Meet Rena

Rena Strober has gone from the Broadway stage to the Bima over the course of the last 25 years. She made her Broadway debut as Cosette in Les Miserables and spent a decade on those glorious stages. Some favorite roles include Belle in Beauty & the Beast and Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof opposite Topol, Harvey Fierstein & Theo Bikel. She has also been seen on Television, film and voices hundreds of characters for animation & video games.

Rena has gradually moved her life from entertainment to Jewish leadership over the last 7 years.

She brings her love of music, storytelling and Judaism to everything she does. Rena serves on the clergy teams at Burbank Temple Emanuel and Temple Israel of Hollywood where she officiates Bat/Bat Mitzvah, leads meaningful & musical Shabbat services and more.

Rena officiates Jewish weddings, funerals, Shiva services, Ketubah signings, baby namings and other personal Jewish events. She spends quality time with families to plan their service so it feels completely personal to them. Every service is unique and Rena strives to find the heart of the family in order to deliver the most meaningful ritual possible.

As a Cantorial Soloist (And almost ordained Cantor) and also a Chaplaincy student, Rena is able to offer counseling, support, planning, teaching, understanding and music to everything she does. Rena aligns with the Reform/Reconstructionist movement of Judaism and often approaches prayer that way.

What Rena Strober is most known for is her ability to instill joy and, at times, laughter, into her ceremonies. She believes that even in the darkest times, we must stay connected to our humanity and our ability to find the smile at the root of it all.