Rabbi Marina Yergin

Scholarly Contributions

My scholarly work is focused on making Jewish wisdom accessible and relevant. I authored a chapter, “The Legacy of Trauma: Reckoning with the Reform Movement’s Ethical Misconduct,” in The Sacred Struggle: Jewish Responses to Trauma (CCAR Press, 2025). The chapter links my personal experience as a survivor of ethical misconduct at a URJ camp to my advocacy for institutional accountability. Additionally, I authored a chapter, “Vayak’heil: Tzedakah: Putting Your Money Where Your Values Are,” in The Social Justice Torah Commentary (CCAR Press, 2021). I also served on the CCAR Press Editorial Advisory Committee for Inviting God In: A Guide to Jewish Prayer (CCAR Press, 2025), which is an educational companion to the prayer book Mishkan T’filah.

Public Voice and Advocacy

I am a frequent public voice in the Union for Reform Judaism Ethics work. I provided strategic leadership to the URJ Ethics process, serving as a powerful and unfiltered voice on the Leadership, Communications, and Training Committees. I leveraged my personal experience and a “calling in” approach to advocate for systemic change and transparency in ethical misconduct cases within the Reform Movement. I also participated on “The Restorative Justice Triad” panel at the Safety Respect Equity Network Convening (2024).

I have also served as a featured voice for the National Council of Jewish Women’s (NCJW) “Rabbis for Repro” campaign, publicly advocating for reproductive freedom by stating “Abortion bans are against my religion”. This video has been widely shared and has been reposted during pivotal governmental moments focused on reproductive rights.

Content Creation and Platform Development

My work extends to creating public resources for the community. I have published original rituals and writings on Ritualwell. I also authored over 270 highly-viewed source sheets on Sefaria, leveraging the platform to create innovative text studies and adult education programs. I contributed to the development of Sefaria’s site and source sheet builder by providing user feedback, requests, and proposed improvements. I have also written a number of blog posts and articles for various websites.

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Below you will find a list of speaking opportunities I have had since 2015. If you would like to see examples of any of them, please let me know.

• Offered prayer and speech for the Senior Rabbi’s 10th anniversary at Temple Beth-El (2025)
• Offered prayer at Faith and Blue for San Antonio Police Department (2024, 2023)
• Taught a session about Judaism to each CPE class from the US Army and Air Force (2024, 2022, 2021)
• Taught about Judaism’s views on End of Life care with a panel for University Hospital (2024)
• Offered invocation at Family Violence Prevention Services Gala (2023)
• Offered prayer at National Day of Prayer for National Church Residences (2022)
• Taught about “Duty to God” from a Jewish perspective for a Cub Scout Troop (2022)
• Taught about Judaism to students at Providence Catholic School (2023, 2022)
• Taught a session for vocational nurses to learn about Jewish customs and practices when it comes to health care, death and dying, prayers, and organ donation (2021)
• Offered prayer at Stop Asian Hate Vigil (2021)
• Taught about Judaism to the First Unitarian Universalist Church’s High School Religious Education class (2020)
• Taught about Judaism to seniors at Antonian College Preparatory High School (2019, 2017, 2016)
• Taught about Judaism and organ donation to the staff of the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (2019)
• Offered prayer at Muslim and Interfaith Prayer Vigil following Christchurch massacre in New Zealand (2019)
• Keynote speaker at Transgender Day of Remembrance Service at Travis Park United Methodist Church (2018)
• Taught about Judaism and truth at Northwest Vista College Interfaith Dialogue event (2018)    
• Taught about Judaism to a World Religions class at Our Lady of the Lake University (2018)
• Taught about tzedakah in Judaism to the San Antonio Optimist Club (2017)
• Offered invocation at Nathan Kallison Elementary School Dedication (2017)
• Offered prayer at San Antonio’s Vision Zero’s World Day of Remembrance (2017)
• Taught about Judaism on the University of the Incarnate Word Regional Interfaith Conference (2017)
• Taught about Jewish holidays at St. Mary’s Hall High School and Middle School (2025, 2017, 2016, 2015)
• Taught about anti-semitism at United Methodist Campus Ministry’s Hot Potato (2017)
• Taught about Judaism and climate change at Northwest Vista College Interfaith Dialogue event (2017)
• Offered closing benediction at Interfaith MLK Jr. Day Service (2017)    
• Offered prayer at City of San Antonio’s World Day of Remembrance memorial walk (2016)
• Taught about Judaism and Politics at Texas Public Radio’s Dare to Listen Campaign’s “Hot Potato” panel (2016)
• Keynote speaker and offered prayer at University of the Incarnate Word’s 9/11 Day of Remembrance (2016)
• Spoke about Jewish perspective on separation of church and state at a press conference for Americans United for Separation of Church and State (2016)
• Offered invocation at Mayor Ivy Taylor’s Interfaith Breakfast (June 2016)
• Taught about faith and creation at Northwest Vista College Interfaith Dialogue event (2016)    
• Offered prayer at Transgender Day of Remembrance Service at Metropolitan Community Church (2015)
• Offered prayer at Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at San Fernando Cathedral (2015)
• Taught about Reform Judaism at a Rabbinic Panel for JNetSA, the San Antonio Jewish Networking Series for Jewish Young Adults (2015)
• Taught about happiness and Judaism at Trinity University for first year students (2015)