Lisa Grushcow

Rabbi Lisa Grushcow has served as Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Montreal since 2012. A Rhodes Scholar, she holds degrees from McGill University and Oxford, where she earned her doctorate before being ordained at the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. She is the first openly gay rabbi to lead a major Canadian synagogue and is widely recognized for her contributions to Jewish thought, inclusion, and interfaith dialogue.

Rabbi Grushcow is the author of Writing the Wayward Wife and editor of The Sacred Encounter: Jewish Perspectives on Sexuality, both of which explore themes of gender, tradition, and interpretation. She has contributed to numerous publications, including The Torah: A Women’s Commentary and The Mussar Torah Commentary, and continues to teach as affiliate faculty at McGill’s School of Religious Studies.

A frequent speaker and writer, she brings an intersectional lens to her work—one informed by personal experience, academic scholarship, and pastoral care. Rabbi Grushcow is a strong advocate for the place of queer voices within religious life, and for fostering spaces where people can wrestle with faith, identity, and belonging. Her leadership bridges ancient tradition and contemporary values with nuance, clarity, and heart.