Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Timeline
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Adam B. Ruditsky

Plano,TX

Summary

I currently serve as the Rabbi of Adat Chaverim, a URJ congregation in Plano, TX, just north of Dallas. After several years as a business owner I worked as a healthcare chaplain till being ordained as a Rabbi, beginning my Rabbinate by serving primarily in Jewish senior living communities while maintaining pulpit roles, a path that would benefit my synagogue leadership in terms of spiritual care and people skills. I consider myself an innovative rabbi who honors the continuity of tradition and learning while embracing new ideas, with a strong commitment to social justice and the umbrella values within Reform Judaism. A dedicated Zionist in the Reform tradition, I also work to strengthen understanding of Israel within the American Jewish community. I furthermore am an advocate for LGBTQ inclusion, interfaith families, and lifelong Jewish education for all ages, helping individuals to find meaning and connection in Jewish life. Regarding Jewish community and its importance for Jewish life, the synagogue is a critical piece and a central hub of engagement and belonging for everyone—from children to seniors. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the Jewish community in this capacity and look forward to serving in congregational work in the future.

Overview

31
31
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Senior Rabbi

Adat Chaverim
07.2023 - Current
  • Company Overview: Senior Rabbi and Solo Clergy of a 130 member-family suburban Dallas congregation in Texas primarily known for its intimacy and family feel. Supported by an active volunteer base, Adat Chaverim is a post-COVID rebuild that offered a great deal of room for the creativity of new worship ideas, stronger adult programming, a reworking of the religious school and greater opportunities for community engagement.
  • Weekly Shabbat Services and Shabbat Torah Study
  • High Holiday Service Leading
  • Reading Torah and Haftarah
  • Weekly Teaching Communication via Email/Social Media
  • B'nai Mitzvah teaching and Sermon Presentation Assistance
  • Religious School support, teaching classes and leading Tefillah
  • High School Support and Classes
  • College Age Outreach
  • Adult Education Classes (Views of Reform Judaism, Pirkei Avot, Bible, etc)
  • Adult b'nai Mitzvah Class
  • Conversion Class and Mikvah
  • Hospital, Rehab and Home Visitation
  • Weddings
  • Funeral and Shiva Minyans
  • One-on-One support
  • Collaboration with Board for Congregational Direction
  • Committee support: Brotherhood, sisterhood, social action, Gala team, volunteers, membership, Religious Practice Committee and others when needed.
  • Administrative and Social Media Advertising
  • Fund Raising Support
  • Local Jewish Home monthly support - Shabbat Services
  • Hospitality
  • Misc.


Rabbi and Director of Religion and Spiritual Care

Beth Sholom Village
02.2021 - 06.2023
  • Company Overview: Nursing Home and Assisted Living Facility. Oversee all religious activity, lead weekly Shabbat services, Read Torah, lead services, including for the High Holidays, give appropriate sermons; all aspects of service prep and participation. Oversight of all Jewish Synagogue Programming for the Jewish community but also to the larger interfaith community.
  • Sermons/Drashot are geared to this population but following the weekly Torah teachings.
  • Oversee Kashrut standard.
  • Passover, Hanukkah, Purim and other holidays to be celebrated.
  • Adult Education, Counseling and other pastoral needs as they arise.
  • End of Life care, funerals and bereavement support and groups.
  • Maintain relationships with the local federation, JCC, JFS and other synagogues to support their efforts as needed.
  • Duties of Religious Services and Spiritual Support: Facility Chaplain.
  • Help Guide the direction of Beth Sholom Village.
  • Non-medical emotional and spiritual support for patients, residents, family and staff.
  • New employee orientation for how Jewish values underscore our work and standards as a Jewish faith-based organization.
  • Champion and protect our foundational mission as a Jewish organization in a multitude of ways, and while not limited to the following: make sure our religious standards fit the facility population, bioethics for healthcare protocols.
  • Participate as part of the IDT to support the team with psychosocial and spiritual concerns.
  • Oversee all religious activity aside from Jewish services, i.e. Christian services, Catholic Eucharist, etc. as well as mobilizing religious services volunteers.
  • Provide services for counseling, funeral officiating, annual memorial service (other than Yizkor on Yom Kippur and other times), and even weddings, also overseeing our bereavement groups and NODA program (No one dies alone).
  • Educate staff about the significance of religious values as part of the nature of our work, interface and collaborate with other departments such as Activities, PR, Philanthropy, Medical, Admin, etc.
  • Nursing Home and Assisted Living Facility.
  • Reason for Leaving: Moved to Plano, Texas for new Job

Congregational Rabbi (Began as Student Rabbi)

