Welcome!  My name is Rabbi Rachel Isaacs and it is my distinct pleasure to serve Colby College as the Jewish Chaplain and the spiritual leader of Beth Israel Congregation. I am the Dorothy “Bibby” Levine Alfond Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies at Colby, teaching Hebrew, Jewish Theology, and Jewish Humor. Additionally, I serve as the director of the Center for Small Town Jewish Life.

I was raised in a Conservative congregation in New Jersey and attended Wellesley College where I was the Hillel Co-President.  As an undergraduate student, I also studied abroad at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva, Israel.  After graduation, I studied in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and then began rabbinical school as a Wexner Graduate Fellow.  I was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2011.

I have a passion for serious Jewish learning and making Judaism relevant and accessible for Jewish individuals and families of all makeups and backgrounds.

As a native of Jersey shore, there is little that I love more than skeeball, frozen custard, and the waves.  As a Jew, there is little I relish more than hosting people for Shabbat meals.  I look forward to having you at the Hillel Shabbos table!

You can check out my personal blog, Jewish Waterville, for words of Torah, Jewish activities in Maine, and news from the Jewish world!  Also, you can become my friend on Facebook to stay in touch and up to date.