Rabbi Mates-Muchin joined Temple Sinai in Oakland, CA in 2005. Serving initially as Associate Rabbi and, since 2015, Senior Rabbi, Rabbi Mates-Muchin feels blessed be in this community, and is proud of the warmth, dynamism and commitment of congregants to Temple Sinai.
Rabbi Mates-Muchin focuses her efforts in serving our community through teaching, worship, pastoral care, social justice work, and encouraging the recognition of the vast diversity within the Jewish community. As the first Chinese-American Rabbi, she has lectured broadly on the changing nature of the American Jewish community and how established Jewish institutions can become more inclusive. She is actively engaged in the general East Bay community through interfaith and other organizational work. Nationally, Rabbi Mates-Muchin served as a Central Conference of America Rabbis (CCAR) representative to the Board of the Union for Reform Judaism for six years, and she services on the CCAR Taskforce working on recommendations for a new code of ethics for Reform Rabbis.
Prior to her service at Temple Sinai, Rabbi Mates-Muchin served as the Assistant Rabbi in Buffalo, New York for three years. She was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 2002 and received numerous awards for her academics and service. Her thesis entitled “The Analects of Confucius and Its Parallel in Early Rabbinic Thought” was a reflection of her Chinese and Jewish traditions.
Rabbi Mates-Muchin is a native of San Francisco and enjoys connecting with those who attended her alma mater, Lowell High School. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with high honors and while in Santa Barbara met her husband, Jonathan. They live in Oakland with their four wonderful children.
