about
Chel

Rabbi Chel Mandell (they/them) was ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion CA: a non-denominational accredited rabbinical school in 2023. They are a dedicated and soulful Jewish educator/director with over a decade of experience teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Chel received a B.A. from the University of San Francisco in Environmental Studies, with a minor in Jewish Studies and Social Justice. They went on to attend Sierra Nevada University, where they earned their MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts, concentrating on the intersection of art practice, activism, and community engagement. Chel also completed a year-long rabbinic internship with The Kitchen SF, where they learned new ways to “do Jewish,” an approach they now apply to how they hold and cultivate Jewish community spaces.

Chel is an avid surfer and ocean lover, artist and ceramicist, outdoor enthusiast, and social justice activist, with a vision of weaving these passions and intersections into their rabbinate. They dream of a radical new Jewish world grounded in open-ended creativity and deep inclusivity.

Chel is the founder and spiritual leader of the Tzimtzum Community, a diasporic, queer and trans-centered Jewish community located in Santa Cruz, CA. They also serve as the Director of the JEDI + JSSJ program at the University of San Francisco, where they teach.