Rabbi Lana Zilberman Soloway
Married to Daniel and mother to Talya Doron (10), Shalev (8), and Yahel (5).
Rabbi, educator, tour guide, activist, and peace seeker.
Lana is a graduate of two rabbinical seminaries – Israeli Rabbinical Program of the Shalom Hartman Institute and the HaMidrasha in Oranim – as well as a graduate of Hebrew Union College (HUC).
Over the past two years, she served as the rabbi and educational director of Congregation Or Ami in Los Angeles. Prior to moving to the United States, she was the head of the rabbinical network and educational projects at Rabbis for Human Rights, where she currently continues to serve on the board of directors.
Lana’s professional work is diverse and includes spiritual counseling, officiating life cycle ceremonies, teaching, leading unique educational journeys in Israel and abroad, formal and informal education, interfaith initiatives, and advocacy for peace and human rights.
After a dedicated two-year mission in the U.S., Lana and her family have returned home – to Israel, to Mevaseret Zion, and to the Kamatz community.
Dear Kamatz Community,
Eleven years ago, I arrived in Mevasseret with my partner Daniel, expecting our first child, and carrying a dream – to build a home and a community.
Since then, I’ve been blessed to grow here – as a mother, as a prayer leader, as an active member of the community, and as a rabbi.
Our three children – Talya Doron, Shalev, and Yahel – were born here and a home was built for us, filled with holiness, sense of community, and shared life rooted in faith, good neighborliness, belonging, and mutual responsibility.
Over the years, I learned a lot and received two rabbinic ordinations.
For the last two years I served Congregation Or Ami in California, and now I return home – to the Land of Israel, to Mevasseret Zion, and to the Kamatz community – with a deep sense of mission and a calling.
The past years have been turbulent for all of us – a time of national upheaval, pain, anxiety, and loss of trust. Deep concern for our very existence here – and even more so, for the endurance of our values.
Precisely in these times, I wish to bring with me a spirit of hope: hope that grows out in a place of human connection, from a compassionate community, from a space where every person has a place.
Hope is the ability to build, to be built, and to open our gates – not only the gates of the synagogue, but also the gates of our hearts.
I deeply believe in the power of community – in the strength of friendship, of good neighborliness, of mutual care, of a supportive shoulder and an open heart.
This is not only a belief – it is a spiritual act.
In the words of Nathan Alterman:
“There is no person without their moment, and no thing without its place.”
I am profoundly grateful for the privilege of leading this beloved community at this moment in time.
I dream, together with you, of a home which is truly open for all people – a place where anyone wandering through the desert in search of water and bread will find rest, comfort, hope, and joy.
May we know how to give when needed, to extend a hand when it hurts, and to open our hearts – to face the challenges of our times with grace and compassion, and to recharge our spirits with inspiration and dreams of a better future.
The doors of my heart and my office are always open to each and every one of you – to anyone who feels the need to reach out, to share, to ask, or to seek comfort. I am here for you.
“For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth in peace…” (Isaiah 55)
May we walk this path together – with joy, with faith, and with hope.
May we build – and be built – together.
With blessings of peace, love, freedom for the captives, and good news,
Yours,
Rabbi Lana Zilberman Soloway