Rabbi Jared Saks

Rabbi Jared Saks

Queer Spirit Podcast

Rabbi Jared Saks, a New Jersey native, is the spiritual leader of Congregation Bet Ha’am in South Portland, the largest reform congregation in northern New England, where he has served since 2011. He lives in South Portland with his husband Kirk and their young son.
The Reform movement in Judaism has been an open and accepting place for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people for many years. That message of acceptance is inspired by core Jewish values and “really goes back to our narrative as people,” Saks has explained. “Thirty-six times in Torah, more often than any other commandment, we’re advised to care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger, which are the Bible’s metaphors for the weakest members of our society, the people that are on the fringes.” The message is, “Make sure you don’t leave other people there, that you watch out for people on the fringe.’”
“Part of my responsibility as a Rabbi,” Saks has pointed out, “is to help inspire my congregation and the Jewish community to fix the world in which we live.”

Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres-McGovern

Rabbi Jared Saks