O
n May 26, Temple
Israel will celebrate
its female rabbis and
the women who helped pave
the way for women in the rab-
binate.
Along with the Holy Sparks
exhibit in the Goodman
Family Museum, Temple
Israel will unveil portraits of
Rabbi Marla Hornsten, Rabbi
Jennifer Kaluzny, Rabbi Jen
Lader and Rabbi Arianna
Gordon by paper-cut artist
Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik, whose
work was recently featured
in the Goodman Family
Museum. His art is a combi-
nation of the ancient art of
Jewish paper cutting, Jewish
text and comic books, com-
bined to depict the essence of
their individual rabbinates,
personalities and interests.
At Temple Israel, each of the
rabbis took a different path to
the bimah.
RABBI MARLA HORNSTEN
Rabbi Hornsten never planned
on becoming a rabbi.
“When I was a teenager, my
dad would say things, like ‘you
should become a rabbi,
’ and I
would literally tell him that was
the most ridiculous thing I ever
heard,
” Hornsten said.
As an adult, while working on
her master’s degree in European
history, she enrolled in a pro-
gram at the Brandeis Collegiate
Institute.
“I loved everything about
it. I studied Jewish texts for
the first time. I was living an
intensive Jewish life, pursuing
Judaism through art and music
and drama and dance, and it
was incredible,
” Rabbi Hornsten
said. “I met amazing people, and
the Jewish text piece was really
significant to me. After that sum-
mer, I went back to school, and I
just felt like I was looking at the
world through a Jewish lens. I felt
like everything had a Jewish per-
spective to it. And I hadn’t seen
that before.
”
From there, she started think-
ing more about the conversations
she would have with her dad
about potentially being a rabbi.
“I kept saying, ‘No, no, no,
’ but
it kept coming up and, finally, a
guy I was working with said to
me, ‘Marla, maybe you should
just do it already,
’ and that’s when
I decided I would,
” she said.
Hornsten came to Temple
Israel in July of 2000. She was
the first female rabbi at Temple
Israel.
RABBI JENNIFER KALUZNY
Rabbi Kaluzny joined Temple
Israel clergy in 2004.
“Judaism was always a posi-
tive, fun, loving part of my life,
I enjoyed learning Jewish text
and Hebrew, and my own rabbis
looked like they truly enjoyed
what they were doing. I always
knew I wanted to be in a helping
profession,
” she said. “I consid-
ered nursing or teaching. I love
being in a medical environment
and being around different kinds
of people. Becoming a rabbi
allows me to do all of those
things: teach, preach, counsel,
travel. I have the opportunity to
experience everything I love in a
Jewish context.
”
When Kaluzny was 19, her
aunt passed away while in hos-
pice in Chicago. The care her
aunt received left an impact on
her. Even before ordination, she
sought training in chaplaincy
and hospice work, and that led to
her join the Jewish Hospice and
Chaplaincy Network in the sum-
mer of 2001.
“I was taken by the nurses, the
rabbi that came and said a prayer
for her, and how much respect
each and every person showed
my aunt, even when she wasn’t
conscious. They nurses even took
care of us, knowing how much
we loved her and were devastated
by her death,
” Kaluzny said. “I
made a promise to myself then
that I if I succeeded in becoming
a rabbi, I would make chaplaincy
and hospice work a cornerstone
of my rabbinate.
”
RABBI JEN LADER
Rabbi Lader joined Temple Israel
in 2012. She also never planned
on being a rabbi.
“I was going to be a doctor,
”
Lader said. “Since I was little, I
was focused on science. My dad’s
a scientist, and I went to a science
academy for middle school and
a specialized magnet school for
high school … I’ve been obsessed
with the natural world and magic
and our bodies and nature, and I
was very on track for that.
”
Lader grew up in a smaller
Jewish community in Austin,
Texas. As a teenager, she was
introduced to BBYO.
“Youth group was totally
mind-blowing for me. It was
incredible to break out of my
very small community and see
OUR COMMUNITY
Holy Sparks!
14 | MAY 25 • 2023
Temple Israel will celebrate 50 years of women
in the Rabbinate on May 26.
SEAN SHAPIRO SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Rabbi Jen Lader, Rabbi
Jennifer Kaluzny,
Rabbi Marla Hornsten
and Rabbi Arianna
Gordon