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Our Rabbi - Rabbi Sally R. Finestone

Since 1998 when she joined Congregation Or Atid in Wayland as our Rabbi and Education Director, Rabbi Sally Finestone has worked to build on our tradition of excellence as a vibrant center of Jewish living, leading us to renew and deepen our connections to God, the Jewish tradition, and to each other. She was raised in one of only two Jewish families in Clifton Forge, a rural town in the Virginia mountains.

Rabbi Finestone was among the first group of women rabbis, receiving her ordination in 1982 from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. She holds a Bachelors degree in Judaic Studies from Duke University, Masters degrees from HUC and Harvard Divinity School, and an Honorary Doctorate from HUC. She served at Harvard Hillel for many years before joining Or Atid as our first rabbi.

In Or Atid’s sanctuary, Rabbi Finestone teaches the congregation torah and commentary and she leads in prayer while teaching the meaning of ancient words. She touches the lives of every child who enters Or Atid’s school and studies with each bar or bat mitzvah their torah portion and how it relates to contemporary Jewish life. She also teaches innovative adult education classes, conducts a weekly torah study group, and leads the congregation in community relations and social justice projects.

In September 2007, Rabbi Finestone received the annual CJP Rabbinic Award.

Rabbi Finestone is married to Rabbi Boaz Heilman, Rabbi of Bnai Torah in Sudbury. They have two children, Hannah and Jonathan. In May 2007, she celebrated the 25th anniversary of her Rabbinic Ordination.