Clergy

Rabbi Rachel I. Salston

Rabbi Salston is a 2018 graduate of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles. A native of New Jersey, Rabbi Salston served as Rabbi of Fair Lawn Jewish Center for four years before coming to Richmond.

Prior to her work in Fair Lawn, Rabbi Salston worked as a hospital chaplain at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and was previously the Ritual Director of Park Avenue Synagogue. As a rabbi, educator, and Soferet STaM (Jewish ritual scribe), she loves teaching people of all ages how to find their personal connection to the joy of Jewish life and community. Rabbi Salston holds a BA in Neuroscience with a minor in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. She is currently a student in the Advanced Cohort in Halakhah at Yeshivat Hadar.

In her spare time, Rabbi Salston enjoys pottery, crochet, and running while listening to audio books. She lives in the Museum District with her partner Daniel Saltzberg.

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Rabbi Emeritus Gary Creditor

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor has been a Jewish leader for over 35 years, teaching all ages, envisioning and creating a community mikvah and participating on countless boards and communal agencies – Jewish, interfaith, and civic.

A member of the international Rabbinical Assembly of America, the Washington Board of Rabbis, and New York Board of Rabbis, Rabbi Creditor was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the world-wide center for Conservative Judaism.

In 2003, he received his Doctorate from Jewish Theological Seminary, recognizing more than 25 years of Rabbinic service. Rabbi Creditor also was tapped by Governor Kaine to participate in the memorial program for the students and faculty who died at Virginia Tech in 2007. He is a passionate and engaging Jewish leader, a teacher of great wisdom and warm pastoral friend to many.

After 21 years of service at Temple Beth-El, Rabbi Creditor retired in 2014. He continues to be a contributing member of this congregation as well as the greater community.

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