Rabbi Amy Joy Small served as Senior Rabbi of Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington, Vermont, from 2015-2023, until her retirement. She was involved with Jewish Communities of Vermont and Vermont Interfaith Action. Previously, Rabbi Small created and led Deborah’s Palm Center for Jewish Learning and Experiences, based in Morristown, NJ. From 1997-2013 she was rabbi of Congregation Beth Hatikvah, in Summit, NJ. In addition to previous congregational posts, Rabbi Small served on the faculty and administration of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College from 1995-1998. She was ordained from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1987. Small served terms as a member of the Board of Governors of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation.
Rabbi Small is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, a Fellow of Rabbis Without Borders (CLAL), and a Storahtelling Maven. Rabbi Small was a co-founder of the Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, where she served a term as the organization’s Board President.
Rabbi Small has been extensively involved in interfaith Middle East peace efforts, as a leader in the National Interreligious Initiative for Peace in the Middle East (NILI) and a co-teacher of “Building Abrahamic Partnerships” at the Hartford Seminary. Small has served in leadership for Religions for Peace, USA and was a delegate to the World Conference of Religions for Peace in Kyoto, Japan, in 2006. She was appointed by NJ Governor Jon Corzine to the New Jersey Advisory Commission on Faith Based Initiatives in 2009. Small was recognized with the MetroWest NJ Rabbinic Award, and served as the chairperson for the Rabbinic Cabinet of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, NJ.