Meet Alysa Stanton, Judaism?｢どｨび｢s very first black female rabbi. Ordained last June at Cincinnati?｢どｨび｢s Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Stanton, who now presides over the only synagogue in Greenville, N.C., likes to say that she didn?｢どｨび｢t choose Judaism, it chose her.
A spiritual person who has explored a tasting menu of religious philosophies and once practiced psychotherapy, Stanton first studied with a Conservative rabbi in Denver to convert to Judaism in 1987. A Reform rabbi, Steven Foster of Denver?｢どｨび｢s Temple Emanuel, later became her mentor. Stanton calls him her ?｢どｨ?Jewish dad,?｢どｨｬ and he encouraged her to consider rabbinical school.
For more on Rabbi Stanton’s story click here, but she certainly seems to be in the right place at the right time. According to historian Stuart Rockoff, North Carolina is currently experiencing an influx of Jews, “What?｢どｨび｢s undeniable is that the population is growing. The American Jewish community is becoming more Southern.?｢どｨｬ