The Central Conference of American Rabbis, Reform Judaism’s rabbinic professional leadership organization, is home to more than 2,000 Reform rabbis across North America and beyond. And while Reform rabbis wear many hats, often at the same time—Torah scholar, officiant, pastoral counselor, chaplain, educator, organizational leader, activist—they also serve in a wider range of settings, changing the shape of the sacred work of the rabbinate with innovative new visions for Jewish communal life.
We’re proud to share the stories of CCAR members who are taking our ancient Jewish traditions and imaginatively and courageously building new programs, practices, collaborations, communities, and transformational approaches to Reform Judaism. We’re also sharing how, even in dark times, so many CCAR members find joy as rabbis, and we share their hopes for the future of the Reform rabbinate and Reform Judaism.
Rabbi Stacy Schlein was ordained at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in 2001 and received her Master’s in Jewish Education from the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in 2017. After serving in congregations including The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Cleveland, she is now the Director of Educational Capacity Building at the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, a renowned organization that aims to create transformative, meaningful Jewish educational experiences for Jewish children and families in Cleveland. Here, she shares how Jewish learning and innovation are at the center—and future —of her rabbinate.
How do you describe your approach to your rabbinate?
My rabbinate has grown, shifted, and changed over the years. Throughout it all, my focus has been on learning. My main passion is the Jewish spiritual and educational growth of children. In my current role, I support the synagogue’s early childhood and retreat programs in Cleveland.
How has your rabbinate evolved throughout your career?
My rabbinate has always centered around teaching. I have consulted with a children’s author about Judaic content, worked as a chaplain, ran a weekly family learning program, served as an education director in a synagogue and now at the JEC. I am grateful for the opportunities to expand and grow throughout the years. After being a rabbi for twenty-four years, I appreciate working in a central agency where I can consult and support my colleagues.
How have you brought innovation to Jewish education?
The greatest innovations that I have been involved with have been experimenting and developing curriculum with my colleague Nachama Moskowitz. Together, we’re launching a new initiative in Cleveland to create prototypes to address declining enrollment in Jewish education.
In 2022, after many years of observing enrollment declines in congregational education, the Jewish Education Center in Cleveland conducted a study to understand these trends and gain deeper insights so we and our partners could strategically identify areas for opportunity.
We discovered that Jewish education matters to parents; children are the drivers for decision-making about enrollment, there is an interest in informal education, and a need for more formal data. This provides an incredible opportunity to reimagine congregational education and think more broadly about how we support all Jewish children with enriching educational experiences. Based on our findings and national data, we adopted our strategic action in March of 2023 to address these challenges.
We launched a Design Thinking Task Force to oversee and support our efforts. The task force includes a diverse group of community members representing the breadth and depth of our community careholders, as well as JEC board members. We plan to provide grants to test prototypes and to test our principles.
What do people find unique, unusual, or surprising about your rabbinate?
The spiritual fulfillment that I gain from educational work.
What is your rabbinic motto or words that guide your rabbinate?
In my office, I have a beautiful art piece from Pirkei Avot 4:1 “Who is wise? One who learns from every person.”
What excites you or makes you feel the most hopeful about the future of the rabbinate?
Rabbis are now considering a wider range of settings to work and share their gifts.
