 
Rabbi SaraLeya Schley was ordained as a Rabbi in 2005 by the ALEPH Rabbinical Program. She is widely accomplished. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she earned both B.S. in Psychology and M.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She received a Master of Philosophy in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a Master of Counseling from the University of Phoenix, Tucson campus. She is also certified in Interactive Guided Imagery™ and Soul Memory Discovery.
Rabbi SaraLeya served as rabbi to the Or Shalom Jewish Community (San Francisco) from 2004-2006. She has been a service leader at many congregations across the spectrum of Jewish practice, including the Aquarian Minyan (Berkeley), Congregation Netivot Shalom (Berkeley), Temple Beth Abraham (Oakland), Congregation Shir Neshama (Contra Costa Co.), and B'nai Ha'aretz (Garberville). She continues as an active member of Congregation Netivot Shalom (Berkeley), and Congregation Beth Israel (Berkeley).
She is a mother of three and an office-based Obstetrician-Gynecologist. She will be continuing her medical practice part-time while she serves Chochmat HaLev as our spiritual leader, leading bodies toward healing and our congregation toward spiritual growth.
Click
here for information about how Rabbi SaraLeya was selected.
Rabbi SaraLeya's first
official Shabbat service at Chochmat will be on Friday,
July 18th, at 7:30 pm. Please join us for this Celebratory
Kabbalat Shabbat of welcoming!
Rabbi SaraLeya will be engaging
in parlor chats to get to know community members over
the next several months. If you are interested in hosting
or attending a parlor chat, please email frontdesk@chochmat.org.
At the next annual meeting in
January 2009, Chochmat HaLev members will have the opportunity
to vote to confirm Rabbi SaraLeya as Chochmat HaLev's
spiritual leader.
We would like to thank our former
spiritual leaders, Rabbi Avram Davis and Rabbi Sara
Shendelman. Their work has helped to make Chochmat HaLev
what it is, and although their roles here have changed
we hope you will join us in extending them a warm and
open welcome as community members. We also acknowledge
and thank Brian Schachter-Brooks, who will continue
to serve as co-leader of services, and Cyrise Beatty,
who will continue to serve as musical director. We could
not have arrived here without help and support from
each of them.
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A
Brief History of Chochmat HaLev
In 1994, Rabbi Avram Davis founded
Chochmat HaLev as a school of Jewish meditation and
mysticism. Interest was strong, and soon thereafter,
he teamed up with Nan Gefen to formalize our non-profit
corporate status. At that time, classes were held in
private homes and church meeting rooms. By 1995, Chochmat
had enough momentum to rent warehouse space on 8th Street
in Berkeley. There, programming included various classes,
workshops, and retreats on Jewish meditation, spiritual
practice and mysticism. Within a few years, the curriculum
matured to include three year-long programs of study
in Jewish spiritual leadership, Jewish spirituality,
and Jewish meditation. As a sense of community emerged,
we began to celebrate Shabbat and High Holidays together;
chanting and meditation were our core practices.
In 2000, Chochmat HaLev bought the facility on Prince
St. in Berkeley with an eye toward expansion. Friday
night Shabbat services increased in number and prominence,
and the music at Chochmat began to soar with the formation
of the Chochmat band. We continued to offer classes,
workshops, meditations, and retreats. In addition, in
2001, our first three-year Jewish Meditation Teachers
Certification Program attracted 40 students from around
the country to learn to teach meditation. A second three-year
program began in 2003, then a one-year program in Jewish
Healing in 2004.
During these years of expansion, Chochmat HaLev was
co-directed by Avram, Nan, and Richie Andler (Executive
Director), and as the community grew, so did its interest
in steering the course of Chochmat and participating
in governance. In 2005, the board launched a strategic
planning process that resulted in a proposal for Chochmat
to become a membership organization, along the lines
of a synagogue, where members elect the board, ratify
the bylaws, and approve an organizational mission. The
community voted and approved this plan.
In December 2006, Avram resigned
from his position as Spiritual Director of Chochmat,
and has been made Rabbi Emeritus of Chochmat. In the
interim, services at Chochmat were led by his fellow
service leaders, Rabbi Sara Shendelman, Brian Schachter-Brooks,
and Cyrise Beatty.
In the fall of 2007, the community
began its search for permanent spiritual leadership.
In December, the position of spiritual leader was advertised,
and the search committee received applications from
many highly-qualified applicants of all backgrounds.
In March of 2008, the committee selected two finalists
to visit, lead services, and receive feedback from the
community. In mid-April, the Board voted to extend an
offer of employment to Rabbi SaraLeya.
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