About
Rabbi Stephanie Kramer is the Senior Associate Rabbi at Congregation Shomrei Torah, a Reform congregation in Santa Rosa, California. During the 2017 Northern California Wildfires, Rabbi Kramer led the entire Sonoma County Jewish community with grace and dedication, earning her the moniker the “Fire Rabbi.” During the devastating fires, Rabbi Kramer organized resources to help families in need and turned the temple into an evacuation center, a day camp, and a place for comfort. She worked to find temporary housing for congregants and others in the community who lost their homes. Fittingly, Rabbi Kramer also works in a group supporting rabbis through trauma and natural disasters.
Rabbi Kramer is the friendly face that greets families on the playground and welcomes people to the sanctuary with her warm, compassionate, and caring presence. Her rabbinate is filled with counseling, pastoral outreach, liturgical creativity, and governance. She understands that one of the primary reasons members stay connected to their congregation – and to one another – is interpersonal relationships; and she is honored to work with families through their most joyous moments, hold their hands during their most difficult times, and help her community find deeper meaning along their journeys.
Rabbi Kramer is an innovator, collaborator, and natural connector, working extensively with the Board and staff to ensure a thriving Reform Jewish community in Santa Rosa. With energy and originality, she cultivates creative models for community-building and dynamic ways to integrate Judaism into our lives. Rabbi Kramer thrives in collaborative environments, and enjoys reimagining and visioning along with lay leaders to carry out the mission of the congregation.
She is an enthusiastic storyteller and a passionate teacher who eagerly shares her love of Torah and helps Jews at all stages feel a stronger connection to Judaism. Along with her daily pulpit responsibilities, Rabbi Kramer enjoys supporting the broader Jewish community through her work on a number of Boards and Committees including the Camp Newman Advisor Board, the IsraAID Global Rabbinical Council, the Sonoma County Jewish Leadership Council, and the Budget and Finance Committee for the Central Conference of American Rabbis. In addition, she is the immediate past president of Sonoma Hillel.
Rabbi Kramer was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and holds a master’s degree in Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Houston. She is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute, and is currently in the Clergy Leadership Incubator and in the inaugural cohort of an all-female fellowship, Voices for Good.
Rabbi Kramer’s writing has appeared in The Washington Post, eJewish Philanthropy, and The Press Democrat. She and her husband, Adam Kramer, have two children, Micah and Noa.
Fellowships
Shalom Hartman Institute
I am a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute. This three-year intensive pluralistic study fellowship was a transformative experience in my rabbinate. Through the study of texts and ideas with renowned SHI scholars and rabbinic colleagues, I gained a better understanding of the central political, moral, and spiritual issues facing North American Jewry and the modern State of Israel. Traveling to Jerusalem twice a year for three years was a blessing, and the friendships I made with rabbis across the United States serving in all branches of Jewish communities is a gift that keeps giving.
Jewish Learning Works
I was honored to participate in this inaugural two-year, all-female cohort. This fellowship focused on amplifying women’s voices in the Jewish nonprofit world. Throughout these two years, a group of mid-career women serving in the Bay Area Jewish community studied together, with experts in finance, creativity, donor development, and structural organization.
We participated in a training with the OpEd Project, learning
how to better write articles to “change who writes history.”
Additionally, I received individualized professional coaching
to help strategize for career advancement.
Clergy Leadership Incubator
I am currently participating in the Clergy Leadership Incubator, which is a two-year program based on Adaptive Leadership. This incubator supports and encourages rabbis serving congregations in areas of innovative thinking, change management, and institutional transformation. During this fellowship each rabbi works on an innovation project. My innovation project is a virtual curriculum in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, entitled, “Building Your Palace in Time: Creating Sacred Space and Sacred Time.”
Press
Press Democrat
Jewish News of Northern California
Baskets of Judaica Brighten Hanukkah for Fire-Affected Families
For Some Wildfire Victims, Long-Term Healing Began at ‘Rejewvenate’
Rabbis Appeal to Community for Temporary Housing for Fire Victims
IsraAid and Local Volunteers at Work On Post-Fire Psychological Healing