Rabbi Deborah Brin

Rabbi Deborah J. Brin stepped into the pulpit at Nahalat Shalom in January of 2006, following the long tenure of founding rabbi, Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb.  She says that she could not resist the appeals of both Bob Levin (may his memory be a blessing) and Ruth Imber, both of whom asked her to come back to Albuquerque to be their rabbi 

Nahalat Shalom has proved to be a wonderful shidduch (match) for Rabbi Brin—together we are building on the past, sharing the excitement of the present and collectively moving into the future.  She noted, “The congregation has a unique role in the Albuquerque Jewish community: It is a Jewish Renewal synagogue, led by a Reconstructionist rabbi.”

A Minneapolis native, Rabbi Brin holds a bachelor's degree in religious studies from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, a master's degree in pastoral counseling from La Salle University in Philadelphia, and a Master of Hebrew Letters and ordination in 1985 from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, PA.  She was one of the first 100 women rabbis to be ordained, and is one of the first generation of lesbian rabbis. 

Asked how a Reconstructionist rabbi can serve a Renewal congregation, Rabbi Brin jokingly says that she is a "Recon-newalist."  While she was living and studying in Philadelphia, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi was teaching at Temple University and creating what has now become the Jewish Renewal movement.  Reb Zalman became Rabbi Brin’s mentor.  During her student days she would walk to his house for Shabbat services, lunch and “der rebbe’s tisch” listening to the rebbe teach and tell stories. 

Rabbi Brin creates opportunities for congregants to be involved with the whole Jewish community, and has become well-known for telephoning every member! Rabbi Brin participates in functions at the Jewish Community Center and through the Federation. She was instrumental in the creation of a statewide organization of women rabbis and cantors.

Former Va’ad President Barbara Waxer notes that “Rabbi Brin has the ability to draw in talented people and inspire them to do great work. She is a gift to this community as a spiritual leader who brings equal amounts of compassion and mirth to her work”. Through Rabbi Brin’s leadership, Nahalat Shalom hosted the other liberal congregations for the Shavuot holiday in 2007. 

Previously, Rabbi Brin has served as associate chaplain at Grinnell College in Iowa and as a hospice chaplain with hospices in New Mexico and Iowa, worked with Jewish Family Service in Albuquerque and taught Hebrew School at Congregation Albert. She has also served as the spiritual leader for Congregation Darchei Noam in Toronto. 

Rabbi Brin co-edited the poetry section for the Reconstructionist prayer book KOL HANESHAMAH: Shabbat Vehagim (Reconstructionist Press, 1994). Her other publications include “Against the Wall,” an article chronicling her experience leading the first woman’s prayer service and Torah reading at the Western Wall in the book, Women of the Wall Claiming Sacred Ground at Judaism’s Holy Site (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2003); and “The Use of Rituals in Grieving for a Miscarriage or Stillbirth”, in From Menarche to Menopause: The Female Body in Feminist Therapy published by The Haworth Press in 2004.

Rabbi Brin lives with her partner of 15 years, Yael, close to the shul.  She can be seen in the North Valley walking her beloved Shetland Sheepdog, Shayna.  Rabbi Brin is deeply committed to protecting our human habitat on planet Earth and joins many friends with similar concerns both within the local Jewish community and among our neighbors in the North Valley.