Rabbi Brent Chaim Spodek Reviews
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Hannah Sent on 11/23/2025Five stars isn't enough!
Working with Rabbi Brent was one of the best decisions we made during the wedding planning process. When we first met, we weren’t entirely sure what we wanted in an officiant — and as an interfaith couple, we weren’t even sure we wanted to be married by a rabbi. But from the start, he made us feel comfortable and supported. As he told us early on, working with him isn’t just an investment in your wedding — it’s an investment in your marriage. We genuinely looked forward to our sessions with him, and to the conversations he encouraged us to have between them. Writing a ketubah felt intimidating at first, but he made the process meaningful and surprisingly manageable. And when it came time to shape our ceremony, he was endlessly flexible, helping us think through which traditions felt true to us and which didn’t — always meeting us with thoughtful guidance and perspective. And then came our wedding day. Rabbi Brent was the vendor our guests talked about the most — he led a ceremony that was personal, heartfelt, and clearly rooted in the time he spent really getting to know us. His words reflected a real understanding of who we are and how we show up for each other. We wish there were more people out there who approach this work the way he does — blending meaningful pre-marital counseling with a beautiful, deeply considered ceremony — but the truth is he’s one in a million. We’re so grateful we found him. -
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Arden Sent on 06/10/2026
Rabbi Brent - Wedding
Not only did we have a great experience with Rabbi Brent leading our wedding ceremony but we really got a lot out of our counseling with him the months leading up to our big day. He was accommodating to our unique needs and respected our asks. He also took the time to get to know us and cater sessions to what we needed guidance with … you could tell he really cared. During the ceremonial Ketubah signing before our ceremony, he did a special Hebrew naming for me as well. After the ceremony, he took the time to get to know our family and friends, as he did us. I have no doubt we’ll be calling Rabbi Brent for other services down the line. -
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Jordan Sent on 05/30/2026Our wedding with Rabbi Brent
Rabbi Brent offers an outstanding program that my wife and I completed before he married us. We spent meaningful time not just with the Rabbi, but with each other in our own time to help write our ketubah.
The ketubah signing and ceremony he lead for us was moving, beautiful, and so powerful for us. Our attendees were also quite impressed!
I’d recommend Rabbi Brent to anyone- for weddings, or just any service he offers. He’s a great human being on top of being a fantastic Rabbi, and I look forward to keeping in touch with him. -
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Jon Sent on 01/10/2026Excellent!
We are so grateful for working with Rabbi Brent in preparation and during our wedding. In the midst of wedding planning, he helped us slow down and plan for our marriage too. Our meetings before the wedding provided us time to talk about our strengths as individuals and as a couple, what we’re excited about for our future in our marriage, and prepare the tools we have for when we are faced with challenges, all with a Jewish lens. And, on the day of, Rabbi Brent created a space of presence and intention for us during our beautiful Ketubah signing and officiated an incredible ceremony. After the wedding, we’ve received so many comments from our guests that the ceremony was one of their favorites they’ve ever been to! It felt like a perfect blend of Jewish traditions while also being very much “us.” Thank you, Rabbi Brent!
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Aalap Sent on 11/23/2025Wonderful Wedding Counselor & Officiant!
Rabbi Brent delivered everything we had hoped for (and more!) in a counselor and wedding officiant! Unlike many wedding officiants, Rabbi Brent emphasizes the importance of focusing on the marriage, rather than just the wedding. Rabbi Brent was thoughtful, warm, and insightful, taking the time to blend both of our cultures (Jewish & Indian) with great knowledge and depth. During our relationship counseling sessions, Rabbi Brent provided tools and exercises for us to think deeply about the marriage we were committing to and the type of challenges we may face. We're SO GRATEFUL to have had such a wise and loving guide as we took this important step in our relationship. Finally, we were touched by how many of our guests found the ceremony to be informative, engaging, and heartfelt due to really feeling Rabbi Brent's interest in this work and in us as a couple. We received MANY (unsolicited) compliments about the relatability of both Rabbi Brent and the ceremony itself. We wholeheartedly recommend working with Rabbi Brent to any couples who want to build a strong foundation for their marriage! -
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Ariella Sent on 11/10/2025Best Rabbi Ever!
Working with Rabbi Brent was probably the best decision we made our entire wedding! While the wedding was the best day of our lives, we knew that what really matters beyond that one day is the strength of our marriage. We felt it was worth investing in our marriage more than anything else, and we are so happy we decided to do so by working with Rabbi Brent!
