Rabbi Marci N. Bellows is proud to have joined the Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek community in July, 2016. A native of Skokie, Illinois, she earned a B.A. in Psychology from Brandeis University. While at the New York campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Bellows earned a Masters in Hebrew Literature in 2003, and, due to her interest in those who convert to Judaism, she wrote her rabbinical thesis on the topic, “Yisrael by Choice: Contemporary Understandings of the Psychosocial Aspects of Adopting a Jewish Identity.” Rabbi Bellows was ordained in 2004. Rabbi Bellows worked as both Adult Program Director and as Assistant Rabbi at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York, NY, and, more recently, she served as the spiritual leader at Temple B’nai Torah in Wantagh, NY from 2009-2016.
Rabbi Bellows wrote the popular feature column, “Reform, Really,” on The Jewish Week’s website, was a recurring guest on The Jewish Channel’s “Rabbis Roundtable” television program, and was named one of the top “Jews on Twitter” by The Huffington Post, as well as one of the “15 Rabbis You Should Follow on Twitter Who Will Change the Way You Think about Rabbis.” She was also awarded a place in the 2020-2021 Rabbi Balfour Brickner Clergy Seminar and Fellowship through the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. In addition, she has been invited to lead and teach a variety of topics in a number of settings, including WRJ Assemblies, URJ Biennials, URJ Regional Biennials, and the URJ Adult Learning Retreat. She had led workshops on Guided Jewish Meditation, Israeli Women Poets, Midrash, and Using Social Media in Synagogue Life. She has also studied voice and theatre for many years, and is graduate of the People’s Improvisation Theater program.
Rabbi Bellows lives in Chester with her husband, Seth Lindenman, her son, Spencer, and their four cats.