Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Rabbis 2015

Kaya Stern-Kaufman

Rabba Kaya Stern-Kaufman has brought inclusive, creative Jewish spirituality to a rural area in New England. The organization that she founded, Rimon Resource Center for Jewish Spirituality, has attracted many people who have never been affiliated with a synagogue, including non-Jews. She has offered classes in Talmud and Jewish mysticism. Rimon brings people together for musical Kabbalat Shabbat services and eco-tefillah hikes in the warm weather. Rabba Stern-Kaufman has collaborated with other clergy to present forums on death and dying and to gather people to chant for peace. Rimon has been instrumental in forming a hevrah kadisha, or Jewish burial society, and has offered Jewish burial rituals in an area where no such services had previously been available. Through Rabba Stern-Kaufman’s learning and embrace of diversity, many people who would not otherwise have a way to connect to Judaism are now exploring the richness of the tradition.

— Susie Kaufman + 4 other nominations

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.