Many in our community share a love of Jewish learning, and Rabbi Lara Rodin, a CJA 2010 Grade 9 alumna, embodies it deeply. Lara not only has a passion for Jewish learning, but also for helping Jewish children discover their own spark for their history and tradition. Lara is currently the Assistant Rabbi at Beth Tzedec Congregation in Toronto, Ontario. She and her husband have welcomed their first baby girl, Gavriel Revaya, on August 23, 2026. Mazel Tov!
Although no single defining moment stands out from Lara’s time at the CJA, she recognizes something unique about growing up in Calgary’s small Jewish community, especially now that she lives in Toronto. Its size gave her a special place within the community and opportunities to lead from a young age. Lara describes how “being a literate and knowledgeable Jew, being a leader in my class, it made me feel like when I stood up to lead or to do something, it mattered and it was important.”
Lara fondly remembers her time in the hallways, playing soccer, and rehearsing for Jewish holiday events at the CJA. But her time in Hebrew and Judaic Studies connected with her most deeply. Lara emphasizes that a Jewish person cannot learn without loving Jewish life. “The CJA gave me an interest, a spark, a taste, and it gave me the desire to continue to search more,” Lara explains. That desire led Lara to continue her Jewish learning through an undergraduate degree in Judaic Studies, followed by a master’s degree focused on Talmud while studying Pardes in Jerusalem. She pursued the Jewish texts she was first formally introduced to at the CJA.
Lara has continued that commitment throughout her studies and her career. She has been working full time at Beth Tzedec for two years. Before that, she attended rabbinical school at JTS. During that time, she interred at the synagogue where she now works full time. Throughout it all, Lara takes pride in how she has continued to build on her Jewish education and share her knowledge with others.
Lara hopes to bring others closer to their Jewish roots and inspire them the way CJA first sparked her. She tries, she says, “to invite the same desire to build upon our learning and to always be open to continue learning because that’s really what Jewish life is all about.”