Ridgewood Rabbi, Hospital Chaplain Honored For Many Years Of Service

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — A Ridgewood rabbi was just honored for her 13 years of service to the Jewish community.

Rabbi Ziona Zelazo, an associate chaplain at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, was recognized Thursday by the Academy for Jewish Religion — a rabbinical school in New York — as part of a "Celebration of Service" marking the contributions of alumni.

Zelazo, ordained at AJR, is a trans-denominational rabbi who, according to her website, is known for her "compassionate mentoring and interactive teaching style." She is a certified disaster chaplain in Bergen County, and a supervisor for Northeastern New Jersey spiritual care providers at the American Red Cross.

A daughter of Holocaust survivors, Zelazo was born and raised in Israel, and served in The Israeli Defense Force as an electronic intelligence sergeant during the War of Attrition (1969-71). She immigrated to the U.S. in 1977, and established a 14-year teaching career before embarking on her journey to complete her rabbinic studies at AJR.

She also completed a unit of clinical pastoral education at Valley Hospital, and served as the rabbinic intern at Temple Avodat Sholom in River Edge.

Zelazo, according to an AJR alumni page, said she acknowledges her life's accomplishments would not be possible without the support of her family.

"There is much praise to be given to God for putting shining gifts and blessings on Ziona's rabbinic path," her alumni page said. "She will forever be indebted to (her AJR teachers) and consider them as influential models in her endeavors."