PRESENTING CHANA STEIN AS RABBI AND TEACHER IN ISRAEL
Presented by Hazzan Baruch( Bruce) Morris
I first met Chana Stein when she was a student in the Jewish Spiritual Education program. Chana entered that program with a wealth of wisdom and knowledge. She may not have realized it then, but she was already on her way to the rabbinate. I remember telling Chana that I thought she should begin Semikhah studies. I wasn’ t the only one. Several JSE faculty also encouraged Chana to become a rabbi, along with many others guiding her path.
When I needed a Hebrew tutor for my own seminary studies, and since my wife was on the JSE faculty, she enthusiastically recommended Chana. Due to multiple learning deficits, I wasn’ t the easiest student. Chana was kind, compassionate, and creative as we tried many ways to get Hebrew into my brain. Hebrew tutoring morphed into Torah study hevruta. The questions changed from“ what is the grammar of this sentence” to“ why is that grammar here?” What is God trying to tell us? Is that interpretation right? This was Gan Eden via Zoom. Our hour-long sessions went on for 90 minutes, sometimes two hours, while we debated Torah in the guise of learning Hebrew.
I love how Chana respects our tradition even as she challenges it. She once told me that the Talmudic rabbis were so wise, so brilliant, … and so wrong on a great many things!
From her birth in Israel to her yeshiva education in Brooklyn, the Holy One has been guiding Chana’ s path to this very moment. And beyond. This isn’ t mere mazal; all of us are blessed by Chana’ s achievements and her continued presence among those who teach Torah.
At the top of this page, it says I am presenting Chana as a rabbi and teacher in Israel, but in this case, the traditional Semikhah language needs a bit of emendation. Chana Stein is also a teacher from Israel who brings light, joy, wisdom, and insight wherever she goes in the world.
May you be blessed, as I have been, to call her friend, teacher, and now, colleague and rabbi.
BEIT DIN
Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman- Somekh Rabbi Peg Kershenbaum Rabbi Greg Schindler
20 AJR 2026