Rabbi Rena Rifkin
(She, her, hers)
Director of Youth Education
Email: rrifkin@swfs.org
Office: (212) 877-4050, ext. 236
Rabbi Rena Rifkin, RJE, received her master’s in Jewish education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s Rhea Hirsch School of Education in 2008 and was ordained by HUC-JIR in 2010. During her time as a student, she was a Mandel Fellow for clergy-educators and worked in various communities throughout Los Angeles and New York City, including Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills and Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York.
Following ordination, she served North Shore Synagogue in Syosset, New York, as the director of lifelong learning, and most recently was coordinator of faculty and family engagement at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.
Rabbi Rifkin grew up at and continues to have strong ties with the URJ Camp Eisner and she is member of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators’s board. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Scott, and their three children, Eden, Simon and Micah.
Watch Sermons
In Defense of Sarah
“We’re quick to judge Sarah” — who after finally giving birth to Isaac, insists Abram cast out his concubine Hagar and their son Ishmael — “but Sarah drew the short straw,” argues Rabbi Rena Rifkin. We demonize her for one cruel act “without understanding this moment in the context of her life,” she says. “If we treat others in our world the way we have treated Sarah, then we, like Sarah and Hagar, will forever be pitted against one another…”
Through the Looking Glass
“Glass is not fragile in all ways just because it is fragile in one way,” says Rabbi Rena Rifkin, reflecting on her recent visit to the Corning Museum of Glass. And like glass, the Jewish community has shown tremendous resilience throughout history. “We have survived not only because of our strength, but because we have learned how to adapt to best fit the needs of our people,” she says. This new year, may we “truly take notice of our own people and all that we can offer to one another and the world.”
O Captain My Captain
Rabbi Rena Rifkin recalls a late night spent with the 10-year-olds in URJ Eisner Camp’s Bunk 13, answering their “poignant, perceptive, and powerful” questions about Israel. “Our children have so many thoughts and feelings,” says Rabbi Rifkin, who worries: “When is the next time those campers will have the chance to ask those important questions? And who is the next adult they’ll trust to get a real response?”
Reflections on Our Time in Israel
Rabbi Rena Rifkin shares the complex emotions she encountered on her recent trip to Israel. “I notice that there is a sadness and a rawness in the air,” she observed. “The colors of the Israeli sunset feel muted.” But despite it all, she leaves with only one question: “When can I get back on a plane and return to the place that my heart holds dear?”
Is It The Most Wonderful Time Of the Year?
“Did you know that many of the most popular Christmas songs were written by Jews?” asks Rabbi Rena Rifkin. “Once the chanukiyot have become nothing but a pile of colorful wax, it’s hard to find light.” But “we can be a spark for someone else’s candle… on Christmas, let us help others to bring a glow to the world.”
The Blessing of Being a Jew
Rabbi Rena Rifkin wonders how we can be grateful for being Jewish “when we are tucking our magen David necklaces into our T-shirts, using fake last names on our uber accounts and even taking down mezuzot from our front doors…” Although we have every right to be scared, “we must fight back the fear and fight for the joy” that Judaism offers us each day.
What’s Lost
“Sometimes, we get caught up in what we’ve lost,” says Rabbi Rena Rifkin. “But when we do that, we forget to give kavod to what’s really important… The only thing we really have to worry about losing is ourselves.”
Bonsais and Boulders
After a summer spent admiring bonsai trees and traversing a boulder field, Rabbi Rena Rifkin brought home two lessons: “The strongest trees are ones that can bend in the wind,” but you also need sure footing. “Our relationships, our community, our underlying beliefs — these are our rocks.”
We Need Pride
As Pride Month begins, Rabbi Rena Rifkin wonders “What is pride anyway? What does it mean to be proud of yourself and your identity? How does one develop pride? And where and when should we put it on display?”
Un-Quieting Ourselves
What do non-binary people do at the Western Wall? “I think it feels like you would have to quiet yourself a little bit to be there,” one of our Rabbi Rena Rifkin’s colleagues said. Reflecting on silenced Holocaust survivors, our children’s quiet traumas, and the catharsis built-in to the Passover Seder, she says, “These quiet times may be fleeting or they may last longer, but there is a lingering effect…”
Recent Commentaries and Op-Eds
NY Jewish Week: Jewish advocates demand policy changes to combat antisemitism at NYC public high schools
Dec 22, 2023
While public discourse on antisemitism in schools has largely focused on college campuses, a series of activists say that the same trends are manifesting in New York City’s high schools. Rabbi Rena Rifkin, who works with about 250 middle and high school students at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, said that Oct. 7 had “opened the floodgates,” and made students more aware of persistent antisemitism, but that school hasn’t given them tools to cope with it. And while a range of voices are calling on schools to more proactively address antisemitism, Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz cautioned, “If we rely on the media, public schools, private schools to deliver what should be a part of our kids’ Jewish education, they’re going to do a terrible job at it,” she said. “And they’re going to leave our kids lost.”
West Side Rag: Enrollment Opens For In-Person And Virtual Hebrew School Classes At Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Apr 30, 2021
When Stephen Wise Free Synagogue had to close its physical doors in March of 2020 due to COVID-19, like so many other schools its Religious School went online. But unlike most others, in fall 2020, Stephen Wise’s school gave students the choice to return to a hybrid model of in-person learning and remote Hebrew lessons or continue fully remotely.
The Forward: How good it is to sit together: Why we re-opened our religious school during the pandemic
Apr 7, 2021
“When we decided last spring to give all of our religious school students the option to attend in person, I’m pretty sure most people thought it was a pipe dream — and a risky one at that,” writes our Rabbi Rena Rifkin in the Forward. “Nothing beats sitting in a room together. Learning builds community. Physical togetherness builds community.”
New York Family: Why To Consider A Religious School For Your Child
Jan 7, 2019
Our Director of Youth Education Rabbi Rena Rifkin makes the case for religious education in New York Family Magazine: “Judaism is not just about God and prayer. Judaism offers us a history, a community, and a set of values and ethics to guide our lives. Even if your family chooses not to celebrate holidays or follow ritual practices, you can still be guided by Jewish values and ethics.”
New York Family: When Should Your Kids Start Religious School?
Oct 29, 2018
Our Director of Youth Education Rabbi Rena Rifkin discusses Challah Club, our revolutionary afternoon drop-off class that introduces young children to Jewish learning: “If we want our kids to be as good at Judaism, as well-versed and as thoughtful about Jewish life as they are at math, then we have to start as soon as we can.”