From our very first meeting with him, we both felt extremely comfortable opening up, being honest, and communicating. He always gave such great advice and metaphors to help us understand our feelings and better communicate them. I truly believe the work we put in throughout our 12 sessions with Rabbi Brent has already made a massive positive impact on our relationship. He created a space where we felt safe to express ourselves without fear of judgement, and our relationship is much deeper as a result.
On the day of the wedding, Rabbi Brent was incredible (and all of our friends and family loved him!). From a logistical perspective, he took care of everything (mailing the marriage license, helping us order the ketubah, clearly delineating exactly what we needed, etc.), so we did not have to worry about any of that at the wedding or after. The ketubah signing was extremely meaningful, and the words he shared with us and our families were beautiful. The ceremony was also incredible. He worked with us to ensure we were doing all of the traditions that were meaningful to us, and was open to us doing a modern adaptation of some of them. I'm not kidding when I say literally every person came up to us at cocktail hour to tell us it was the most beautiful ceremony they'd ever seen.
Overall, I am so happy we chose to invest in our marriage by working with Rabbi Brent. I feel so relieved and happy to be in a new marriage where I feel everything has been laid out on the table and worked through, and that we always have Rabbi Brent on our side if we ever need him! -
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Josh Sent on 10/13/2025Rabbi Brent was one of the highlights of our wedding
While we are both Jewish, we did not have a relationship with a Rabbi to officiate our wedding. We were looking to build one so that our officiant wouldn't be just another vendor and Rabbi Brent came through in spades. Our sessions with him provided us with new perspective and tools to help us connect with each other and strengthen our relationship - absolutely 100% worth the time. Over those sessions, we got to know Rabbi Brent and he got to know us and he put that all to use in delivering a beautiful, meaningful, and personal ceremony (and Ketubah signing - which he helped us write). We could not have asked for more - all of our friends, Jewish and not, loved the ceremony and Rabbi Brent. We would recommend him to any couple without hesitation! -
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Riley Sent on 09/21/2025Brent Is A Wonderful Rabbi and an Even Better Man
As someone with a Christian faith background, I was unsure what we were getting into when we were first connected with Rabbi Brent, especially after he asked us to go through a few preemptive marriage counseling classes. I had been dating my wife for almost decade at that point, and I didn't think we really had anything else to learn about our relationship. After the first few classes with Rabbi Brent, we really understood how much we still had to undercover about each other. He provided us a few question for us to discover why we want to marry each other, and gave us the space and time to discuss what we needed to change in our lives to make our marriage last. I now believe our relationship is stronger than ever and it's all thanks to Rabbi Brent.
He also did a great job with the actual wedding service itself, including incorporating a pastor from my faith as well in a way that felt natural, as well as adding in a few last minute pieces to the service that touched us both so deeply that I'm sure we both will never forget our special day.
Both my wife and I agree that our time with Rabbi Brent was our favorite part about both the wedding planning experience and the big day itself. I consider Rabbi Brent to be a great friend, and my wife and I cannot thank him enough for his amazing work. -
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Nicole Sent on 09/21/2025
Rabbi Brent is the Best!
we could not recommend him enough. We worked with him for several months prior to our wedding. The sessions we had with him not only prepared us for our wedding, it’s something that will last us a lifetime. My husband and I had been dating for 8 years prior to working with Rabbi Brent. I had no idea how meaningful and important these sessions would be for our relationship. Not only was our time leading up to the wedding wonderful, Rabbi Brent did an incredible job on our wedding day. We had some last minute rain causing our ceremony to be pushed inside. Our chuppah was set up outside which unfortunately got drenched and was unable to be moved inside last minute. Right before Rabbi Brent married us he had four of our friends come and hold a tallit above our heads. It was so special and better than the chuppah we had set up outside. Our friends and family loved Rabbi Brent and applauded how well he handled our last minute ceremony changes. I cannot recommend him enough, he is truly the best! -
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Rachel Sent on 09/16/2025Rabbi Brent was fantastic!