Makom Ohr Shalom
02.2019 - 02.2021
  • Company Overview: Renewal Community.
  • Service Leading - Shabbat and Weekdays
  • Oversight of Synagogue Programming
  • High Holiday Oversight and Programming
  • Torah Reading
  • Sermons/Drashot
  • Adult Education (Zoom and in person)
  • Conversion teaching and Support
  • Counseling
  • Music Team Participation
  • Funerals
  • Rabbinic Support to Board
  • Misc. Needs.
  • Renewal Community.
  • Reason for Leaving: Moved to Virginia Beach, VA for new Job

Jewish Community Support

Community Rabbis
09.2017 - 01.2021
  • Company Overview: A support organization that helps to meet a variety of needs from community functions in Assisted Livings or Skilled Nursing Facilities, to Funerals and other Jewish related support from chaplaincy to education.
  • Currently I facilitate Shabbat services and when needed holiday programming.
  • A support organization that helps to meet a variety of needs from community functions in Assisted Livings or Skilled Nursing Facilities, to Funerals and other Jewish related support from chaplaincy to education.

Rabbi and Jewish Interfaith Hospice

Skirball Hospice
08.2017 - 01.2021
  • Company Overview: Skirball Hospice is the hospice program of the Los Angeles Jewish Home of the Aging.
  • Active part of the hospice IDT/MDT.
  • Hospice Rabbi and Ecumenical Chaplain.
  • Participate in all team meetings.
  • Maintain and oversee Case Load requirements.
  • Provide spiritual and emotional support to patients, facilities, family and staff.
  • Help families navigate the hospice journey as non-medical psychosocial and spiritual support.
  • Offer prayers and other religious values at end of life, to include accessing other area clergy when requested for specific needs.
  • Maintain weekly presence at Skirball's Los Angeles Campus.
  • Facilitate after death needs during the day such as mortuary calls at time of death, mortuary and funeral education and facilitation if called for, grief support, etc. when needed and/or required.
  • Funeral Officiating and after funeral needs (Jewish Shiva Minyan for example).
  • Ongoing Education and other needs as required.
  • Skirball Hospice is the hospice program of the Los Angeles Jewish Home of the Aging.

Jewish and Interfaith Hospice Chaplain

Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care
09.2015 - 03.2017
  • I worked as a part-time Jewish and Interfaith chaplain for the Los Angeles office of Seasons.
  • I carried a small case load that primarily interacted with Jewish patients, providing pre and post death support to patients, family and staff.
  • I was involved in bereavement support as needed and was used for non-medical intake for admission into hospice care that provided education of hospice philosophy for prospective families.
  • My role as a part time chaplain was also to provide extra support and coverage for the full-time chaplain.
  • Left when the position was reorganized.

Community Relations Liaison and Spiritual Care Coordinator

Amidah Hospice Care, Inc
02.2014 - 07.2014
  • Interface with local hospitals and medical professionals as well as patients and families to help Provide spiritual care and EOB support and education when needed as well as facilitate services and drive admissions.
  • Interface with Insurance companies and Medical groups of contracting purposes.
  • Provide Administrative Support as needed, calling for verification and authorization if needed.
  • Attend marketing and networking meetings.
  • Help to create marketing materials.
  • This was a contracted position only. (Laid off for lack of budget)

Staff Chaplain

Northridge Hospital Medical Center (Dignity Health)
03.2011 - 01.2014
  • Ecumenical Staff Chaplain, working to care for patients, families and staff.
  • Primary units of care are Oncology, acute care and Orthopedics.
  • I also function as the backup Chaplain for ICU/CCU and work very closely with the Palliative Care team.
  • Other functions at Northridge included but not limited to: visitation, EMR interdisciplinary interaction, Counseling and Guidance skills, Oncall duties, Ethics participation, family conferences when required, Medical resident training, Bereavement group Leader and planning, Advanced Care planning/End of Life Care/Palliative Care support, Medical Rounds, Volunteer support and oversight.
  • Department Cuts - Laid off

Chaplain

Tender Loving Care Hospice
06.2010 - 03.2011
  • Caseload of appx 60 pts.
  • Working as part of the Interdisciplinary Team to care for patients and their families spiritually during the last days of life.
  • Regular visits, interacting with other facilities and medical personal, providing support as necessary.
  • Working with Hospice to focus on Jewish patients as needed and Bereavement coordinator.
  • Left this position for career advancement - resigned

