Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener – Leads Shabbat Services
Rabbi Andrea was ordained as a rabbi and spiritual guide in 1999 by ALEPH: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal. She has undergraduate degrees in Hebrew Literature and Secondary Education from the University of Minnesota. Andrea is a graduate of the Kol Zimrah Chant Leadership training and is a certified facilitator in Compassionate Listening. Rabbi Andrea is the founding rabbi of P’nai Or of West Hartford. She now has a pulpit in Greenfield, MA and also leads our services the first Saturdays of the month. Reb Andrea weaves a tapestry of songs and inner journeys when she is with us.
Rabbi Lev Friedman – Leads High Holy Days
Lev Friedman was ordained in 2018 by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Newton, MA. He has served in a rabbinic role for almost forty years. Under the mentorship of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, zt”l, he founded B’nai Or Religious Fellowship of Boston in 1982. Reb Zalman empowered him as Maggid, Rabbinic Pastor and Cantor in 1990. Lev was the spiritual leader of B’nai Or, a Jewish Renewal community, from 1982-1996. He may be the only rabbinical student to lead a congregation prior to receiving ordination! During his tenure in this position he helped many Jews find a way back to their traditions in a contemporary and meaningful way.
As part of his rabbinic training, Lev wrote Shabbat as a Mystical/Spiritual Practice Through Selected Teachings of the Netivot Shalom for his Capstone.He translated portions of the Hasidic Master’s writings on Shabbat and reflects on them through the eyes of a modern seeker. His hope is that these teachings and reflections will inspire others to deepen their own Shabbat and other Jewish practices.