Wonder what Judaism has to say about the things you care about, from sex and money to immigration and inequality? Stop by to chat with young rabbis about 5783 years of conflicting answers, to engage in our favorite Jewish sport of debate and schmooze with friends, old and new, over drinks and snacks . . . in entirely unlikely places.
With Kelly Whitehead and Cantor Sara Anderson.
Kelly Whitehead (she/they) is a 4th year rabbinical student and Jewish Nonprofit Management MA student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Kelly participated in the Reform Movement's JewV'Nation Jews of Color Fellowship, where they learned to create and facilitate Anti-Racial Bias training for Jewish Professionals. They serve on the board of T'ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and was selected as one of The Jewish Week's 36 under 36 for 2021.
Cantor Sara Anderson is a proud alumna and ordinee of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Raised in Los Angeles, California, she fostered a deep connection to Jewish music through her lifelong involvement at her family’s synagogue, Stephen Wise Temple. Her commitment to music was fortified as she attended the prestigious, audition-based Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, the only US High School with a designated Operatic Studies program. Sara earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from UCLA in 2014 and her Masters Degree in Vocal Performance from Mannes College, the New School for Music in 2016.
During her time as a student at HUC-JIR, Sara was a Tisch-Star fellow and the recipient of the Rabbi Rick Jacobs award in Innovative Worship. In her year-in-Israel, she served as the Cantorial Intern for Beit Tefilah Israeli, a non-denominational progressive Israeli community based in Tel Aviv. She was student Cantor at East End Temple in Gramercy during her second and third years, spending summers and High Holy Days at her home community in Los Angeles. During the summer of 2020 and at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sara served as a chaplain intern at Los Angeles County Hospital, a public, level 1 trauma hospital in downtown LA. She was Temple Emanu-El’s Cantorial Intern for her last two years of school before becoming Assistant Cantor in 2022.
Off the bimah, Sara continues her search for the best Black and White cookie New York City has to offer. She and her husband Peter live on the Upper West Side and enjoy spending time in Central Park with their dog, Olive.