Rabbi Rachel Ain

Keep up with Rabbi Ain on Facebook @Rachel Ain, on Twitter @RabbiRachelAin and, on zoom or livestream during Shabbat the Sutton Place Synagogue.

Email: rabbiain@spsnyc.org

Phone: 212-593-3300

Rabbi Ain Sermon Library

Rabbi Rachel Ain became the Rabbi of Sutton Place Synagogue, a Conservative Synagogue in Midtown Manhattan, in the Summer of 2012.

Before joining SPS, Rabbi Ain was the Senior Director for National Young Leadership at the Jewish Federations of North America, where she worked closely with lay leaders and professionals to engage the next generation of leaders for the Jewish community. Prior to that, she was the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, a Conservative Synagogue in Syracuse, NY, from her ordination at JTS in 2004 until 2011.

She sits on the Chancellor’s Rabbinic Cabinet of JTS, is a co-chair of the NYC Partnership of Faith Roundtable of Faith Leaders in NYC, is on the Executive Board of the NY Board of Rabbis, and the Board of Directors of UJA Federation of NY. Rabbi Ain was one of the NY Board of Rabbis Honorees at the annual Sukkah in the Sky event in 2013 and was selected to be a part of the inaugural cohort of the Rabbinic Fellowship for Visionary Leaders at the UJA Federation of NY. She has studied at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, participated in the Clergy Leadership Program at the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and completed a certificate program in executive leadership from Columbia University's Business School and UJA Federation of NY for leaders. Rabbi Ain actively works with people of all ages and backgrounds, including those seeking to convert to Judaism.

Rabbi Ain’s other experience includes serving as a commissioned Lieutenant (JG) for the US Navy Chaplains Corps, and participating in a fellowship at CLAL, called Rabbis Without Borders, where she trained to bring the wisdom of Jewish tradition into the larger public sphere. She has made engaging with various Jewish organizations a part of her rabbinic identity and has spent time traveling abroad with UJA Federation of NY to Moscow, Poland, and Israel as well as several, varied Israel experiences with AIPAC, Encounter, and Hartman. In 2018 She was awarded the Tikun Olam award by the Jewish Council on Public Affairs.

She has written and taught in a variety of venues including The New York Jewish Week, JTA, E-JewishPhilanthropy, Good Faith Media, The Jerusalem Post, and has appeared on GMA3 and The Today Show for various segments on faith and the holidays and faith during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Rabbi Ain holds a BA in American History from Barnard College and a BA in Midrash from JTS. She received her Rabbinic Ordination from JTS in 2004, where she concurrently received her MA in Jewish Education.

Rabbi Ain is married to Rabbi David Levy, the Director of the Block Center for Jewish Exploration and Education at Sutton Place Synagogue. They are the proud parents of two sons.