Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari, Senior Rabbi
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Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari is a White, queer, trans person, of Ashkenazi and Italian descent (he eats baked ziti on Rosh Hashanah!). Ari Lev and his partner Shosh are grateful to be part of the West Philly community, surrounded by the big trees and friendly neighbors. He was ordained from the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. He has worked as a Jewish educator, Hebrew School director, and prison chaplain. Ari Lev trained at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST) in NYC, teaching, preaching, and providing pastoral care for congregants of all stripes while developing programing for people 55+. He has completed two units of Clinical Pastoral Education, in both a Geriatric and Trauma Hospital. Ari Lev serves on the faculty of SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva and hopes to make the wisdom of the Talmud accessible to everyone at Kol Tzedek.
Rabbi Ari Lev is most inspired at the intersections of community, activism, and healing. He is committed to Kol Tzedek's deep sense of inclusion, and strives to live a Judaism that is accessible, relevant, and meaningful to all of us. He loves to farm, cook, bike, meditate, and parent his two little ones, Zeev Lucca and Naim Niso. Ari Lev is deeply committed to the creation and embodiment of Torat Hayyim, a living tradition. This requires that our lives be deeply informed by ancient wisdom and practices, and that Jewish traditions learn and grow from our insights and lived experiences. You can read an interview with Rabbi Ari Lev in the Jewish Exponent, his selected teachings, or his weekly Torah blog. |
Rabbi Mónica Gomery, Music Director
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Rabbi Mónica Gomery was ordained by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in June 2017, and is thrilled to serve as Kol Tzedek's Music Director and Prayer Leader. Mónica is passionate about supporting people who have been denied access to, disconnected from, and marginalized by ancient and ancestral spiritual traditions to gain access to these traditions as a resource for empowerment and transformation in their lives, so that they can become vessels for healing and justice in the world.
In addition to her work at KT, she also fulfills this mission by building queer Jewish community and teaching liberatory text as the Associate Director of National Learning at SVARA: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva. Mónica has served as a prison chaplain, a geriatric chaplain, and an educator and prayer leader at numerous organizations. She is also a published poet, and a member of the founding leadership team of Let My People Sing! As the granddaughter of four Holocaust survivors, and a native Spanish speaker raised by her Venezuelan Ashkenazi family in Boston and Caracas, she is deeply grateful for KT's vibrant and diverse singing community, in which she can hear and heal the lost voices of her ancestors. |
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Rabbi Michelle Greenfield, Director of Education & Family Engagement
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At Kol Tzedek, Rabbi Michelle Greenfield can be found playing games, writing stories, and singing songs with the children. She is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and has been working in Jewish education and special education for 15 years in a variety of settings.
In addition to her role at Kol Tzedek, she is a consultant for Jewish Learning Venture's Whole Community Initiative and a private tutor. She is inspired by the creativity and passion that children bring to everything they do and is excited to continue creating opportunities for children to bring their whole selves to Kol Tzedek and to their Jewish learning. Rabbi Michelle has been living in Mount Airy for over a decade. She loves being close to the woods and the creek, and seeing the seasons change in the park. She is also interested in fiber arts and spends her free time knitting, spinning, and exploring natural dyes. |
Nadav Carmel, Operations Manager
Bio coming soon.
Jori Blouin, Facilities Coordinator
Bio coming soon.