A Rabbi for CBST

The Need Is Too Great

As the AIDS crisis intensified, the Religious Committee was stretched beyond its capacity.

One member noted, “My lover has AIDS, and I am dealing with it rather well, but I could have used some support and counseling.”

One of several resources created during the AIDS crisis

Taking the First Steps

In 1988, with membership approaching one thousand individuals, the synagogue hired its first paid part-time employee as an administrative assistant. The leadership differed on what staff position would best serve the synagogue’s needs.

The Rabbi Search

In 1990, the Board voted unanimously to hire a full-time rabbi and a search committee was formed.

CBST and the American Jewish Movements

March 9, 1991 Press Release

CBST Finds Its Rabbi

After Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum delivered the keynote address at the Twelfth Annual International Conference of Gay and Lesbian Jews in 1991, members of the search committee encouraged her to apply. Her eclectic background made her a persuasive fit for the Jewishly diverse congregation. Raised in a Conservative synagogue, she graduated from the Orthodox Frisch Yeshiva High School and was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Rabbi Kleinbaum (third from left) at a 1980s protest

Rabbi Kleinbaum on the cover of a National Yiddish Book Center pamphlet, courtesy of Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum

Letter to Rabbi Kleinbaum and Letter to the Congregation

Rabbi Kleinbaum's hiring inspired a flurry of articles throughout the US and Israel

Excerpt from Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum's Installation Drash, Installation Invitation -- courtesy of Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum with Irving Cooperberg and Rabbi Alexander Schindler, President of the UAHC (now URJ) who delivered the Installation Address -- courtesy of Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum

The Need Is Too Great

Taking the First Steps

The Rabbi Search

CBST Finds Its Rabbi

Table of Contents