Rena Strober grew up in a Jewish home in New York where music was played all the time. Secular music, Jewish music, and a lot of Broadway music. She studied ballet and fell in love with the stage. She set her heart on becoming a theater performer.
Rena went to Skidmore College, majoring in drama, which opened the door to a Broadway career that included tours and stints in major productions like Les Misérables and Fiddler on the Roof with acclaimed Israeli actor Chaim Topol, before moving to Los Angeles.
“And then different events in my life brought me back to the appreciation of being Jewish and feeling really lucky. About five or six years ago, I was producing a short film with the Union for Reform Judaism. The Rabbi I was working with out of nowhere said, ‘Why aren’t you a Cantor’?” remembers Rena.
It was at that moment that she started embracing the possibility of taking that route in her renewed Jewish faith. The option had been on the table in 2001, but at that time her love for Broadway was too deep, as Rena would have had to dedicate full-time to this pursuit.
But fast forward to 2023 as a single mom of a seven-year-old, Rena decided to return to her Cantorial studies at the Academy of Jewish Religion. “That’s where JVS came in. They were referred to me and they have just been amazing. This is my third year receiving a scholarship and their generosity and support truly mean the world to me. I would not be able to continue my education without JVS SoCal.” Rena is a recipient of the Bider Family Scholarship and the Hal Coskey Memorial Scholarship and the JVS SoCal Tzedakah Scholarship.
Rena continues to work towards her Cantorial ordination alongside her chaplaincy program at Ezzree Institute. She is working with Rabbis to make home and hospital visits and also serving as an officiant at life cycle events. She has also served at the cantorial soloist at Temple Israel of Hollywood and on the clergy team at Burbank Temple Emanu El. “I’m leading conversations, I’m being asked to lead weddings and to be there for the really big moments of people’s lives because I don’t come at it as an ordained religious person, you know, I’m just a person.”
Rena still performs secular music and is a working actor as she pursues her cantorial studies. She believes that art is an important part of her life as is her mission to becoming ordained.
“I felt something in the universe saying ‘you’re needed right now’” says Rena. “I’ve loved being an entertainer, but I wasn’t feeling fulfilled. When I was singing in the synagogue, and I watched my voice affect the person sitting there, I thought, ‘oh, I need to use my voice to heal, to reconnect, and to be of service. I find that who I am in my Jewish soul is someone that can be of great service to those in need.”
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