Two JSLI Rabbis, One Congregation: Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute Celebrates Its Graduates in British Columbia

Rabbi Ilana Krieger

Rabbi Lynn Greenhough

Rabbi Lynn Greenhough and Rabbi Ilana Krygier Lapides demonstrate the impact JSLI-trained spiritual leaders are making in Jewish communities

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, October 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute (JSLI) is proud to celebrate a remarkable example of the work its graduates are doing in Jewish communities throughout North America and beyond: two JSLI-ordained rabbis have served as spiritual leaders of Kolot Mayim Reform Congregation in Victoria, British Columbia.

Rabbi Lynn Greenhough, a JSLI graduate and native of Vancouver Island, was ordained in New York in 2019 and soon afterward became the spiritual leader of Kolot Mayim. She went on to serve the congregation for years, becoming a respected Jewish voice throughout the Victoria community and a regular contributor on matters of faith and Jewish life to the Times Colonist. Upon her retirement in 2026, she left behind a meaningful legacy of teaching, pastoral care, interfaith engagement and community leadership.

And the JSLI connection continues.

Kolot Mayim subsequently welcomed Rabbi Ilana Krygier Lapides, who received her S’micha from JSLI in December 2020. Rabbi Ilana came to the congregation with decades of experience in Jewish education, communal leadership and spiritual care, including service with the Calgary JCC, Calgary Jewish Federation, Jewish Family Services and Beth Tzedec Conservative Congregation.

Kolot Mayim describes itself as an inclusive, warm and welcoming Reform congregation, embracing Jewish people and families of varied backgrounds and levels of observance. Its services combine English and Hebrew, Sephardi and Ashkenazi traditions, music and contemporary innovation — precisely the kind of evolving Jewish community JSLI was founded to serve.

“For us, this is what success looks like,” said Rabbi Steven Blane, Founder and Dean of the Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute. “We ordained Lynn and Ilana because we believed they had the knowledge, heart and commitment to serve the Jewish people. To see two of our rabbis entrusted, one after another, with the spiritual leadership of the same vibrant Jewish congregation makes us enormously proud. Our rabbis make good.”

Founded in New York, the Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute provides an innovative path to the rabbinate for accomplished Jewish adults called to spiritual leadership. JSLI graduates serve congregations and communities and work as chaplains, educators, lifecycle officiants and Jewish spiritual leaders throughout the United States, Canada and beyond.

The story of Rabbis Greenhough and Krygier Lapides is a particularly gratifying example of that mission coming full circle: a congregation found a spiritual home with a JSLI rabbi — and when the time came for a new chapter, another JSLI rabbi was there to lead it.
About the Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute

The Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute (JSLI) is an innovative, pluralistic rabbinical school dedicated to preparing knowledgeable, compassionate and committed Jewish spiritual leaders for the changing needs of contemporary Jewish life.

Carole Kivett
Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute/Sim Shalom
+1 201-338-0165
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