December 30 – 10:30am
Rabbi Rachael Jackson

A new year is just on the horizon—what will it look like? We will find a way to balance hope with fear, balance between wearing rose-colored glasses with being exposed to glaring sun. How do we as a country overcome the seemingly endless hatred to which we are held captive? We’ll discuss what tools we as individuals have as well as tools of our community.

Rabbi Jackson has been the rabbi at Agudas Israel Synagogue since 2015. Prior to rabbinical school, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University, and worked for nearly a decade as an analytical chemist. These two careers are not as divergent as one might think, for Rachael believes that science and religion are quite similar: while each discipline specializes in its own set of questions, both seek to explain the world.

Science and religion both inspire awe. Thus, the focus of her rabbinate is on exploring and imparting the meld of Judaism and modernity, and natural law and Jewish living. Rabbi Jackson is also a fellow with Sinai and Synapses: “Sinai and Synapses bridges the religious and scientific worlds, offering people a worldview that is scientifically grounded and spiritually uplifting.” She is especially interested in the field of medical ethics.

Working and volunteering in our community is key and, as such, she is the Vice President of the Interfaith Assistance Ministries. Rabbi Jackson is married to Danyul and together they have an empathetic and enthusiastic young son, Adrian.