Chaya Gusfield is an American,

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

attorney, known for being one of the two first openly lesbian rabbis ordained by the

Jewish Renewal Jewish Renewal () is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, and musical practices. Specifically, it seeks to reintroduce the "ancient Judaic traditions of mysticism and meditation, ...

movement. Gusfield and Rabbi Lori Klein were ordained at the same time in January 2006. Gusfield was a legal services lawyer, and director of a community mediation program prior to joining the rabbinate. She is the Assistant Rabbi and B'nei Mitzvah Coordinator for Beth Chaim Congregation in

Danville, California The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their names instead of "city". The population was 43,582 at the 2020 census ...

. Prior to this, she served as one of the Spiritual Leaders for the Renewal Synagogue in

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Al ...

, and as the program director for Kol Shofar, a Conservative Synagogue in

Tiburon, California Tiburon (; es, Tiburón, ) is an incorporated town in Marin County, California. It is located on the Tiburon Peninsula, which reaches south into the San Francisco Bay. It shares a ZIP code with the smaller incorporated city of Belvedere (forme ...

. Gusfield graduated from the

New College of California New College of California was a college founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President John Leary. It ceased operations in early 2008. New College's main campus was housed in several buildings in the Mission ...

with an

LL.B Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

. She and her partner live in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

with their daughter Yeshi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gusfield, Chaya American Jewish Renewal rabbis Women rabbis New College of California alumni Living people LGBT people from California LGBT rabbis Year of birth missing (living people) People from Oakland, California 21st-century American rabbis 21st-century American LGBT people

See also

References