Rabbi Michael Ragozin

Welcome!  I am honored and privileged to have served as the rabbi of Congregation Sha’are Shalom since 2008.  We are a cultural, spiritual, and educational home for Jewish and interfaith households of Loudoun County and beyond. 

Together, we care and support each other while promoting Jewish identity and seeking holiness in our lives through living Jewishly.  Congregation Sha’are Shalom is a thriving, egalitarian congregation, authentically Jewish and fully engaged in the world.  As spiritual leader and guide, I am here to help you find your place in our community and our tradition.

Prior to my rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, I enjoyed a variety of educational and professional experiences.  I majored in mathematics at Claremont McKenna College and then taught algebra in the Baltimore City Public Schools through Teach For America (TFA).   After completing my commitment to TFA, I returned to my hometown, Seattle, Washington, and worked as a technology consultant, leading implementations of Customer Relationship Management software.  Before entering rabbinical school, I was the Development Manager at the Seattle Jewish Film Festival.

My Jewish journey began in a wonderful, secular Jewish family, which instilled in me a Jewish identity through Jewish preschool, holiday celebrations and books like Leon Uris’s “Exodus.”  In my twenties, I confronted the paradox between my strong Jewish identity and no formal Jewish education.  I started taking classes and learned to read Hebrew.   

Yearning for a deeper understanding of the tradition that is the wellspring of my identity, I went to Israel, first on a two-week Birthright Israel trip and then to study at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem for two years.  I fell in love with the Jewish people, Torah, and Judaism.  My passion is to enable and empower others to find their place in our community and our tradition.

My greatest joys in life are my wife and children.  I look forward to hearing from you, through the synagogue office (703.737.6500) or at my e-mail address, rabbi@sha-areshalom.org.

Kol tuv (all the best)