Rabbinic Leadership

Rabbi Boris Dolin has been the rabbi of Congregation Dorshei Emet since 2016.  Rabbi Boris is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and holds an M.A. in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he focused his studies on informal and community education, and worked as an educator at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a Living Museum of the Holocaust.

Previously Boris was the rabbi of Beit Polska, the Union of Progressive Congregations in Warsaw, where he led a multi-congregational community working to help rebuild Jewish life in Poland. For four years he worked as the associate rabbi and educator at Temple Beth Israel in Eugene, Oregon and previously was a nursing home chaplain and university Jewish student advisor in the Philadelphia area.  Rabbi Boris was part of the first rabbinic cohort of the 18Doors Rukin Rabbinic Fellowship, acting as a resource and advocate for interfaith families and interfaith marriage in Montreal and Canada.  He was also part of Cohort 3 of the Clergy Leadership Incubator, a program for a select group of rabbis throughout North America to help inspire innovative change and institutional growth in the Jewish community.

Rabbi Boris has extensive experience working with children and young families has been a songleader and music teacher at various camps and synagogue supplementary schools in addition to being a popular storyteller at local libraries and children’s programs.  As an activist, Rabbi Boris supports many causes, including environmental, food justice and animal rights issues, anti-racism and LGPTQ initiatives, and interfaith dialogue. He lives in Montreal with his wife Sarah, and his children, Elijah, Ezra and Nehama.  He dabbles in many hobbies, including woodworking, knitting, calligraphy, guitar and banjo.  He also is an avid runner, and is proud to always finish as the first Reconstructionist rabbi in his age group!

Read Rabbi Boris' Weekly Blog Here

Rabbi Boris is passionate about helping to create participatory and holistic Jewish communities, where learning is intergenerational and a part of Jewish life both inside and outside of the synagogue. He works to ensure that all people with a Jewish connection, including the unaffiliated, interfaith and questioning, find ways to connect to and learn from our tradition and see the importance of community in an ever changing world. As a musician, he infuses his services and programs with music from the different denominations and from various cultures and world communities, creating participatory, joy-filled prayer experiences for all.

Rabbi Boris lives in Montreal his wife Sarah Dolin, a fellow educator and community leader. They have three children, Elijah, Ezra and Nehama.

Read Rabbi Boris' blog Moving Forward

Learn more about Rabbi Boris and hear some of his music at his website:

http://www.borisdolin.com

CONTACT RABBI BORIS

Our rabbi is always happy to recommend books and other learning resources for your particular interests. Click here.

Rabbi Ron Aigen, the first full time rabbi of Dorshei Emet died tragically of a heart attack in 2016.  He was spiritual leader of the community since 1976, and had a passion for promoting creative Jewish pathways for human fulfillment. His most recent interest was in the development of the Wise Heart Project: Jewish Wisdom for Everyday Living. Combining mindfulness meditation practice together with Jewish texts and rituals the Wise Heart Project offered two new programs this year: Parenting as a Spiritual Journey and Wise-Aging.

Rabbi Ron was a Fellow of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He had served as President of the Montreal Board of Rabbis; President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association; and Chair of the Montreal Federation’s Commission on Continuity and Culture.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, he received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Harpur College, SUNY Binghamton and his Masters of Arts in Family Therapy and Community Psychology from Temple University. Rabbi Aigen was a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and was awarded a honourary Doctor of Divinity in 2001.

Rabbi Ron’s publications included Siddur Hadesh Yameinu/ Renew Our Days: A Book of Jewish Prayer and Meditation, Mahzor Hadesh Yameinu: A Prayer-Cycle for Days of Awe, and Wellsprings of Freedom: The Renew Our Days Hagaddah; Community and the Individual Jew: A Festschrift in Honour of Lavy M. Becker; and chapters in Bar/Bat Mitzvah Education: A Source Book describing the Dorshei Emet Pre-B’nei Mitzvah and Family Education Program which he developed.

Rabbi Ron was married and the proud father of three children.  He was beloved by so many in the Dorshei Emet and Montreal community, and is missed by us all.  His legacy lives on in our vision for a meaningful and dynamic Jewish future.