Organizations with which Rabbi Tirzah Firestone is Affiliated

Rabbinic Leadership and Congregation Nevei Kodesh

Rabbi Firestone is the founding rabbi of Congregation Nevei Kodesh (formerly, the Jewish Renewal Community of Boulder, Colorado) a spiritual community at the helm of revitalizing Judaism. In January, 2004, Rabbi Firestone returned as spiritual leader of the community after a five year period away, in which she mothered, wrote and lectured about her two books.

Nevei Kodesh, which means Oasis of Holiness, now models a new paradigm of team leadership, designed to empower its constituents and allow the rabbi to continue her writing and lecturing nationwide. The congregation is run by both a highly efficient Board of Directors as well as a Knesset, a spiritual leadership council, composed of experts in the fields of ritual, music, human relations, spiritual counseling, and caring for the ill and bereaved.

Now a flourishing and vibrant community of approximately 225, Nevei Kodesh serves all ages and diverse backgrounds. Affiliated with Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Nevei Kodesh is dedicated to bringing forth the dynamic depth and power of the ancient Jewish tradition and making it meaningful and applicable to the Jewish community of today.

For more information, please visit Congregation Nevei Kodesh at www.neveikodesh.org or call 303 271 3540.

The Yesod Foundation and EJS:Center for Engaged Jewish Studies

Rabbi Firestone is on the Board of Directors of The Yesod Foundation, a non-profit organizaton that advances Jewish spirituality in the vision of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. She is also the director of the Center for Engaged Jewish Studies, Yesod's programming wing. Founded in 1996, The Yesod Foundation endeavors to bring the deep wisdom of the Jewish tradition to contemporary culture. It does so in three major ways:

  1. The Center for Engaged Jewish Studies, Yesod Foundation’s programming wing, provides local and regional educational and community-building programs.

  2. YOCA, conference for rabbis, cantors, and educators from around the world, convenes annually in Boulder, Colorado.

  3. The Reb Zalman legacy project: The collection and archiving of Reb Zalman's profound and voluminous life work. This project includes the translation, digitalization and systematizing of Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi’s life legacy for our own and future generations.

For more information about the Yesod Foundation, please visit www.yesodfoundation.org or call their offices at 303 488 4919.

Academy for Jewish Religion: Jewish Women’s Studies

Recently Rabbi Firestone has been honored by her appointment to the faculty of the Academy of Jewish Religion in Los Angeles, California, a visionary, non-denominational rabbinical and cantorial seminary. The Academy for Jewish Religion endeavors to serve as “a bridge between the pillars of Judaism;” a much-needed role that is sure to have a profound impact on the future of American Jewry.

During the Spring 2004 semester, Rabbi Firestone will be teaching two Jewish Women’s Studies courses:

Stalking the Divine Feminine: (for advanced seminarians)
This course focuses on the appearance of the feminine face of God in the Torah and the early Kabbalah. It is an exploration of the submergence of the Feminine Principle and texts that reveal Her. Rabbi Firestone will be drawing readings from Wisdom Literature (Job, Proverbs and Intertestimental Texts), Jewish Midrash, Talmud, and Zohar: The Book of Splendor.

Tzidkaniyut: Feminine Models of Holiness from Beruriah to Leah Shar'abi
This class is a study of 7 archetypes of feminine sacred wisdom, including sage/scholar, healer/life giver, lover/sensualist, homemaker/craftswoman, medium/visionary, community builder/activist, mystic/devotee. Readings will be taken from Rabbi Firestone’s latest book, The Receiving: Reclaiming Jewish Women’s Wisdom.

For more information about Academy for Jewish Religion, visit them at their website: www.ajrca.org.

 

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