Our Rabbi
Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman
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Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman has been long involved in the Jewish community. Her scholarly interests range from Chassidic and Jewish mystical teachings and Jewish Thought (she has edited and translated various works) to contemporary trends in modern Jewish life and implications for synagogues, schools and communal agencies. She is the founder of Pardes Jewish Day School, a K-8 school that integrates Jewish and general studies. An Avi Chai fellow in Jewish Education, she attended the Principal’s Center of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Rabbi Sharfman served as Pardes’ Head of School for over a decade until her decision to attend rabbinical school. Ordained from the Academy for Jewish Religion-Los Angeles in 2005, Rabbi Sharfman lived in Israel for many years and holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, taught in Israeli schools, and worked as a tour guide and folk dance instructor in Israel. Rabbi Sharfman has also been involved nationally, having served on the Executive Committee of the (then) UAHC, as President of PARDeS (the Progressive Association of Reform Day Schools) and as School Accreditation Chair and Family Education Chair of the National Association of Temple Educators. She was chosen as a recipient of the Behrman House Professional Leadership Development Award and has published numerous curricular materials and Torah study pieces. Rabbi Sharfman currently serves as President of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix and is an alumna of the prestigious STAR PEER Rabbinic Executive Leadership Program. In 2002, Rabbi Sharfman was selected as an “Arizona Jewish Mother of the Year”, but her proudest work is in raising three daughters who are real “menschen” – and who are the reason that she does this work – Stephanie (who is teaching in a Jewish Day School), Erica (a sophomore at Emory University), and Rebecca (a high school student). |