Rabbi Rachel Ain has been the Rabbi at CBS-CS since 2004. She received her Rabbinic ordination and Masters in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. During her time in Rabbinical School she worked at a local Jewish Day School, she served as a Rabbi of a small congregation in New York, she completed her pastoral education requirements through work in a local hospital and was also commissioned as a Naval Reservist for the US Navy Chaplains Corps.  Additionally, Rabbi Ain recently completed a course through the Onondaga Pastoral Care Center which explored different issues within the area of mental health.

Since assuming this role as Rabbi, Rabbi Ain has worked hard to infuse the congregation with a love of Jewish learning and Jewish living. To that end she has taught many courses including but not limited to a year long basic Judaism course, a course on the values and ideas of the Conservative movement, a text course on the book of Genesis, a high holiday preparation class, and a mini course for high school students.  Rabbi Ain is a consultant to the synagogue’s religious school as she works closely with the principal and the teachers to shape a curriculum that reflects the values of a Conservative synagogue.

Rabbi Ain believes that it takes collaboration, lay involvement and a sense of commitment to the Jewish values of education and social justice which will build CBS-CS.  To that end, she worked with a cohort of individuals in the community to secure a grant in family education programming which will enable membership units to explore how Jewish ritual can become a part of their lives.  

Since moving to Syracuse in 2004, she has immersed herself in a variety of local and national endeavors. She sits on the board of trustees of the Syracuse Jewish family services agency as well as the Jewish Outreach Institute’s Board of Professional Advisors. She is a member of the resolutions committee of the Rabbinical Assembly, a member of the Coalition for the Advancement for Jewish Education and finally, she has been involved with issues of Domestic violence as a member of the religious task force of the local agency combating domestic abuse. Rabbi Ain will also be working with STAR: Synagogue for Transformation and Renewal as a participant in the PEER program, a leadership training initiative for a selected group of Rabbis in North America.

Rabbi Ain and her husband, Rabbi David Levy, who serves as the Jewish Chaplain at Colgate University and Hamilton College live in Dewitt with their son.