Working with Rabbi Brent was a great experience - both leading up to the wedding and on the day itself. The ketubah signing and ceremony that he led were both beautiful, and so many people actually came up to us both during and after the wedding saying how wonderful he was and how special the ceremony was. Even our non-Jewish friends specifically commented on how great he was, weeks after the wedding! We really enjoyed working with him and all of the words he said/feelings he invoked throughout the process and on the day made our wedding even more special. -
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Margaret Sent on 08/11/2025Wonderful Officiant for Our Interfaith Wedding
We had a wonderful time working with Rabbi Brent for our wedding. The preparation sessions ahead of the big day helped us feel grounded, present and connected before the wedding - it's one of our favorite things we did in the lead up to the wedding. We'll use a lot of the communications practices that we talked about for the rest of our lives. We were also able to combine my husband's Jewish faith with some traditions from my Catholic faith for the ceremony - Rabbi Brent was open and flexible as we discussed what felt right for us as an interfaith couple. -
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Alana Sent on 07/02/2025Amazing Officiant, Person, and Experience
Rabbi Brent officiated our wedding ceremony beautifully. We had no connection to Rabbi Brent in advance of the wedding planning process. Over the course of eleven sessions, we got to know Rabbi Brent well, as he acted as a rabbi, wedding officiant, and pre-marriage counselor. He is thoughtful, kind, and giving. Rabbi Brent led us through an engaging and comprehensive pre-wedding process, where he learned about us individually and together, and he helped usher in our marriage with excitement and happiness. He guided us through the verbiage and design of our Ketubah, asked us thought-provoking questions, and provided us with meaningful exercises between sessions. During both the Ketubah signing and the marriage ceremony, he spoke beautifully - many of our guests came up to us after the ceremony to comment on how wonderful he was. We could not recommend his services more highly. -
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Ruth Sent on 05/28/2025He's A Mentch!
We loved working with Rabbi Brent so much. He really helped us to build a strong foundation for our marriage in addition to helping make our wedding meaningful and joyful. Our friends and family all were so impressed with how well he had gotten to know us, which reflected in our ceremony. Rabbi Brent isn't just a Rabbi for your wedding day, he is invested in the life you are building with your partner. -
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Melanie Sent on 05/01/2025Great experience with Rabbi Brent!
Rabbi Brent is amazing - his sessions were thoughtful and incredibly helpful. They guided us toward our wedding where he officiated a beautiful ceremony. We are so happy to have had him be a part of our special day! -
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Elise Sent on 01/13/2025Best Rabbi Ever!
We were recommended Rabbi Brent by friends who were doing premarital counseling with him after seeing him officiate their friends' wedding. I hadn't even thought about premarital counseling, but it turned out to be such an important and meaningful experience for us. Rabbi Brent facilitated us having big conversations about our relationship, helping us to instill the practice going forward and build and maintain a strong foundation for our family. Every session that we had with him, he provided thoughtful, helpful guidance, along with useful literature on relevant topics.
By the time we were planning the nuts and bolts of the ceremony, we had spent so much time in deep conversation with Rabbi Brent that we had grown incredibly comfortable with him. He helped us write a beautiful custom text for our ketubah, which makes the act of signing it feel much more intimate and personal.
He made the ceremony easy and comfortable, and brought a lot of love to the event. And he was the hit of the night. We've received more praise for his performance than for any other aspect of our--in my biased opinion--perfect wedding. We cannot recommend using Rabbi Brent more strongly! -
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Ronni Sent on 11/09/2024Amazing Rabbi!
We truly don’t even know where to begin with Rabbi Brent. Hiring him for our wedding and pre-marital counseling was perhaps one of the best decisions we made for our big day. We were a bit skeptical in the beginning, but as soon as we had our first meeting with Rabbi Brent, we knew we made the right decision. He went from being a complete stranger to us, to feeling like a true friend by the time of our wedding, and we couldn’t have imagined our wedding day without him. Though my husband and I didn’t necessarily uncover new truths about each other through the counseling, the meetings with Rabbi Brent helped reinforce the principles and values that we need to make our relationship successful and gave us a new perspective on marriage. The best part by far was writing our own Ketubah. This was incredibly special, and something we’ll cherish forever. Rabbi Brent is super kind, personable and really really funny, which really makes it very easy to open up to him. He did a fantastic job at our ceremony, bringing the perfect blend of Judaism and our own love story, which made the wedding feel very personal. Our family members loved him. We’d highly highly recommend Rabbi Brent’s services if you want a personalized and special wedding ceremony as well as introspective and meaningful pre-marital counseling. -
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Jimmy Sent on 11/07/2024We loved Rabbi Brent!
