Shabbat with Rabbi Rick Jacobs

About Rabbi Rick Jacobs:

Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him) is president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the most powerful force in North American Jewish life. The URJ leads the largest and most diverse Jewish movement in North America, reaching more than 2 million people through 825 congregations, 14 overnight camps, the Reform teen youth Movement NFTY, and the Religious Action Center in Washington DC. For more than 150 years, the URJ has been at the forefront in promoting an open, progressive Judaism.

The URJ’s programs and communities inspire more and more people—from children to seniors—to explore what it means to be Jewish, pursue justice around the world, and forge stronger ties to Israel.

A longtime and devoted creative change agent, Rabbi Jacobs spent 20 years as a visionary spiritual leader at Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) in Scarsdale, New York. Before that, during his tenure as the rabbi of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, he created the first homeless shelter in a New York City synagogue. 

He’s a tireless advocate for an Israel that is secure, Jewish, democratic, and pluralistic, with a vibrant Reform Jewish community. Rabbi Jacobs has studied for two decades at Jerusalem's Shalom Hartman Institute, where he is a senior rabbinic fellow.

Rabbi Jacobs is regularly featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, The Washington Post, Ha’aretz, The Forward, NPR, and CNN, among others.

Rabbi Jacobs and his wife Susan K. Freedman have three adult children.

About Cantor Becky Mann:

A composer, guitarist, and cantor, Becky Mann has been called “one of the brightest voices of a new generation of Jewish songwriters carrying our tradition forward in new and exciting ways.” She is passionate about creating community through music and meaningful worship, and inspiring communities through her heartfelt interpretations of prayer. Originally from Las Vegas, Becky graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Jewish Sacred Music. She received her Masters Of Sacred Music from the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, where she was ordained as a cantor in 2023.

Becky serves as the Assistant Cantor at Temple Israel of Westport, CT., in addition to visiting Jewish communities across the country as an Artist in Residence. She has served as the cantorial intern at Congregation Ner Tamid in Henderson, NV., Baltimore Hebrew Congregation in Baltimore, MD., and Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, NJ. In addition to her cantorial roles, Becky has worked in the Jewish community as a songleader, music specialist, preschool teacher, and youth choir director, instilling a love of Judaism in the next generation. Throughout her time in cantorial school, Becky served on the leadership team of the URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Academy.

Becky’s compositions have been featured in worship services, workshops, and concerts at both ACC conventions and URJ conferences, and her music can be heard in congregations around the country. Her compositions have been published in Transcontinental Music Publication’s Ruach 5777: The Best of Contemporary Jewish Rock and Pop, Ilu Finu: A Cappella for Jewish Prayer, High Holy Days Anthology: Volume I, High Holy Days Anthology: Volume II, The Complete Songbook for Children Volume III: Manginot and Complete Shireinu Volume II (coming summer 2025).