We all know our rabbis by their names, by their looks, by their voices. We know our rabbis by their sermons and the lessons they teach us each week. They offer us advice, talk with us, cry with us, laugh with us. They help us understand Torah and support us through every endeavor we take as we write our own stories. They, too, have a story to tell. We may not know their past, or how they came to be rabbis, but it’s never too late to ask and to listen to their Jewish journeys.

Rabbi Amy Feder, Temple Israel

Feder grew up in St. Louis, attending Temple Israel, the congregation that she serves as senior rabbi. As a teenager, she participated in Temple Israel Federation of Temple Youth and enjoyed her summers exploring Judaism at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute and Camp Tamarack. After her third trip to Israel, Feder realized that she wanted Israel to remain a central part of her life. It wasn’t until her junior year of college, however, that she considered studying rabbinics.

“I had been studying abroad in Austria,” Feder said. “And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t around any Jews or having any Jewish experiences, and I realized how completely I missed and needed Judaism in my life.”

Feder also realized that rabbinics combined all the things she loved most: teaching, singing, counseling and writing. After deciding to become a rabbi, Feder applied to Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, where she met her husband, Rabbi Michael Alper. Together, they completed one year in Jerusalem and four years in New York City and became rabbis. The best part of her job, Feder said, is participating in life-cycle moments, be it a wedding, funeral or baby naming.

“It is truly, truly a gift to feel like every week, if not every day, I am sharing these magical moments with people and making a difference in their lives,” she said.

Rabbi Ze’ev Smason, Nusach Hari B’nai Zion

Smason grew up in a secular environment. His family did not belong to a synagogue, and he was not involved in the Jewish community.

As his bar mitzvah approached, he attended an after-school Hebrew program that he found to be awful. The teachers yelled at the students, and Smason thought the classes were boring and irrelevant. In the end, Smason memorized his haftorah from a tape recorder, with no understanding of the meaning of the words. This experience turned out to be very influential in Smason’s relationship with Judaism.

“When I was in my 20s, I realized that my earlier Jewish education was woefully inadequate and that real Judaism had to be something more than my dreadful Hebrew school and bar mitzvah experience,” Smason said. “Therefore, I was very open and receptive to anything that might offer a taste of real Judaism.”

Smason studied law at UCLA. Upon graduating, he decided to take some time off before beginning grad school in order to think about his future. During this two-year break, Smason travelled around the world. Eventually, he ended up in Israel, where he worked on a kibbutz, a community where people live and work together without competition, for some time. When he visited Aish Hatorah, a yeshiva (school of Torah and Talmud studies) in Jerusalem, Smason was fascinated by what he found.

“The rabbis were fantastic,” Smason said. “My fellow students were similarly inspired to learn about Judaism, make up for lost time, Jewishly, and try to figure out what Judaism would now mean in their personal lives.”

After one year of studying at Aish Hatorah, Smason felt that as a rabbi he could contribute more to the world than as a lawyer, and he studied for seven more years before becoming a rabbi.

“Over the years, I’ve learned that true pleasure in life comes from giving,” Smason said. “Being a rabbi enables me to give to many different people in many different ways.”

Rabbi Noah Arnow, Kol Rinah

Growing up in Scarsdale, N.Y, Arnow always enjoyed celebrating  Jewish holidays. His family regularly went to synagogue on Shabbat mornings and he attended a synagogue’s Hebrew school to add to his early Jewish education.

In high school, Arnow spent two summers in Israel, which opened his eyes to different ways of practicing  Judaism. Arnow was very involved in Hillel during college, becoming the co-president in his senior year. During those years, he also enjoyed singing in a Jewish a cappella group.

“Throughout college and then after college, I worked in politics, on campaigns and for elected officials,” Arnow said. “About two or three years after college, I realized that I loved public service, but I wanted a more stable career, and that I wanted to be able to do public service in a Jewish way.”

Arnow decided to join some of his friends at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, where he studied six years to become a rabbi.

“I love studying and teaching Torah, and helping people find modern, relevant meaning in ancient texts,” said Arnow. “I’m so honored to be with people at transitional moments in their lives, both moments of joy and sadness. I love helping to lead and inspire my congregation, Kol Rinah, to create and implement a vision of inclusive, holy, fun yet serious Jewish community.”