About Me

Ever feel like you don’t fit in? Same.

Enter Rabbi Jessica Lenza. A rabbi for the rest of us.

In the beginning, Jessica was a rebel. At seven years old, in her first Holy Confession, she told her Catholic priest that she didn’t believe that Jesus was the son of God. This launched her lifelong Jewish journey. A few years later, Jessica joined a synagogue, started learning Hebrew, volunteered at the religious school and became a regular at youth group events. At fifteen years old, after a dip in the mikveh, it was official. She was a member of the tribe.

While she once imagined herself becoming a star on a Broadway stage, it soon became abundantly clear that the Bimah would be her professional destination. As an undergraduate student at Lafayette College, she earned a BA in Religious Studies and Music all while slaying it in her acapella group, and, of course, becoming a valued leader in her Hillel.

A typical rabbi pursues their degree at one institution. In one country. Not Rabbi Lenza. Her studies brought her to Jerusalem, London, Boston, and New York at schools like Pardes, HUC-JIR’s School of Sacred Music, and Leo Baeck College. It was from the Rabbinical School at Hebrew College that she received her rabbinic ordination and earned an MA in Jewish studies. She’s gone on to complete training as a yoga teacher, a maven, and a mikveh guide seamlessly integrating all of these unique and diverse experiences into her rabbinate.

It’s no surprise, given her passion for learning and skills in the performing arts, that Rabbi Lenza specialized in two areas: education and creating profound sacred experiences. In New York city, she has served communities like the Manhattan JCC, Temple Shaaray Tefila, and Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, and she loves life as a freelance rabbi bringing unique Jewish experiences to families worldwide.

Here’s the real T. If you are looking for a rabbi who is both cynical and spiritual. A rabbi who is equally obsessed with the latest true crime documentary as this week’s Torah portion. A rabbi who is as likely to connect to That Which Is Beyond at Bonnaroo as on Yom Kippur. Then, you are in the right place.