Rabbi Stacey Blank

Rabbi Stacey Blank

Rabbi Stacey Blank (she/her) is the Director of Education and Leadership Development for the World Union for Progressive Judaism. She previously served as the rabbi of Kehilat Shir Chadash in Tzur Hadassah (2013-2021) and Kehilat Darchei Noam in Ramat HaSharon (2007-2012). She has lived in Jerusalem since 2005 and writes stories, poems, and feminist prayers.

Keeping Family Close, Regardless of Distance

Rabbi Stacey Blank
As I boarded the plane to Israel in the summer of 2002 for my first year of rabbinical school at HUC in Jerusalem, my mother said, "Please, just don't meet an Israeli." As soon as the plane touched down at Ben Gurion airport, I knew that I was home. A few months later, I met that Israeli. From our first conversation, he understood that I was studying to be a rabbi, and I understood that he wanted to live only in Israel.