Rabbi Heidi Hoover
Rabbi Heidi Hoover is the rabbi of Beth Shalom v'Emeth Reform Temple in Brooklyn, NY. She was ordained in 2011 by the Academy for Jewish Religion (New York) and holds a MA in Jewish Studies from Gratz College. She was a Rabbis Without Borders Fellow, has been profiled in the New York Times, and has guest blogged for The Lutheran magazine. She is a participant in the Sacred Stories Project, a joint venture between Clal and the National Museum of American Jewish History. Her interests include the relationship between Jews and Germany, the experience and history of conversion to Judaism (she is a Jew by choice), and assumptions made about religious identity based on appearance and other superficial characteristics. Before rabbinical school, she had a career in publishing technology as a consultant and trainer.
Articles by Rabbi Heidi Hoover
Trust Your Gut — But Verify
Near the beginning of the movie Men in Black, Will Smith‘s character is being tested to see if he has ...
Would You Resist?
I am a rabbi. I am 46 years old. I am also the granddaughter and grand-niece of Germans who were ...
Even Those We Hate Are Made in God’s Image
There is a myth of a time when everyone in the world was able to work together on the same ...
Meeting Angels
Last January 26 in the evening, I went to Manhattan to participate in a shiva minyan after the death of ...
Towards A More Perfect Union
It’s Monday evening, July 25, and I’m watching the Democratic National Convention. Senator Cory Booker, a dynamic and powerful speaker ...
What You Decide Matters
Last week, citizens of the UK voted to leave the European Union. Brexit has been all over the news. Maybe ...
Which Judaism is the Authentic One?
Last week I met one of my neighbors, an Orthodox Jewish woman. She asked what I do for a living, ...
When Impostor Syndrome is Good
It’s ordination season. After years of hard work, both theoretical and practical, a number of rabbinic and cantorial students will ...
Dealing with a New Place
Last Thursday my family moved to a new house. I love our new house. It’s beautiful, bigger than the old ...
Find Out About Your Loved Ones
As a rabbi, one of the life-cycle processes I accompany people through is the funeral. When a person dies, burying ...