Our Rabbi

Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky leads kabbalat shabbat on Friday nights at 6pm, and Saturday morning Shabbat at 10.30am. Selected sermons are posted here.

Rabbi Shoshana Kaminsky has served Beit Shalom since 2006. She was born in Washington, DC and grew up as part of a large Reform synagogue. Because the morning slot was already taken for her preferred bat mitzvah date, her bat mitzvah was held late on Shabbat afternoon when the only guests in attendance were friends and family. She has appreciated how Beit Shalom Progressive Synagogue offers an alternative model: ours is not only a congregation but also an extended family where the yearly festival cycle and life cycle events are celebrated by the whole synagogue.

At Beit Shalom, she is involved in all aspects of the congregation, from celebrating Shabbat with our youngest members at our monthly Tot Shabbat service to conducting Shabbat services and passing along ritual skills to visiting older members of the congregation. She is passionately committed to the central teachings of Progressive Judaism and works hard to live out its values of egalitarianism and an ongoing dialogue between tradition and modernity. She is constantly seeking ways to make all aspects of Jewish life more relevant and exciting for Jews living in the modern world. She serves as secretary of the Moetzah–the Council of Progressive Rabbis and locally is a board member of Jewish Community Services. She is also regularly involved in programs and activities that build bridges between the Jewish community and the larger world.

If you would like to meet with Rabbi Kaminsky, feel free to contact her directly at shoshana.kaminsky@gmail.com to schedule an appointment.