We are a denomiNATION made up of Jews of all different types and stripes and this is something to be celebrated.

The Jewish people are not a monolith - we don’t all look the same or believe in the same things. Young JW3 presents an online series exploring some of the people and stories behind the denominations and communities that make up the tapestry of the UK Jewish community today.

Each week we will hear from an emerging Jewish leader and learn about their denomination and community, what matters to them and what they love about the Jewish faith.

Rabbi Deborah Blausten

Deborah Blausten is a Rabbi at Finchley Reform Synagogue, ordained in the summer of 2020. She is a fourth generation Reform Jew and grew up at Alyth Synagogue in Temple Fortune, attending summer camps and activities with RSY Netzer which she also went on her gap year with. Deborah studied medicine at UCL, before embarking on a change of direction, taking up a role coordinating campus and young adult provision for the reform movement. She has an MA in education technology and wrote her rabbinic thesis on dressing as an embodied religious practice.

Deborah is a board member for the World Union for Progressive Judaism, and travels around the world teaching about the interface between contemporary life and Jewish text. She has been listed in various 25 under 25 and ‘ones to watch’ lists and is a member of the ROI community. Outside rabbinic life, Deborah is pretty passionate about sneakers (trainers for us Brits), and sneaker culture, loves hiking, and brunch (like any good millennial!).