Alanna “Lonnie” Kleinman grew up on the lands of the O’odham and the Yaqui people in Tucson, Ariz. She found her way to Reconstructionism through the writings of Mordecai Kaplan, z”l, while at Lewis and Clark College. She graduated cum laude with an honors thesis focused on Holocaust education and intergenerational trauma. Afterward, Lonnie spent a year studying at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. Lonnie then lived in the South and organized Jewish communities in their journeys to build power and equity. She is passionate about pastoral work and communities caring for one another in dreaming of a more just future.
While at RRC, Lonnie served as a student rabbi at Abramson Senior Care, Arcadia University, the Shalom Center, POWER, Lankenau Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania Hillel. She also served as an admissions intern and student life intern. She was a chaplain with the Philadelphia Movement Chaplaincy Network. Lonnie studied at the Council for Relationships and finished training to accompany others as a spiritual director. In 2021, she received the Lillian Fern Memorial Award for Outstanding Student Contributions to RRC. She is currently a fellow in SVARA: a traditionally radical yeshivah’s teaching Kollel, where she is delving deep into Talmud study from a queer lens.
Lonnie is overcome with gratitude for all that supported her and helped her reach this moment. She is grateful to the incredible teachers who model what it means to be a rabbinic presence. She is especially grateful to her parents, stepmother, brother and brother-in-law for their everlasting support. Today, her tallit incorporates fabric from those who have helped her reach the rabbinate. Her chosen family of friends and loved ones mean so much to her and inspire her to show up as a loving presence in our world.
מנוחה נכונה תחת כנפי השכינה
Grant [us] full respite under the wings of Shekhinah
El Malay Rachamim
Interdependence is ultimately about “we,” instead of “me.” It understands that we are bound together, by virtue of existing on this planet. Interdependence is generative and grounded in care for one another. It doesn’t live in obligation or entitlement, but rather a loving willingness and a sacred giving.
Mia Mingus
When the world is sick, can’t no-one be well But I dreamt we were all beautiful and [whole]
אנא אל נא רפא נא לה
O God, please heal her
English words: the Silver Mount Zion Orchestra and Tra-La-La band, Hebrew words: Numbers 12:13