Rabbi Brent was amazing to work with. We came to him, a non-jewish couple that grew up exposed to many religious backgrounds, because when we met him we felt incredibly comfortable and were excited to see his enthusiasm for our marriage. We particularly enjoyed the "pre-marital" counseling, where we met with Rabbi Brent about every 2 weeks for the ~4 months leading up to the wedding. He posed many questions to topics we didn't even realize had not been addressed in the time of our 5 year relationship. Rabbi Brent was a pleasure to work with, and we highly recommend him to any couple looking for insightful and rewarding discussions before getting married.
Added bonus, he was a hit with all of our family and friends during the ceremony. We continue to get feedback about how beautifully he spoke and how thoughtful his speech was. -
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Tess Sent on 10/21/2024Highly recommend Rabbi Brent
We had an incredibly positive experience with Rabbi Brent from the very first call. His warm, positive energy immediately drew us in, and we knew we were in good hands. Over the course of several months, through our meetings with him, Rabbi Brent really got to know us as a couple, which made the entire experience feel personal and meaningful. We are a mixed-religion couple and always felt completely comfortable.
The pre-wedding meetings were invaluable in preparing us for marriage, helping us tackle important and sometimes difficult conversations, ensuring we were aligned or could communicate effectively through any differences. On the day of our wedding, Rabbi Brent led a beautiful and meaningful ketubah signing ceremony just before the main ceremony, which provided a grounding moment amidst all the excitement. Our wedding ceremony itself ended up being our favorite part of the entire day. Thanks to all the work we did leading up to it, we felt calm, confident, and completely focused on each other. We cannot recommend working with Rabbi Brent enough! -
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Matthew Sent on 10/18/202410/10 Rabbi and Human Being
We had such a wonderful experience working with Rabbi Brent. I can’t recommend him enough.
With Rabbi Brent, you’re not hiring someone to perform a wedding ceremony, you’re hiring a premarital counselor who happens to be conducting the ceremony after you’ve finished working with him. If that feels right to you, look no further.
For the first several sessions, Rabbi Brent gave us questions to ask each other and guide us through important conversations. Many of them we had touched on in the past, but it was helpful to really make sure we were on the same page.
As we discussed our conversations with him, he was completely non judgmental about all sorts of things you might be nervous to tell a rabbi.
Ultimately he guided us through writing our own Ketubah, which was so much more personal than a standard issue document.
We finished the process itching to keep Rabbi Brent in our lives, and I’m looking forward to the day we have him over for a drink. -
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Sydney Sent on 09/25/2024No one like Rabbi Brent!
We were incredibly fortunate to have Rabbi Brent officiate our wedding ceremony. From the moment we met, Rabbi Brent exuded warmth and kindness , making us feel at ease through our 12 sessions we met with him leading up to our Wedding day. During the ceremony it was evident that Rabbi Brent really knew us and created an atmosphere of comfort and inclusivity for everyone present. Majority of our guests commented on how much they loved Rabbi Brent for this reason! One of the most meaningful moments was the signing of the Ketubah. Rabbi Brent made this tradition incredibly meaningful, explaining its significance in a way that resonated deeply with us and our guests. Rabbi Brent’s ability to blend personal and traditional elements truly made our ceremony and wedding unique and special. We are so grateful. We couldn’t have asked for a better officiant to lead us into this new chapter of our lives! Absolutely book him to lead yours! -
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Perri Sent on 11/25/2023One of the best decisions we made for our wedding and our marriage
When thinking about the countless decisions we made for our wedding, I don’t think any were more impactful than our decision to work with Rabbi Brent. Not only did working with him lead to an amazing wedding day, but our many meetings together before the ceremony helped prepare us for the lifetime of marriage ahead of us. These interactions were so personal and instructive with how to approach the milestone of marriage, and working with him to discuss the true challenges and joys of this commitment provided us with an honest, sincere understanding of what is to come. Working with him to craft our own custom Ketubah text was such a meaningful and special experience and we are so glad that we will have this text to guide us throughout our marriage. We also can’t speak highly enough about how wonderful a job Rabbi Brent did on our wedding day. Our immediate family all recount our ketubah signing as their favorite part of the day, and we could not have imagined a more beautiful or meaningful chuppah ceremony. We’ve received feedback from numerous guests, both Jewish and not, about how great Rabbi Brent was and how the ceremony was both personal and accessible.
