Shabbat Sermon: Two Geographies, One Covenant with Rabbi Jamie Kolter

When the tribes of Gad and Reuben ask to settle east of the Jordan, Moses hears a threat to Israel’s future. Together we’ll discover how the Torah and the Book of Joshua model a framework for the people to remain bound by one covenant while living very different realities. In a time when Israeli and Diaspora Jews face different challenges but share one destiny, we’ll learn what the Torah teaches about belonging, responsibility, and building a Jewish future together.

About Rabbi Kotler

Rabbi Jamie Kotler teaches Torah and Jewish texts at synagogue communities in the Boston area and beyond. She has served as chaplain at Fireman House (Hebrew Senior Life), and has served on the Boards of The Rashi School, and Mayyim Hayyim, and on the building committee for Newbridge on the Charles at Hebrew Senior Life.Rabbi Kotler grew up in Brazil and Mexico, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, with little religious practice or knowledge. She began studying Torah as a young mother of three. Her desire to steep herself in the texts and traditions she had missed as a child led her to enter rabbinical school at the age of 54 and was ordained by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in June 2016. Before entering the rabbinate, she was a computer programmer (EDS, TX and Hewlett-Packard, CA), a financial analyst (Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, CA), and a consultant to small businesses.Rabbi Kotler holds a BA in Biology from Brown University and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. She is married to Harold Kotler, and together they have five grown children and six grandchildren.