Persons of Interest: Rabbi Susan Talve

“I haven’t really slept in three days!” is the first thing Rabbi Susan Talve says just as a rush of high school-age kids pour out of her synagogue office.

She’s been teaching the confirmation class since she founded the Central Reform Congregation in the Central West End 36 years ago. As Talve welcomes me into her office, she offers me a bagel that the teens haven’t devoured. When I inquire why she hasn’t slept, Talve says she has been inspired by prayer – not only for the holy days and Yom Kippur services but also for those friends of hers who were arrested in recent protests. “I’ve been very concerned,” she says.

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