Another Reform Rabbi for Latin-America!

Hello, I am Rebeca Orantes and I was born and raised in Guatemala. I have had the great honor of serving my local Reform Jewish Community Adat Israel for at least 10 years of my life. In such a process I developed a strong interest in Jewish religious leadership. I have been deeply inspired by the Rabbis I have met and worked with over the past ten years, including our volunteer Rabbi Elyse Goldstein and knew very early on that Rabbinical School was my future.

My Jewish community has challenges that other congregations in our region also face, among them:

• Lack of Spanish speaking progressive leaders.
• Lack of Reform Jewish educational resources in Spanish/Portuguese.
• A need for Latin-American representation in our global Jewish institutions and organizations.
• Cooperative work among our current kehilot (communities) and the state of Israel.

And many more…

It was therefore my goal to attend HUC-JIR (Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion) one of the core institutions of Reform Jewish education, for the mere purpose of preparing myself professionally for the holy task of community building; with great joy I got accepted in March 2021 with a FULL MERIT TUITION SCHOLARSHIP! while this is great encouraging news, it is very challenging for me and my family to cover my living expenses. And that is what this campaign is for.

The funds will be used to pay for my living expenses during the first year of Rabbinical school. A year in which we are not allowed to work in order to dedicate ourselves fully to the study of Hebrew as a language and Israeli culture.

The funds will be distributed the following way:

Living expenses estimates were provided by HUC, You can find the full chart here 

Our Guatemalan community has been aided by our movement and leaders tremendously , I would like to return the favor by dedicating my life to the development of our Jewish people with a special emphasis in Latin-America; It is my highest ideal to help our region’s projects and initiatives bloom into a more vibrant progressive expression. I know what I am looking for will be found in HUC.

Jacob Katz: 1st Bar Mitzvah at Adat israel Guatemala. 

Hi everyone, my name is Jacob Katz and I had the privilege of being the first Bar Mitzvah at Adat Israel 5 years ago. When living in Guatemala, it was important for my family to continue being part of a strong Jewish community, and Adat Israel gave us just that from the first month we arrived. For Rosh Hashana, Rebeca’s family and the rest of the congregation in Guatemala City welcomed our family with such warmth and eager to learn everything about us and Judaism. My sister and I actually spent most of that Rosh Hashanah singing through the Hagaddah for them so they could use the months in between to practice. In return, we learned how fun and vibrant services could be when you add a little Latin flavour!  Anyone of you who has been at one of these services will know what I mean. It is a really unique and unforgettable experience.


When we decided to stay in Guatemala for our second year, my Bar Mitzvah year, Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, Adat Israel’s volunteer rabbi, joined the Adat Congregation for Pesach and combined it with my Bar Mitzvah for her yearly visit. Rebeca and her family and artisans in their community worked to finish the beautiful Aron Kodesh in time and even created ceramic mementos for all our guests. They always made us feel like part of their family. Rebeca always talked about her desire to become a Rabbi, even while knowing how much of a financial challenge that would prove to be. 

By helping Rebeca go to Rabbinical school, we are not only helping a bright young woman achieve her dreams, we are also giving the country of Guatemala its first local Rabbi!


Rebeca’s community helped us find meaning and connection to Judaism while away from home. On behalf of my family, Josh, Claire, Jen (Maya), we hope you will help us to pay forward the kindness Rebeca’s family showed us, while at the same time, helping a committed Jewish community in Guatemala continue to grow.