Rabbi Shira Stern

Rabbi Shira Stern was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1983 and earned her Doctor of Ministry from HUC-JIR in 2004.  She was the rabbi and educator of the Monroe Township Jewish Center for 13 years, working together with Cantor Kusher for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and the High Holidays. She later worked at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. She was co-president of the Women’s Rabbinic Network, as well as the president of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. She created the Human Relations commission in Monroe, was a member of the county and state Human Rights Commissions, and was a member of the Commission on Social Action of the Reform Movement for six years.
 
She was trained by the Red Cross to serve on the SAIR team - Spiritual Air Incident Response Team in 2001 and worked for four months at the Liberty State Park Family Assistance Center in the aftermath of 9/11. She is currently the lead for Disaster Spiritual Care for American Red Cross in New Jersey.
 
She has taught two Jewish feminist courses at Rutgers University. In addition to her political activism in the pro-choice movement, she has been widely featured in the print and television media on a variety of topics.
 
She writes on issues of Women in Judaism, biblical commentary and chaplaincy-related topics. She is a Board Certified Jewish Chaplain. She has been a hospital and hospice chaplain, Director of the Joint Chaplaincy Program of Greater Middlesex County and the Director of the Jewish Institute for Pastoral Care in New York City, part of the HealthCare Chaplaincy.
 
She now offers pastoral care and counseling in Marlboro, NJ, providing individual and family therapy and serves as Rabbinic Associate of Temple Rodeph Torah in Marlboro, NJ.
 
She is married to Rabbi Donald Weber, and they have three sons and a beautiful daughter by marriage.