Ecumenical Chaplain

St. John's Regional Medical Center/St John's Pleasant Valley (Dignity Health)
02.2010 - 03.2011
  • I worked on the campuses of both St Johns in Oxnard, CA and her affiliated with sister hospital St. Johns Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo, CA.
  • Ecumenical Staff Chaplain working in the hospital per diem.
  • Working with new admits regarding Advance Healthcare Directive, floor rounds, providing spiritual care for patients, family and staff.
  • Available for on-call as needed, covering all areas of hospital, including ICU/CCU and ER/Trauma.
  • Interact with Palliative Care team to provide Chaplain support, address code status issues and end-of-life support as well as Ethical matters and concerns.
  • Deal with Medical Examiner, Mortuaries, on-call rotation as well as local clergy when needed.
  • Left this position for career advancement - resigned

CPE Chaplain Resident & Chaplain

St. Luke's Hospital
08.2008 - 08.2009
  • CPE resident classes and education including learning clinical spiritual care, procedures and techniques necessary to achieve eligibility for Chaplain Board Certification.
  • Unit Chaplain at St. Luke's Hospital as well as Texas Children's Hospital where I was assigned to various units, involving extensive visitation of patients, families and staff in both hospitals within an ecumenical setting, ministering to people from various traditions.
  • Dealing with end-of-life and death-related issues, including extensive palliative spiritual care for families and patients.
  • Communicating and working with people from various cultural and religious backgrounds on a daily basis.
  • 'On-call' Chaplain with overnight shifts for emergency care covering both hospitals.

President & Owner

Judaica Resources, Inc
11.1994 - 02.2008
  • Company Overview: Developed and re-structured growing e-commerce retail gift business, including establishment of a wholesale division. Sales Manager and International Purchasing Agent and Buyer involving attending gift fairs and meeting new vendors, both local and international, with contract negotiation. Extensive customer service, trouble-shooting and conflict resolution, staff recruiting and management. Development of a unique online niche for company growth and oversight of general retail/web-based operations and management until sale of business in 2008.
  • Developed and re-structured growing e-commerce retail gift business, including establishment of a wholesale division.
  • Sales Manager and International Purchasing Agent and Buyer involving attending gift fairs and meeting new vendors, both local and international, with contract negotiation.
  • Extensive customer service, trouble-shooting and conflict resolution, staff recruiting and management.
  • Development of a unique online niche for company growth and oversight of general retail/web-based operations and management until sale of business in 2008.
  • Developed and re-structured growing e-commerce retail gift business, including establishment of a wholesale division.

Education

M.A. - Rabbinical studies/Simcha

Academy of Jewish Religion
Los Angeles, CA

M.A. - Liberal Jewish Studies

Hebrew College
Boston, MA

MA - Religious Studies

Alliance Theological Seminary
Nyack, NY

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Dick Grove School of Music
Los Angeles, CA

Skills

  • Community outreach and engagement
  • Interfaith collaboration and dialogue
  • Public speaking and presentation
  • Lifecycle event officiating
  • Grief support and counseling
  • Prayer leadership
  • Social justice advocacy
  • Spiritual guidance and mentorship
  • Adult education and religious instruction
  • B'nai mitzvah training
  • Fundraising strategies
  • Community building
  • Outreach programming

Certification

  • Ordination, Academy of Jewish Religion, California, Los Angeles, CA, 2020
  • Neshoma Association of Jewish Chaplains BCC, Spring, 2017
  • Palliative Care Chaplaincy, California State University San Marcos, Summer 2013
  • Certified Dementia Practitioner, CDP, NCCDP, LLC, Spring, 2022
  • Dick Grove School of Music, Los Angeles, CA, 1981

Timeline

Senior Rabbi

Adat Chaverim
07.2023 - Current

Rabbi and Director of Religion and Spiritual Care

Beth Sholom Village
02.2021 - 06.2023

Congregational Rabbi (Began as Student Rabbi)

Makom Ohr Shalom
02.2019 - 02.2021

Jewish Community Support

Community Rabbis
09.2017 - 01.2021

Rabbi and Jewish Interfaith Hospice

Skirball Hospice
08.2017 - 01.2021

Jewish and Interfaith Hospice Chaplain

Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care
09.2015 - 03.2017

Community Relations Liaison and Spiritual Care Coordinator

Amidah Hospice Care, Inc
02.2014 - 07.2014

Staff Chaplain

Northridge Hospital Medical Center (Dignity Health)
03.2011 - 01.2014

Chaplain

Tender Loving Care Hospice
06.2010 - 03.2011

Ecumenical Chaplain

St. John's Regional Medical Center/St John's Pleasant Valley (Dignity Health)
02.2010 - 03.2011

CPE Chaplain Resident & Chaplain

St. Luke's Hospital
08.2008 - 08.2009

President & Owner

Judaica Resources, Inc
11.1994 - 02.2008

M.A. - Liberal Jewish Studies

Hebrew College

MA - Religious Studies

Alliance Theological Seminary

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Dick Grove School of Music

M.A. - Rabbinical studies/Simcha

Academy of Jewish Religion

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