Rabbi Aviva Cohen is a 50-something, twice-divorced rabbi living a rather uneventful life in South Jersey. True, she has a family that is rather unconventional. And her first ex-husband is moving to her town. But her life takes a truly interesting - and sinister - turn when she agrees to officiate at the funeral of an unpopular land developer. She doesn't expect to be told by two different people that he had been murdered. Nor does she expect that the first funeral will result in a suicide. Her search for the story behind the suicide (or was it murder?) will lead her to discover the truism "appearances can be deceiving" is accurate, while putting her life in jeopardy.
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Rabbi Ilene Schneider, Ed.D. hasn't decided yet what (or who) she wants to be when she grows up. In her current incarnation, she is Coordinator of Jewish Hospice for Samaritan Hospice in Marlton, NJ, near Philadelphia. (She was one of the first six women ordained as a rabbi in the US, back in 1976.)
In addition to ordination, she has earned a few degrees over the years, all in different disciplines and none worth much in the market place. (BA in Publication from Simmons; M.Ed. in Psychoeducational Processes from Temple; Ed.D. in Foundations of Ed. from Temple; honorary D.D. from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College for surviving 25 years in the rabbinate). She also began piano lessons for the first time in her life when she was in her 50's -- a total disaster (especially for the teacher), but fun.
In her spare time (which she finds by never cleaning the house), she's a birder and gardener, although her garden's almost as much of a mess as her house. (She believes in benign neglect: she plants it; if it comes up, great; if it doesn't, she tries something else. She lets nature do the watering, which is why everything in the flower boxes is dead, and refers to the weeds as "wild flowers and decorative grasses.") When the weather's nice enough to garden, she's more apt to be birding.
Interested in nature and conservation, she is also a member of the New Jersey Audubon Society and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. An avid reader, she serves on the board of the Friends of Evesham Township.
She's been married for over 30 years, and has two young adult sons, making her part of the trendy group of "older" parents.
