

Program Associate & Recruitment Coordinator, 2009-2013, Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, New York City, NY

Community Organizing
- Organized campus leaders, secular activists and the Avodah community to spread awareness about Judaism and social justice
20s and 30s Engagement
- Coordinated and supported dynamic events and community building experiences for young Jews in their 20s and 30s at the intersection of Judaism and social justice
- Engaged, supported and organized a growing alumni community and nurtured potential Jewish leaders across the United States
Outreach and Public Relations
- Led information sessions and public relation campaigns to recruit participants from college campuses across the country, resulting in an increased number of applicants to the program

Program Officer, June 2008-July 2009, Jewish Outreach Institute, New York City, NY

Outreach and Synagogue Transformation
- Trained Jewish professionals and lay leaders on inclusion, diversity and community building and synagogue change
- Supervised and coordinated Big Tent Judaism, a national advocacy coalition of organizations working for inclusion and diversity in the Jewish community
Education
- Administered an education and dialogue program for intermarried families in over 40 sites across North America (The Mothers Circle). Supported and coached faculty of the program

Wexner Graduate Fellowship 2013-2017
HUC-JIR Israel M. Bettan Prize 2018 (awarded to the student who has been the most creative and imaginative in a pulpit role)
Ingenuity Award - Hampshire College, 2007 (awarded for co-founding a campus wide Multi-Faith Student Council)
“To Know is Not Enough” Scholarship - Hampshire College, 2004-2008 (awarded for academic merit)

References available upon request.