Adam K. Cerino-Jones believes that a synagogue should be a place where all Jews, Jew-adjacent loved ones and those interested in Judaism should not only feel welcome and safe but heard, respected and valued. This means meeting people where they are and accompanying them on whatever their life path looks like. It also means recognizing, encouraging and utilizing people’s unique gifts, talents and interests. Adam’s rabbinate focuses on creating an inclusive, diverse environment where everyone feels maximally comfortable, supported in taking risks and trying new things and welcome to “do Judaism” in whatever ways are personally meaningful.
Born in New York City but raised in the suburbs of Baltimore, Adam began his rabbinical studies at RRC in the fall of 2017. At RRC, he has taken an active role in student leadership, most notably serving as president of the Reconstructionist Student Association and as senior representative to the Admissions Committee. Over the last five years, Adam has supported two congregations; revitalized and supervised a college Jewish Student Union; interned with the Hillel of a state university; and served in a chaplaincy role, meeting the pastoral needs of hospital patients in an oncology unit. With 15-plus years of musical training, Adam is a burgeoning composer and musician in the Reconstructionist movement, winning the Evelyn R. Mehlman Jewish Music Award for 2020-21.
Before his rabbinical studies, Adam received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Religious Studies and History from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. He was a member of the concert choir and co-founded an a cappella ensemble that is still running today. After college, Adam focused on workers’ rights, working in a labor non-profit and serving as a member of the General Executive Board for the North American branches of the Industrial Workers of the World.
כוסי רויה אך טוב וחסד ירדפוני כל-ימי חיי ושבתי בבית יי לארך ימים
My cup overflows. Surely, goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of YHVH forever.
“…Whatever G!d might be, It is right here, in our experience of each moment, accessible in all aspects of our lives, because ultimately, G!dliness is the stuff of all existence.”
Rabbi Toba Spitzer, “G!d in Metaphor: A Guide for the Perplexed,”
The wind is low, the birds will sing That you’re a part of everything Dear Prudence, won’t you open up your eyes?
The Beatles, “Dear Prudence”
