Rabbi Rachel Barenblat

(Postal address available upon request)

abqiy2@r.postjobfree.com

EDUCATION:, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal transdenominational rabbinic program. Six years of intensive study. Ordained as a rabbi in January, 2011.

ALEPH Hashpa'ah (Jewish Spiritual Direction) Training Program, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. Received ordination as a mashpi'ah / spiritual director, January 2012.

Bennington

College, Bennington, VT. MFA in Writing and Literature,

concentration in poetry, 1999. Studied with April Bernard, David

Lehman, Thomas Sayers Ellis and Jason Shinder.,

Williamstown, MA. BA with Honors in Religion, concentrations in

Women's and Judaic Studies, 1996. Honors

Thesis in Religion, 1996. Focus on literature and creative

writing. Dean's List.

CURRENTLY:

Rabbi,, North Adams MA, present. (Rabbinic student intern, Congregation Beth Israel, North Adams MA, 2005-2010.) Lead services two Shabbatot a month, as well as all festival services; meditation group on Friday mornings; teach in religious education programs; life-cycle events; pastoral counseling and care.

M'saderet/Celebrant, 2003-present. I work with couples and families to create meaningful, personalized lifecycle celebrations (weddings, baby namings, funerals) grounded in Jewish tradition. (Can provide references on request.)

Mashpi'ah / Spiritual Director, 2009-present. I work with clients one-on-one to help them discern the presence of the sacred in their lives and to offer guidance and teaching on matters of faith and spiritual practice. I also offer group spiritual direction.

Contributing Editor,, 2006-present. I contribute regular essays and interviews to this "Jewish journal of thought and culture," an independent literary magazine which exists both online and in print.

Freelance Writer, 1997-present. Credits include the

Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature (Oxford University Press, 2003), the Companion to 20th-Century American Poetry (Facts On File, 2004),

Dovetail, Sojourner, The Forward,,

InterfaithFamily.com and The Hyde Park

Review of Books.

Conference organizer, first annual, 2006. Dreamed up, planned, orchestrated, and ran the first annual gathering for bloggers of progressive faith in Montclair, New Jersey, including panels, keynote presentations, and worship rooted in four different faith-traditions. (Read transcripts and impressions .)

Student chaplain, Albany Medical Center, Albany NY, 2005-2006. Nine months of chaplaincy internship: coursework, interpersonal relations training, and regular rotation as on-call chaplain for this Stage III trauma center serving the Capitol District.

Co-founder/Executive Director,, 2000-2006.

Taught writing workshops, moderated book groups, planned reading series, publicized,

raised funds for and managed this literary nonprofit serving the Berkshire region.

Freelance Editor, 2003-2005. Provided editorial services and coordinate book development on a contract basis. I helped to edit Will Yoga and Meditation Really Change My Life? (Storey Books, a division of Workman Publishing, 2003). I also co-edited Cyber Collaboration: Writings from the Bennington Collective, 2004.

Editor, The Women's Times, 1999-2001.

Selected themes for upcoming issues, assigned articles, edited submissions,

wrote articles/cover stories/reviews, assembled resource guides, oversaw editorial

content, managed the editorial department, and served as a community liaison throughout

the distribution area for both editions of The Women's Times. Served as contributing

editor 2001-2002.

Associate Editor,

Pif Magazine, 1999-2002.

Duties included requesting submissions from prominent poets,

acting as liaison with publishing houses,

handling reprint permissions, and soliciting commentary; also wrote

periodic book reviews and essays.

SERVICE LEADERSHIP

At present I lead davenen (worship services) at CBI two Shabbatot a month (usually the first and third Shabbat), as well as all holiday / festival services and lifecycle services.

In 2011 I co-led shacharit (morning services) on Rosh Chodesh during Chanukah at the third Rabbis for Human Rights conference on Judaism and human rights.

In 2010 I served as the High Holiday cantorial soloist / assistant rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel (CBI), a Reform shul in North Adams, Massachusetts, where I periodically lead Shabbat services. I co-led all services, using guitar, melody, poetry, and song to enliven our worship. I also offered a on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

In 2008 I served as student rabbi for Yom Kippur at the Hillel at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. I led all services, delivered sermons, and taught a study session on the book of Jonah.

Also in 2008 I completed the, a two-year liturgical leadership program offered through ALEPH and taught by Rabbi Marcia Prager, Hazzan Jack Kessler, and Rabbi Shawn Zevit.

In 2007 I led a mincha/maariv/havdalah service for an ad-hoc community which spanned the denominational spectrum and also included those who were unaffiliated, intermarried, and non-Jewish. I also worked with a bat mitzvah student on creating a custom-designed siddur for the occasion.

In 2007 I created a childrens' machzor for CBI. I led childrens' services there during the Days of Awe from 2007 through 2009.

In 2006 I led all services during the four months of the rabbi's sabbatical at CBI.

