Rabbi Ilana Schwartzman
Rabbi Ilana serves the BHSS community with a love of people and an enthusiasm for modern Judaism. She sees her role as engaging individuals; facilitating connections with each person and the congregation, Torah, and a concept of the Divine; instilling Jewish identity in youth; being a resource to the larger community; and setting an example of living Judaism. She also believes that music, literature, and artistry are powerful vehicles through which we can connect to each other and God.
Prior to serving at BHSS, she spent 8 years at Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her first position was as assistant rabbi of Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo, New York. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and went on to study Hebrew at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel. She was ordained in 2007 from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Rabbi Ilana is a third-generation rabbi. Her grandfather, Rabbi Sylvan Schwartzman (z”l) was at the forefront of Reform Jewish education, and her father, Rabbi Joel Schwartzman, has served as an Air Force chaplain and a congregational rabbi. Additionally, her mother, Ziva Schwartzman, a Sabra, has instilled in her a love for the people and the State of Israel.
Rabbi Ilana has lived in places far and wide, including Germany, Greece, Israel, and many states within the U.S. She, her husband Art, and her daughter are happy to have set down roots in the BHSS community, knowing that each of them brings and receives in this special space.