Rabbi Rochelle Robins, ACPE Certified Educator
President and Dean of Clinical Education
Rabbi Robins served as Vice President, Dean of the Chaplaincy School, and held a variety of leadership positions at the Academy for Jewish Religion California. She is the recipient of scholarships and awards including: the Joshua Venture Fellowship for Young Jewish Social Entrepreneurs, the Dr. Martin A. Cohen Prize in East European Literature, the Lewis and Minnie Raphael Award for Outstanding Service to a Small Congregation and the Irving Kalsman Scholarship Fund in Hospital Chaplaincy. She has published in the field of Jewish Pastoral Care, Jewish Women’s Commentaries, intersectionality, and Transdenominational Judaism. Rabbi Robins also served as co-founder and Executive Director of Bat Kol: A Feminist House of Study, Jerusalem’s first international progressive women’s yeshivah (school of religious studies). Rabbi Rochelle Robins was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, New York. She received her Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters/Literature from the Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles, California, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Rabbi Robins is a Certified Educator with the ACPE. She began her CPE training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia before completing her supervisory training at The Center for Urban Chaplaincy in San Diego. She and Cantor Jonathan Friedmann are the Co-Founders of Ezzree Institute.
Cantor Jonathan L. Friedmann, Ph.D
Vice President, Academic Dean, and Director of Programs
In addition to his work at Ezzree Institute, Cantor Jonathan L. Friedmann, Ph.D. serves as Admissions Director and Associate Professor at the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. He is also President of the Western States Jewish History Association, Director of the Jewish Museum of the American West, Community Leader of Adat Chaverim - Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Los Angeles, and Creator & Co-host of Amusing Jews, an interview show celebrating Jewish contributors and contributions to American popular culture. He previously served as Professor of Jewish Music History, Dean of the Master of Jewish Studies Program, and Director of Institutional Research at the Academy for Jewish Religion California (AJRCA). Dr. Friedmann received B.A. and M.A. degrees in Religious Studies from California State University, Long Beach, Cantorial Ordination and a Masters in Jewish Sacred Music from AJRCA, and a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from the joint program of North-West University, South Africa, and Greenwich School of Theology, UK. He is the author or editor of over thirty books on music, history, biblical studies, and religion & popular culture, including Goliath as Gentle Giant: Sympathetic Portrayals in Popular Culture; Torah, Service, Deeds: Jewish Ethics in Transdenominational Perspectives; Voices in the Wilderness: Emerging Roles of Israeli Clergywomen; and Musical Aesthetics: An Introduction to Concepts, Theories, and Functions.
Rabbi Susan Freeman, ACPE Certified Educator
Director of Clinical Pastoral Education
Rabbi Susan Freeman, a Chaplain and ACPE Certified Educator, currently serves at Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) and is a Director in the Center for Jewish Care (CJC), which is dedicated to assisting and addressing the needs of San Diego’s Jewish community. She previously taught Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Sharp HealthCare and VITAS Hospice in San Diego. Originally from Denver, CO, Susan earned an M.A. in Hebrew Literature and Rabbinic Ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Rabbi Freeman has been involved in hospice, hospital, and home health chaplaincy since 2003. Prior to chaplaincy, she worked as a congregational rabbi, education director, High Holiday cantor, writer, and dancer. Rabbi Freeman’s publications include To Dwell in Your House: Vignettes and Spiritual Reflections on Caregiving at Home; Torah in Motion: Creating Dance Midrash (co-author JoAnne Tucker); and Teaching Jewish Virtues: Sacred Sources and Arts Activities.
Accreditation
Ezzree Institute’s CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) program is in the process of becoming an accredited independent center of ACPE (Association of Clinical Pastoral Education). The Institute is working toward academic accreditation through ATS (Association of Theological Schools).