About

Rabbi Aya (she/her)’s call to the rabbinate is directly ignited by the intimate relationship she has cultivated throughout her life with the wild and with her own ability to kindle a flame within it. Becoming a rabbi is her path to tending, care-taking and transforming the most ancient, ancestral fire she knows: the ner tamid (the ever-burning flame) of Jewish tradition. She strives to kindle this flame and help all discover that the vibrant coals infused with the power to take each of us straight back to ner tamid are within our reach. They are warm and ready. She believes that, if today’s Jews learn to engage with the forest’s Living Torah, we can encounter and preserve the ancient and the timeless as we meet this moment and awaken our own unique flames. Together, we can build fires abundant enough to share radiant warmth with all the world’s people. She approaches Her rabbinic work with yirah  (awe), aware that, no matter how many fires one has built or tended, the learning journey knows no end. The fire burns brightest for those who approach it humbly, forever its student.

Since 2019, Aya and her family have lived in Philadelphia, back home where she grew up, after almost 15 years away, most of which spent living in Northern California. Her spiritual home prior to school was Wilderness Torah, where she worked for six years serving as a Program Director and lead Wilderness Mentor, nurturing her passion for creating Jewish wilderness-based ritual, rites of passage and community experiences. Ordained in May 2024, Aya’s most meaningful Rabbinic training included serving as a Rabbinic Intern at Beth Israel in Media, PA, co-authoring Jewish earth-based ritual guides with Shamir Collective; supporting Beth Am in Penn Valley, Pa  as a Curriculum and Program Design Consultant to create Shorashim, a nature-based Hebrew school, participating in the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, leading a beit midrash (Torah study group) for women, and completing a unit of chaplaincy training (CPE). 

Aya abounds with gratitude for her teachers Mentors and hevrutot (learning partners); her incredible family and community; and the Lenni-Lenape and Susquehannok lands of Eastern Pennsylvania her family has called home for five generations. Her greatest practice of all is nurturing her 1.5 year old, Mazal, who shares her passions for the outdoors. She can often be found giggling with her family around West Philly and surrounding areas, crafting in her herbal apothecary, or watching the sunset with friends from her roof deck.

About Revayah

Kindle your love of wild Torah with Revayah through transformative educational, ritual and immersive-learning opportunities with Revayah. Check back frequently for new offerings, sign up for our mailing list, and reach out to work with Aya 1-on-1 for mentorship or life cycle ritual facilitation.

Certifications and Training