Rabbi Suzie Jacobson

Rabbi Suzie Jacobson (she/they) serves as Rabbi and Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Israel, a community that has long been her home. She received a Masters in Jewish Education and was ordained as Rabbi by Hebrew College in 2015 after a six-year immersion in the texts and tenacious creativity of the Jewish people. Prior to rabbinical school, Suzie was on the path to becoming a scholar of Jewish Philosophy, receiving a MA from the University of Chicago Divinity School, a BA in Jewish thought from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and a BA in history from Columbia University. Though formal study provided many necessary skills towards the rabbinate, her  dearest teacher was her six years as educator and intern at Temple Israel where she learned what it means to be a part of a creative and loving congregation. She and her spouse JoJo are thrilled to raise their children Yitzy and Ruben at Temple Israel and to make a home in the community. 

Why be a Rabbi?

“In 2008, I found myself wholly engaged in my graduate studies. I was surrounded by incredible Jewish ideas, but utterly bored by the prospect of spending my life writing very long papers that few would take the time to read. At the time, I was teaching a 4th and 5th grade religious school class to supplement my student loans. After a particularly excellent session spent building a four foot model of Mt. Sinai, I realized that the ethical conversations I had with the kids over paint and paper mache were no less important or deep than the 30 page paper on Kant I had just turned into my professor. As a rabbi, I am able to engage with the deepest human questions in community:What does it mean to be just? Is there a God? What is the purpose of human life? Together we ask and answer these questions in real time, in accessible language, and most importantly, with our actions and care for each other and our planet.”

— Rabbi Suzie Jacobson