Rabbi Miller Celebrates 10 Years at TSTI

Working six days a week as the mother of three young children might seem daunting, but Rabbi Ellie Miller of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel loves her job for allowing her to interact meaningfully with people and and to be creative. This past Saturday, she slept outside of the temple in a cardboard box, alongside members of the senior youth group who were learning about homelessness.

"The community has created an environment where it's OK to do some experimentation," said Miller, whose 10th anniversary at TSTI will be commemorated at Shabbat services on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Among those she was ordained with, Miller notes she's one of two to have remained with the same congregation for a decade.

Miller, 37, is the daughter of a rabbi and a schoolteacher from North Brunswick who now lives in West Orange and says she originally came to TSTI because it was the only job open in New Jersey, and she wanted to stay close to her family and elderly grandparents. However, she soon learned that the congregation's clergy team and 1,000-family community were deserving of their reputation.

"I think that we are a very welcoming place. We're not afraid of people's differences," she said, noting the attention given to special needs children and senior citizen programming at TSTI.

Rabbi Miller’s typical work day at TSTI might include dozens of activities, from driving to East Orange to drop off items at a food bank to completing last-minute details for TSTI’s “Noisy Service,” a Friday-night Shabbat program she created to introduce pre-schoolers to worship in the sanctuary, incorporating use of musical instruments to teach the difference between noisy and quiet.

In the course of a day, her schedule might include a meeting with fellow board members at Bridges Outreach, a Summit-based organization that serves the homeless; classes at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in Manhattan, where she's getting a master’s in religious education; and sessions with Bar and Bat Mitzvah students who need guidance in selecting a Mitzvah project.

She's also the mother of an almost 7-year-old and twins turning 3 in November. However, though her work schedule is demanding, it affords some flexibility, like allowing her to go on class trips.

Miller knows that, as a young woman, she's not necessarily what people expect when they think of a rabbi. At the East Orange food bank she visits on the congregation's behalf, the woman who receives donations still inquires about her husband, Rabbi Miller, though she recalls other details about Miller's life, like the names of her children. However, she's happy to not be too much in the spotlight and to work behind the scenes.

"I'm really a roll-up-my-sleeves-and-get-in there kind of person," she said.