Rabbi Rachel G. Greengrass

Rachel Greengrass has been part of the Beth Am family since 2008. Since then she has become part of every aspect of Beth Am, from working with our teens, sitting on the Tikkun Olam committee, teaching a prenatal parenting class, leading a family trip to Israel, to conducting Shabbat services.

This year Rabbi Greengrass is enjoying her new position as Jewish Life Coordinator as she becomes an even larger part of the lives of our Day School, Religious School and Early Childhood programs. You can find her on the pulpit Friday nights, leading Munchkin Minyan Saturday mornings, giving the little ones a workout at Jewbilee, or in a classroom almost any day of the week.

Rabbi Greengrass was ordained from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2008.  She holds a Masters of Arts in Hebrew Literature (HUC), a Masters of Religious Education (HUC) and is a certified PREPARE counselor for pre-marital and marriage counseling.

Rabbi Greengrass is a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana where she was active in her synagogue’s youth group, and eventually taught in the religious school. While attending Washington University in St. Louis — where she earned a B.S.B.A. in Marketing — she continued her volunteer work in a religious school and soon discovered her calling as a rabbi.

As a student at HUC, Rabbi Greengrass served many congregations. She taught for Beth Eloheim in Brooklyn and Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan, was student rabbi for the Hillel of Greater Baltimore, performed chaplaincy work at Bellevue Hospital, taught an Introduction to Judaism course at the URJ, and was the intern at Temple Sinai of Roslyn Heights (NY) from 2006–2008.

Rabbi Greengrass is safe zone certified, which means she is an official advocate for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Community.

Rabbi Greengrass was married in October 2007 to John Crary, who recently returned to the classroom as a math teacher. They are the parents of Henry, who was born in March 18, 2010 and has been a fixture at the Temple ever since.