The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary’s 35th Ordination

The composition of this year’s ordination class from The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary is highly diverse: one Israeli, one new immigrant from the United States, and one French Parisian. All of them have one thing in common: a newly minted rabbinical degree from Israel’s Rabbinical Seminary for Conservative Judaism.

Rabbis Doron Rubin (Israel), Maayan Belding-Zidon (new immigrant – US) and Marine de Moliner (France) completed their program of study, passing written and oral examinations to join the 110 other rabbis ordained at Jerusalem’s Schechter. This is the 35th anniversary of the first ordination which took place in 1988.

“This is one of our seminary’s most diverse classes. Each member brings skill sets that match the communities they will serve here in Israel or abroad,” reports Rabbi Chaya Rowen Baker, Dean of The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary. “We are extremely proud of our smart, compassionate, proactive, and creative graduates. This class’s diversity, representing a variety of Jewish connections, brings hope and promise to the future of Judaism in Israel and around the globe. It is exciting to be at this forefront.”

At the ceremony, Rabbi Rowen Baker said, “One of the main challenges facing us as rabbis is to follow in God’s ways in trying to create something out of nothing: to cope with what is lacking in a way that imbues meaning. The three of you—Doron, Marine, Ma’ayan have the creativity, compassion, wisdom, and inspiration needed for this.”

Connecting their ordination to the October 7^th War, Rabbi David Golinkin, President of Schechter Institutes, Inc., noted, “We are not in a situation of a Hurban or an Expulsion or a Holocaust, but we are in a difficult situation — of war in Israel and anti-Semitism in the world. It is precisely in times of crisis that we must ordain rabbis and train leaders. They are the ones who give the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora the spiritual strength to face a crisis and move forward.”

His blessing to the new rabbis, “I bless you in the language of the Bible (Judges 6:14): “Go with this strength and save the People of Israel!”

Doron Rubin is a sabra, born to a Haifa family. With five children aged 12-27, he is already serving as rabbi of Rehovot’s Adat Shalom-Emmanuel congregation, as well as being the life-partner to Judit Rubin, another SRS rabbi.

Rabbi Doron Rubin (credit: Eitan Zadok)

In his mid-50s, Doron calls himself a life-long educator. He spent years in the non-profit world serving stints as an emissary for the Masorti Movements’ NOAM youth movement in England and with Hillel International in the US.

“My vision as a rabbi is to enable Israeli Jews take ownership of their own Judaism, and this is critically important in Israel,” says Rubin.

“I realize now that I am fully prepared to be a rabbi. My years as an educator, as a student, and the points in-between throughout my life led me to this point. I can says that these spiritual and educational paths, and the jobs I held pushed me here,” states Rubin. “Now more than ever, I see the rabbinate as a place to fulfill my purpose in life and all of my years as a ‘professional Jew’ gave me the tools to be a rabbi.”

Ma’ayan Belding-Zidon was born to a Catholic family in upstate NY. As a Yale University student, she was involved in the BDS movement before finding her spiritual base in Judaism, leading to her converting in her early 20s, becoming a Zionist, and moving to Israel. She lives with her wife, Ronnie, a filmmaker, outside of Tel Aviv.

Rabbi Ma’ayan Belding-Zidon (credit: Eitan Zadok)

“I am currently creating small study groups for queer beit midrash learning of Jewish texts,” says Ma’ayan, who is also continuing her graduate studies in the Talmud department at Bar Ilan University. To her, “The polarization of Israeli society along religious lines is very intense. I want to be part of the answer to this negative phenomenon. I am part of the movement developing creative answers and spaces grounded in tradition yet also adept in being aware of the present, weaving solutions together to shatter the dichotomy.”

Marine de Moliner first grew aware of Judaism at the age of 12. For her it was obvious that she would turn Jewish when able. Born and raised in Laon, France, it was only during her studies that she realized that she grew up not far from where the great Jewish sage Rashi lived. Her spiritual and intellectual journey took her from Paris to JTS in NY to Jerusalem and Schechter.

Rabbi Marine de Moliner (credit: Eitan Zadok)

“Schechter has been a godsend to me. I am so grateful to be able to learn and study with such gifted rabbis and teachers.”

She is already working part time in Strasbourg with a progressive/reform Jewish congregation of about 100 families.

For de Molinar the visibility of women is vitally important.

In France, she is tired of hearing, “I didn’t know it was possible for women to wear tallit, tefillin or lead prayers.” Marine states, “I want to create a dynamic movement or space that doesn’t currently exist in France. It will be different, open, inclusive, and feminist. A whole way of living that is traditional as well as egalitarian. I want to do something new for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.”

(featured image credit: Eitan Zadok)