Rabbi Noah Ferro is the new Spiritual Leader at Northern Hills Synagogue.
He was approved at the congregation's annual meeting April 29, 2018, and began full-time status as of July 1, 2018.
Rabbi Ferro was raised in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a graduate of Tennessee State University. He earned his rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College in May of 2017 and has since been continuing his studies there, working toward a Ph.D. in Rabbinics.
While at HUC, he was twice awarded the Slonimsky Prize in Midrash. As a student, Rabbi Ferro served as an educator at Adath Israel and Wise Temple and as a chaplain at Bethesda North Hospital.
He has participated in Jewish Foundation Fellowships for JVS Career Services and for the Mayerson Jewish Community Center. Since August 2017 he has served as the part-time rabbi at Temple Beth Israel in Saginaw, Michigan. He has also served as a research assistant and archivist at the American Jewish Archives.
His wife, Cassondra, is the executive director of a local non-profit organization. Their son, Lev, is a toddler with a wide variety of interests.
"As a rabbi, it is my sacred calling to guide all of our people, young and old, and from all sorts of backgrounds, as they journey through the cycle of the Jewish year," he said when he applied to the synagogue. "Guide them through triumphs and tragedies of human life, and through the sometimes unfamiliar landscape of Jewish culture and tradition. I believe I should empower them to experience things for themselves – to make their own Jewish choices and find their own Jewish meaning."
Matthew Lee, immediate past president of Northern Hills, said, "Rabbi Ferro opened his remarks to us with the quote, 'A child is not a vessel to be filled, but a lamp to be lit.' We have extended that thought to include all of us. Rabbi Ferro's presence among us will make all of our internal Jewish lights burn brighter through the knowledge of Torah and texts that he brings us. We look forward to the inspiration that he will bring to our school, to our religious services and to all of our educational programs."
