Episode #62: A Fromer Family Affair
On this episode, get to know the Fromer siblings! Rabbi Jaclyn (Fromer) Cohen of Temple Isaiah and Andrew Fromer of The Braid both ended up paving artistic, creative and musical career paths in the Jewish world…but how did it happen? Very unexpectedly! Despite growing up under one roof, they have two very different journeys that might surprise you…and they most certainly surprised the parents! Listen and enjoy this fun Fromer family episode as Rabbi Jaclyn and Andrew professionally cross paths this week when Temple Isaiah hosts a performance of The Braid’s latest Salon, Sweet Tea & the Southern Jew.
Click Here for your tickets to Sweet Tea & the Southern Jew!
Rabbi Jaclyn Cohen is proud to serve Temple Isaiah as Associate Rabbi. Born and raised in West LA, Rabbi Cohen earned her BA in Religious Studies & Music from UC Davis and spent two years working in Bay Area Jewish community organizations before entering Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion’s rabbinic program. Upon ordination from HUC-JIR in 2014, Rabbi Cohen moved to Seattle, Washington to serve on the clergy team of Temple De Hirsch Sinai. Her primary focus was “The Tribe,” Temple’s hub of Jewish life, learning and spirituality for those in their 20s and 30s, as well as “The Village,” a programmatic initiative for Jewish families with young children. Since 2018, Rabbi Cohen has served on Temple Isaiah’s clergy team with a focus on music and ritual. Her background is eclectic and representative of what it means to create a unique kind of 21st century-rabbinate. In addition to overseeing Temple Isaiah’s ritual department – including its choirs & musicians, holiday celebrations and lifecycles – Rabbi Cohen also teaches, counsels and works closely with our K12 and preschool communities. Outside the synagogue she is a writer and advocate for birth justice and maternal & mental health, having contributed written pieces to Kveller, Jewish Daily Forward, Hey Alma and The Chalkboard Mag, among others. Rabbi Cohen is also a certified yoga teacher, fusing her passion for the practice with a deep love of prayer. She and her family live in Culver City.
Andrew Fromer attended Windward School in Mar Vista where his career as an actor began in the school plays and musicals. After completing his BFA in theater at UC Santa Barbara and an exciting year of living in Israel, Andrew returned to LA for acting and producing. His TV credits include Never Have I Ever (Netflix) and Anger Management (FX); feature film credits include Highway to Havasu (Billy/Producer) and The Sweet Life (Mike/Assistant to Production). Theater credits include Pledge (Sherman u/s), Bad Jews (Jonah), and The Braid’s Jews in America. Andrew also runs youth engagement at Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas. He is excited to be coordinating this year’s iteration of NEXT, The Braid’s Emerging Artist Program (the-braid.org/next) and hopes you will enjoy his work as Editor on The Braid’s new digital storytelling competition, StoryNosh! (the-braid.org/storynosh).