I also frequently officiate at weddings, baby-namings, and other life-cycle events.

TEACHING WRITING

During my six years at Inkberry I frequently taught creative writing workshops, ranging from an introductory mixed-genre workshop to workshops in poetry and nonfiction. Classes I have taught include "The Lyric Poem," "Poetry of the Numinous," and "Put It In Writing," a mixed-genre workshop aimed at helping women express themselves.

In 2007 and 2008 I taught a workshop called "Standing Tall," offered by Inkberry to the Elizabeth Freeman Center (a nonprofit organization which serves the needs of women who have experienced abuse.)

In 2009 I was asked to teach a workshop called "Writing Your Heart's Prayer,"on writing one's own creative prayers and psalms, at the 13th International ALEPH Kallah (the biennial gathering of the transdenominational Jewish Renewal movement) in Columbus, OH.

In 2011 I was invited to teach a workshop on writing Torah poems at the North Adams Public Library as part of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers (during March, Women's History Month.)

PUBLICATIONS:

I maintain, a regularly-updated blog focusing on Judaism, which BlogPulse and Technorati both rank highly. In 2008, Time.com named Velveteen Rabbi one of the top 25 blogs in the world in its .

During 2008 and 2009 I wrote weekly poems arising out of or in conversation with the Torah portion of the week, which are published at Velveteen Rabbi and are archived on the Velveteen Rabbi Torah Commentary page. These poems, revised and polished, make up the heart of, my new collection of Torah poems (Phoenicia Publishing, 2011.)

During 2005 and 2006 I was a regular contributor to group blog, where I posted frequent divrei Torah. For much of 2004, I was also a contributing editor at, a collaborative Jewish blog.

My poems for the Days of Awe have been printed in a variety of synagogue bulletins and High Holiday supplements around the United States.

The Velveteen Rabbi's Haggadah for Pesach, which aims to enliven traditional sources with midrash, passionate participation, and poetry and which is revised and re-published on an annual basis, was downloaded by more than 2500 people in 2006. The latest version, 7.1, was released in 2011.

Third poetry chapbook, chaplainbook, published by Laupe House Press, 2006.

Short essays on the life and work of Marge Piercy and Thomas Lux appear in, Facts on File, 2005.

An essay on the life and work of Alicia Ostriker appears in The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature, Oxford University Press, 2003.

"To Make Our Hands Holy" appears in The Women's Seder Sourcebook,, Jewish Lights Publishing, 2002.

"It's Better Blurred" aired on The Round Table, WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, July 2002.

Wrote five textbooks (Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, Washington, New York) for an Almanac of the States series published by Gareth Stevens, 2002.

"Is Judaism Necessarily Insular?" appears in

The Guide to Jewish Interfaith Family Life,

Jewish Lights Publishing, 2001.

Co-authored retirement chapter of

Money Order: The Guide to Financial Literacy for

Women, Simon & Schuster, 2001; co-authored wine-tasting chapter of

Tripod's

Tools for Life, Hyperion Press, 1998.

Second poetry chapbook, What Stays, published as part of the Bennington

Writing Seminars Alumni Chapbook Series, 2002.

First poetry chapbook

the skies here,

Pecan Grove Press (San Antonio), 1995.

Poetry publications include The Hawai'i Pacific

Review, Phoebe, Confrontation, The New Orleans Review, The Portland Review.

For a complete publication listing, please see

my .

ECUMENICAL / TRANSDENOMINATIONAL WORK:

PFBC, (Progressive Faith Blog Con), a gathering of bloggers of progressive religious faith, July 2006. I co-chaired the conference and led Friday night prayer.

PANIM interdenominational rabbinic student retreat on the theme of "Social justice and the rabbinate," April 2007. I was a participant and co-led Saturday night prayer.

Summer retreat for emerging Jewish and Muslim religious leaders, through the Reconstructionist Rabbinic College Department of Multifaith Studies and Initiatives, August 2009.

Rabbis Without Borders Fellow, 2012-2013 academic year. MEMBERSHIPS/COMMUNITY:

The Bennington Collective, 1999-present;

President of the Board of Directors, 2001;

Steering Committee,, 2002-2003;

Board of Directors, 2004-2007;

Congregation Beth Israel Religion Committee chair, 2004-2008;

Board of Directors, 2000-2006;

Congregation Beth Israel Chevra Kadisha, 2005-present;

Student member, rabbinic association, 2006-2010;

Board member,, 2009-2011.

Member, rabbinic association, 2011-present.

Member,, 2011-present.

Member, Rabbinic Cabinet, 2011-present.

Member, Board of Directors, 2012-present.

Member,, 2012-present.

Member, Board of Directors, 2012-present.

Member, advisory board, 2012-present.

Last updated November, 2012.

VR: The Blog Hashpa'ah (Spiritual Direction) Parnassah (Income)

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