I am proud to be receiving my smicha (ordination) as a rabbi this January through the ALEPH Ordination Program.

For years I had been deeply affected by the words and spirit of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. So it has been a greater honor than I could imagine to study and find my rabbinic footing in the movement that grew from his leadership. My teachers in the ALEPH Ordination Program have been brilliant scholars, soulful mystics, and surefooted innovators, and I am humbled to have been able to learn from them.

This ordination was a long time coming for me – a journey of more than half a century since I first felt the call to be a rabbi. Now I ask you to join me in supporting the next generation of Jewish leadership by making a donation in honor of my smicha. Your donation will support the Ordination Program's scholarship fund, making it possible for the widest range of inspired Jewish leaders to come through and add to the richness and wholeness of our people and this world. (Photo by Lorenzo Valensi)