RENCONTRE

Tamar Zaken

Hi! I’m Tamar Zaken, and I am a Jewish educator and social worker from California. I currently work at Jewish Family and Children’s Services in San Francisco as Director of Community Outreach, helping people all over the Bay Area to connect with social services and meaningful volunteer opportunities. I am a graduate of the Joint Program at Columbia/JTS and got my MSW from Yeshiva University.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with a wide variety of Jewish communities and organizations in the US, UK, and Israel. I believe that each person carries a unique piece of Torah or connection to Jewish learning — and I love learning together with people of all backgrounds to help uncover what that piece might be.

I have a special interest in using Jewish texts as a tool for creating change in the world. I learned this approach at Memizrach Shemesh, a Beit Midrash in Jerusalem that draws on the texts of Middle Eastern, North African, and Sephardic rabbis to explore themes of community, identity, and social change—both in Israel and beyond. I also love highlighting the texts and interpretations of Sephardic rabbis, who have much to teach us about compromise, listening to those we disagree with, and fostering a sense of belonging and community—wisdom that feels especially relevant in our increasingly polarized world.