Rabbi Chana Leslie Glazer

Rabbi Glazer brings many gifts as she leads us into the future. Her strengths make her an excellent fit for our diverse congregation, embodying the values members said they are seeking. Congregants overwhelmingly found her compassionate, engaging and inclusive.

Rabbi Glazer is a lifelong learner with extensive knowledge of Judaism, along with diverse life experiences, making her an inspirational teacher for our youth and learners of all ages. She is deeply committed to Jewish inclusion and Jewish pluralism, excelling in building community, values that are important to our congregants. She is knowledgeable and experienced in leading ritual with tradition, purpose and meaning.

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Rabbi Chana Leslie Glazer is a pluralistic Jewish spiritual leader and educator of all ages. She came to Adat Reyim in July 2020 from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, where she served as the campus rabbi, Hillel advisor and director of Jewish Life.

While at Bucknell, Rabbi Glazer revitalized Jewish Life on campus, achieving significant gains in visibility, attendance and involvement of students, staff and faculty with Jewish community. Her accomplishments there included: successfully launching five student leadership and engagement programs, co-creating a Sustainability program with Hillel students, guiding the buildout and maintenance of a certified Kosher kitchen on campus, and winning the University President’s Diversity Award twice, for her work across interfaith and intersectional lines on campus.

Rabbi Glazer is deeply committed to Jewish pluralism and inclusion, having worked, lived or studied with many denominations of Judaism - including the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she received her ordination, earning multiple honors and awards. Rabbi Glazer served as the spiritual leader of Congregation Am Haskalah of the Lehigh Valley, PA (Reconstructionist); Beth Sholom Synagogue of Memphis, TN (Conservative); and Beth Israel Synagogue of Roanoke, VA (Unaffiliated). She also spent a year as a student chaplain at the Abramson Center for Jewish Life of North Wales, PA, a senior living residence – which was invaluable experience in working with Jewish elders.

Prior to that, Rabbi Glazer spent more than a decade working as a journalist, foreign correspondent and editorial manager, most of which was served covering Latin America and the Caribbean. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Cornell University with an interdisciplinary degree in Government and Latin American Studies.

Rabbi Glazer speaks five languages and loves learning. She enjoys art and culture of many kinds, current events, travel, spiritual practices including prayer, yoga and meditation, as well as getting outdoors and playing with her rescue dog, Nina Mina.