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Rabbi Michael Ross (he, him)
Rabbi
Reconstructionist
Temple Beth Shalom 50 Division Street
Hudson, Ohio
United States

About

Rabbi Michael Ross is a Reconstructionist rabbi living in Beachwood, Ohio. He has been the pulpit rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom, Hudson for the past nine years, a small Reform synagogue celebrating its 50th anniversary. Additionally, he is both an adjunct instructor in the Jewish Studies Department at Kent State University and also is working as the interim Coordinator for Jewish Studies at KSU. He has taught the following college courses: “Intro to Jewish Studies,” “Walking With the Prophets - an Overview of the Book of Prophets,” “Of Kabbalists, Rationalists and Secularists - an Intro to Modern Jewish Thought,” “Hebrew Bible as Literature” and “Teaching Skills for Jewish Educators Students.” He was the Senior Jewish Educator and Campus Rabbi for Hillel at Kent State for 8 years. Rabbi Michael is an accredited Jewish Mindfulness Meditation instructor who has developed a number of meditation groups. He also directed synagogue schools in Delaware, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Ohio.He is a published curriculum writer. He co-edited the recent children’s prayer-book, “Kol HaNo’ar: The Voice of Children.” He is a board member of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. He is a member of the founding cohort of “Rabbis Without Borders.” He is married to Rabbi Rachel Brown. Together Rachel and Michael are busy celebrating family life with their teen, Gabe.

I have officiated at LGBTQ weddings, b-mitzvah celebrations, conversions, and Pride Shabbats for the past 9 years.

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
  • Familiar with gender-expansive Hebrew liturgical and linguistic options
  • 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
  • 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

  • Experience in end-of-life care for LGBTQ+ individuals
  • Experience celebrating LGBTQ+ specific life-cycle rituals such as coming out and renaming