Rabbi Adams was born in Chicago. He received a BA in Religious Studies in
1977 from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He then attended
Hebrew Union College and spent 4 years in Cincinatti and 1 year in Jerusalem. He
received a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters in 1981.
He was ordained in 1982. His rabbinic thesis was a translation and analysis of a
Hebrew novel written in the 1880's by Peretz Smolenskin.
He has served congregations in Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin. He also was the
director of the Hillel at Kent State University.
Rabbi Adams believes that our religious tradition contains a wealth of wisdom
which is often ignored or overlooked. He views his role of rabbi as being a
teacher and hopes to share from this wisdom with the congregation in ways that
will help enhance their lives.
Arlene's father, Harold Freeman, was a cantor and she grew up with all
the music of the liturgy that he sang. She also studied with Cantor Ron
Eichaker, formerly of Emanu-El B'nei Jeshurun. When she came to Emanu- El her
goal was teach the congregation many of the more modern tunes being sung in
synagogues. She feels she has succeeded in that endeavor. She also wanted to
expose them to a wide variety of Jewish music ranging from Hasidic, to
Sephardic, to Ashkenazi, and more.
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