Rabbi Jason Klein became the first openly gay man chosen to head a national
rabbinical association of one of the major Jewish denominations in the United States in 2013, when he was chosen as president of the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association.[2][3] He was also the first
Hillel director to hold the presidency, the chief volunteer position of the organization.[4] As of his election as president, Klein was the executive director of Hillel at UMBC, the
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a post he held from 2006 until 2013.[5] He served as president of the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association for two years—until 2015.[4] As of July 2013 he became the Director of the Center for Jewish Life at JCP Downtown, the Jewish Community Project of Lower Manhattan,[6] where he served until 2018.
Beginning in 2018, Klein served on the clergy and executive team of Temple Israel, Minneapolis, as the Director of Lifelong Learning at
Temple Israel, Minneapolis.[7]
Klein grew up in East Brunswick and Montclair, both in New Jersey, graduated from Columbia University in 1997, and was ordained by the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2002.[5][4] He lives in the Mount Hope neighborhood of Providence.
Writing
"Hanukkah" in A Guide to Jewish Practice: Volume 2 -- Shabbat and Holidays (Teutsch), 2014[9]
"Parashat Bo" in Torah Queeries (Drinkwater et al.), 2009[10]
"Queer Ritual on Campus" with Rabbi Mychal Copeland in The Hillel LGBTQ Resource Guide, 2007[11]
"How I’m thinking about Hanukkah when Israel is at war — and campus tensions are high" for "Jewish Telegraphic Agency", 2023[12]
Teaching, media, and public appearances
Greetings, Inauguration of Rabbi Deborah Waxman, 2014[13]
Contributor, My Fellow American (is Muslim) Project,[14]