Suzanne Brody
Current City, State, Country
Birth City, State, Country
Biography
Rabbi Suzanne Brody is the Director of Education and Youth Programming at Temple Beth-El in Ithaca, NY. She is a graduate of Wellesley College, has a PhD in neuroscience, and received rabbinic ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, CA in 2012. Rabbi Brody’s passion for innovating new ways to share a love of learning about and doing Judaism has found outlets in creating dynamic programming for Jews of all ages. She has worked in both formal and informal educational settings and has designed and taught numerous courses. In addition to her more scholarly work and her participation on the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards, Suzanne is the author of five books of poetry and one novella: Dancing in the White Spaces, Etz Chayim She: Modern Poems Grown from Ancient Texts, Mermaid Tears, Lunch with Rav Dimi, Unearthed, and Serah’s Secrets.
What is the relationship between Judaism and/or Jewish culture and your poetry?
My poems draw on Jewish texts, prayers, and traditions for inspiration. References to Biblical and Talmudic figures and the lessons we can learn from them feature prominently.
Published Works
Poetry
Unearthed (Silver Bow, 2022)
Lunch with Rav Dimi (Silver Bow, 2021)
Mermaid Tears (Silver Bow, 2020)
Etz Chayim She: Modern Poems Grown from Ancient Texts (Wasteland Press, 2015)
Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems (Wasteland Press, 2007)
Novellas
Serah’s Secrets (Silver Bow, 2022)
Author Site
Video Reading
Current Title
Education
Wellesley College, B.A. in Psychobiology with Russian minor, 1998 (cum laude with Honors)
University of California, San Diego, Ph.D. in Neuroscience, 2003
The Conservative Yeshiva, Jerusalem, Israel; 2003-2006
Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, American Jewish University, M.A. in Rabbinic Studies, Rabbinic Ordination, 2012