Long Island

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Welcome!


Are you looking for Jewish clergy for your upcoming wedding or baby naming? Seeking help on your journey to conversion? If you’re looking for guidance with a lifecycle event or to find inclusive Jewish events and meet other interfaith couples at your life stage, we’re here to help you. We are thrilled to have two Rukin Rabbinic Fellows, Rabbi Ari Saks and Rabbi Jodie Siff, here on Long Island to support you.

Rabbi Ari, Rabbi Jodie and our other Rukin Fellows throughout the U.S. and Canada offer programming for interfaith/intercultural couples and families to discuss relevant issues. We hope you’ll join them for programs and workshops, which include opportunities to reflect on your backgrounds, differences and similarities and discuss your hopes, plans and dreams for the future. They are also available for one-on-one consultations and to refer you to local Jewish clergy and organizations that welcome interfaith/intercultural couples and families. Contact Rabbi Ari at rabbiari@18doors.org and Rabbi Jodie at rabbijodie@18doors.org.

Our Events


Thu 30

FaithFULL: The Theology of Passover and Easter (For Jewish Professionals) (National) – Online

March 30 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm CDT
Join us as we explore Passover and Easter a little deeper with Rukin Rabbinic Fellowship Alumnus Rabbi Steven Philp of Mishkan Chicago and Rev. Jason Lydon from Second Unitarian Church of Chicago. This discussion is for Jewish professionals and clergy of all faiths who want to deepen their understanding of the relationship between these two holidays in order to better serve interfaith couples and families.
Thu 30

What to Do for Passover: Best Practices for Grandparents of Interfaith Families (National) – Online

March 30 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm EDT
As grandparents of interfaith families, our Passover seders and traditions may look different now than they did many years ago. Join 18Doors' Rabbi Malka Packer-Monroe and fellow grandparents of interfaith families to revisit Passover through a new lens! We'll discuss the universally accessible themes of Passover, best practices for engaging our adult children and grandchildren of different faith backgrounds, and have time to build community with other grandparents across North America.
May 16

Let’s Bayit: Homebuying and Building a Jew-ish Home – Online

May 16 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm EDT
Buying your first home is a big deal. If you're beginning to ask yourself where to start, how much money to save, or what it means to build a Jewish (including Jew-ish, Jew adjacent, interfaith and multi-faith) home, we've got the perfect program for you. Join 18Doors and a realtor from Move With Pride for a discussion aimed at helping couples navigate home-buying. (And, if you were wondering, bayit means "house" in Hebrew!)

Meet Rabbi Ari Saks – Rukin Rabbinic Fellow

Rabbi Ari Saks, a Rabbi Without Borders Fellow, is in his eighth year out of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the Conservative Movement’s Seminary, and his third year as senior rabbi of the Huntington Jewish Center. Over the course of his rabbinic career, Rabbi Saks has launched many innovative programs to infuse passion and energy into his communities.

Rabbi Saks has a deep passion for working with interfaith families whether they raise their families with one religion or two religions. At the same time, Rabbi Saks works closely with Jewish parents who are navigating the complexities of having children marry someone of a different faith. Rabbi Saks participates in interfaith family lifecycle events as much as possible while upholding the standards of the Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative Movement.

He is excited to work with 18Doors to further enhance his understanding of the needs of interfaith families, to learn best practices for engaging them, and to develop a network of like-minded clergy.

Jodie Siff

Meet Rabbi Jodie Siff – Rukin Rabbinic Fellow

Rabbi Jodie Siff grew up in Plandome, N.Y. and has been serving the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore community as their Rabbi for 23 years.

Jodie works with the synagogue’s nursery school and the older adult community.

A mentor through the Elaine Breslow Institute at Beit T’Shuvah, she works to support Jewish professionals and individuals who are yearning to create sacred space and build sacred relationships in their work and lives. Jodie believes that the behavior of someone in recovery, one of a daily practice of reflection and integration of life, is not just for addicts. She embraces this belief and helps people create their own practices.

Jodie and her husband Peter are the proud parents of four young adults.