Ariel will give the sermon during Shabbat services (approximately 11:00 am) and teach after kiddush (at approximately 12:45 pm). 

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Ariel Ya’akov Dunat is a fifth-year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in NYC. They are impassioned about halakha and how it intersects with the multifaceted identities we hold as individuals. In addition to JTS, Ariel studied hilkhot shechitah, recently being certified as a shochet (an expert in kosher slaughter). They approach this with a concern for high ethical standards as well as increasing sustainability and egalitarianism in the kosher world. Ariel has been greatly involved with Svara’s Trans Halakha Project over the past several years, serving two terms on their Steering Committee as well as having authored a teshuva (legal responsum) on the topic of transness, circumcision, and conversion. They are currently working on a second teshuva on the topic of reproduction and obligation. 

Ariel grew up in suburban Ohio, receiving their undergrad degrees in French as well as Comparative Religious Studies. Having grown up in a secular, agnostic home, they have been on a life-long journey of learning and faith towards the rabbinate and are excited to see where their path takes them. 

Ariel lives with their husband, Jason, and their shih tzu, Jacques, in Washington Heights.