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Rabbi Julie Schwarzwald (She/Hers)
B׳Mitzvah Program and Ritual Director
Conservative
952-873-7316
Beth El Synagogue
St. Louis Park, Minnesota
United States

About

Rabbi Julie Schwarzwald is dedicated to the idea that Jewish education and experiences should be fully accessible to all, since we are each created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. Having grown up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Rabbi Julie has a BA from Wesleyan University in Education Policy Studies and an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University in Computing in Education. After years of teaching in public, private, and day schools, Rabbi Julie received rabbinic ordination in 2019. Prior to joining the professional staff at Beth El, Rabbi Julie worked as a day school teacher and as a synagogue education director in several Conservative congregations in New Jersey. She has served on the national boards of the Jewish Educators Assembly, NewCAJE, and JSurge.org. Rabbi Julie has two grown sons living elsewhere and a cat living with her here. She is excited to experience all the Twin Cities have to offer while getting to know the Beth El community.

Listing Details

Clergy answered "Yes" to the following

  • Trained on LGBTQ+ identities within past five years
  • Experience officiating conversions for transgender and nonbinary individuals with a sensitivity to the wide range of relationships to gender and embodiment that transgender and nonbinary individuals may have
  • Experience officiating gender-expansive b-mitzvah
  • Approaches the presence of LGBTQ+ people as the norm rather than an exception in Jewish communal life
  • Person-centered and LGBTQ+ positive approach to Jewish law and tradition
  • Comfortable consistently using they/them pronouns and neopronouns

Clergy answered "No" to the following

  • Experience in end-of-life care for LGBTQ+ individuals
  • Experience celebrating LGBTQ+ specific life-cycle rituals such as coming out and renaming
  • Speaks or writes regularly on LGBTQ+ themes
  • Experience in pastoral/spiritual care of LGBTQ+ individuals
  • Experience officiating LGBTQ+ weddings

Clergy answered "I'm Still Learning" to the following

  • Familiar with gender-expansive Hebrew liturgical and linguistic options