I rarely speak autobiographically, but when I was recently asked, by the Reconstructionist movement, to reflect on my 50 years as a rabbi, to an audience from across the country on Zoom, I was both honored and challenged.
Rabbi Arnold Rachlis has been the spiritual leader of University Synagogue since 1991, guiding us since 1987 from a small havurah looking for a more modern approach to Judaism to a 600+ families center for dynamic and innovative Judaism. He leads with a focus on a humanistic philosophy that sees God not as a supreme being, but as inspiration, creativity, conscience, consciousness and motivating us toward human growth and social justice. Rabbi Rachlis has created a joyous environment which affirms individuality and is inclusive – men and women, gay and straight, Jewishly learned and not, Jewish and not Jewish – welcoming all to learn, explore and connect at University Synagogue.
