Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon, the first woman to function as a rabbi in the history of the state of Israel, will discuss her life’s work and her journey in a question-and-answer hosted via Zoom by B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation in Albany Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, at 10 a.m. Contact the synagogue to register.

The first female congregational rabbi to serve in Israel, Rabbi Shiryon established Kehillat YOZMA, the first non-Orthodox congregation to receive funding from the state.  Born Sandra Levine, she spent nine years of her childhood in Schenectady.  She was the founding rabbi and spiritual leader of Kehillat YOZMA, Modi’in’s Reform congregation that she established and oversaw from 1997 to 2017; she continues to serve as rabbi emerita.  Kehillat YOZMA is known for its social justice partnerships and  boasts the first Reform day school to receive state funding from the Israeli government.