Congregation Beth Shalom

Rabbi Sonja Pilz Begins as New Spiritual Leader of Bozeman's Congregation Beth Shalom

On July 1, Rabbi Sonja Pilz began her tenure as the spiritual leader for Congregation Beth Shalom in Bozeman. The largest Jewish congregation in Montana, Beth Shalom welcomes Rabbi Pilz, who was ordained in 2015 and earned a Ph.D. in that year at the Department of Jewish Studies at Potsdam University in Germany. Additionally, she has done postdoctoral study in Liturgy, Ritual and Worship with the eminent Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, Ph.D.at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York.

Rabbi Pilz will succeed Rabbi Mark Kula, who led Beth Shalom for the past two years. Living in Missoula, he could not be the resident rabbi residing in Bozeman that the Congregation felt was necessary for our rapidly growing community. In parting, Rabbi Kula "wishes everybody well and looks forward; along with the congregation, to Rabbi Pilz' s success." Rabbi Pilz will officially lead her first service on July 16. Additional information may be found on the Beth Shalom website.

Rabbi Pilz is excited about her new appointment. "I look forward to becoming part of the communities waiting for us in Bozeman, the Jewish community as well as the broader population in and around the Gallatin Valley and Montana," said Rabbi Pilz recently. "I am excited to bring my whole Torah (learning, teaching, etc.) and am happy for my family to be able to live in such a beautiful part of the country."

Rabbi Pilz arrives in Bozeman with abundant experience in the pulpit as well as in literary and educational endeavors, both in Europe and the United States. She has led worship at the Brooklyn Heights (NY) Synagogue and for several years been the cantorial soloist at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase (MD) Jewish Community Group. Most recently, she was the Editor for the CCAR Press, the publishing house of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, New York, where she collaborated with authors and contributors on content including prayer, worship and adult education intended for publication. She is herself a published author of articles, essays and poetry as well as having been an adjunct faculty member at the Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion, New York and a Junior Professor for Jewish Ritual and Practice at the School of Jewish Theology, Potsdam, Germany.

Among several organizations, Rabbi Pilz is a member of Achayot, a Jewish women's writers group, as well as the ambassador to New York for the House of One, an assemblage of Jews, Christians and Muslims, originating in Berlin, Germany, planning to construct a house of worship that will bring a synagogue, church and mosque together under one roof, all sections of which will be linked by a _communal room in the center of the building.

Rabbi Pilz is married and will reside in Bozeman with her husband, Daniel, and their son, Frederick.

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