Our guest this week is Rabbi Rachel Ain, the Rabbi of Sutton Place Synagogue in Manhattan. Before joining Sutton Place, Rabbi Ain was the Senior Director for National Young Leadership of the Jewish Federations of North America. Prior to that, she was the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, a Conservative Synagogue in Syracuse, NY, from her ordination from the JTS in 2004 until 2011. Rabbi Ain’s other experience includes serving as a commissioned Lieutenant (JG) for the US Navy Chaplains Corps, and as part of an inaugural year-long fellowship at CLAL, called Rabbis Without Borders. She is a member of the Jewish Outreach Institute's Board of Professional Advisors, sits on the Chancellor’s Rabbinic Cabinet of JTS, is on the Clergy Task Force for Jewish Women International, and is on the Rabbinic Cabinet for the Masorti Foundation.
This Week’s Torah Portion – Parashat Ki Tisa (Exodus 30:11-34:35) – begins with the census of the people of Israel and with further instructions concerning the Tabernacle and the Shabbat. The portion then proceeds to tell the story of the Golden Calf, Moses' plea to god, the splitting of the Tablets into two, and the giving of the second tablets. Our discussion focuses, among other things, on the reason behind the people of Israel’s discontent and on the possible role of Moses' leadership in their sin.