When you work with Rabbi Brent, you become a member of his congregation - this means you are privy to his wisdom, his kindness, and his generosity as he works personally with you as a couple to plan a memorable wedding ceremony and a meaningful life ahead. We are SO glad we chose to work with Rabbi Brent and would do it over again in a heartbeat.
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Zac M. Sent on 10/14/2023
His work is one of a kind and we could not be more grateful to have chosen him!
We couldn't have asked for a better wedding officiant than Rabbi Brent. His genuine care, eloquence, and ability to tailor our ceremony to reflect our love story made our day truly magical. If you want a memorable and personal wedding experience, Rabbi Brent is the perfect choice. Our love for each other deepened through our counseling sessions with Rabbi Brent. We have found a life long friend and advocate in Rabbi Brent. -
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Scott Sent on 09/10/2023Outstanding Rabbi
Rabbi Brent made our wedding experience so meaningful and rich with love and laughter. From the first time we met Rabbi Brent through to our wedding day he truly took an interest in our lives and relationship. His concept of "pre-marriage" counseling made our relationship stronger in the stressful months leading up to the wedding. At the end of the day we left with a lifelong friend and and mentor, would highly recommend to anyone. -
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Erica Sent on 07/16/2023Amazing experience
Don’t even think twice about hiring rabbi Brent for your wedding. He is thoughtful, engaging, professional, and really helped us get to get deeper as a couple. He led us to a really great place and we loved working with him. The ceremony was exactly what we wanted and he really listened to us. Thank you so much for everything rabbi Brent!! Highly recommend! -
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Chloe Sent on 11/06/2022
A perfect start to our marriage!
Working with Rabbi Brent was wonderful! We both loved having so much time ahead of the wedding to meet with Brent so that he could get to know us better as a couple and so that we could work through big and small details about the future of our relationship. Brent was so kind, professional, compassionate, and thoughtful. Nothing felt cookie-cutter, everything was tailored to us and our unique experiences. It was so easy to talk with him and just as great to listen to him! So many of our guests remarked on how beautiful his words were during our ceremony -- while we were a little over-stimulated and excited while it was all happening, we have so enjoyed re-watching the video of the ceremony and loved all of the personal and touching remarks Brent made. It was the perfect way to start our marriage! Thank you, Brent! -
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Rachel Sent on 10/19/2022
The most meaningful part of our wedding process
There's a reason Rabbi Brent has exclusively 5-star, heartfelt reviews: he is simply the best. Working with Rabbi Brent was our favorite part of the wedding process. This took us by surprise in the best way: we're an interfaith, interracial couple (Jewish, and Dominican Catholic-turned-atheist), and we didn't come in with too many needs beyond wanting a ceremony that was accessible to everyone and that felt "like us." But we got so much more than what we expected. While planning for a wedding can be a mix of happiness and excitement (as well as wedding-industrial complex hell, at times...) most of it isn't particularly "meaningful," for lack of a better term. In other words, every other vendor for a wedding is, understandably, about locking down details for the big day: flower arrangements, table settings, photos, transportation, etc. We didn't realize that Rabbi Brent would be the only part of the process that ensured we had a built-in time to explore what our marriage really means at large: we were able to really focus on us as a couple, and put the work into investigating how we want to foster a long, healthy relationship together.
Rabbi Brent is so compassionate, curious, generous, funny, and wise, and met us where we at every step of the way. There was nothing about his process that was dogmatic or exclusionary to someone who didn't grow up Jewish, but at the same time, he really knows his stuff and how to apply all his knowledge to your individual relationship. It was also fun! We looked forward to our meetings with him so much, and were constantly telling all our friends about it: each time after we met with Rabbi Brent, we'd have a date night and review a thoughtful series of questions he shared with us. Those questions are honestly something I believe every couple, regardless of religion or marital status, would be better for asking and exploring. We came to consider Rabbi Brent a dear friend and part of our community. And the day-of was just as we wanted, too: meaningful, funny, thoughtful, accessible, and felt "like us". We truly could not recommend Rabbi Brent more! -
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Ethan Sent on 10/09/2022So Much More Than a Wedding Officiant
My wife, Leah and I were looking for a rabbi to officiate our wedding at the Roundhouse in Beacon, NY. Rabbi Brent came highly recommended by the venue, and as soon as we met him for the first time we understood why.
During that first meeting, we sat on his front porch and talked about our family dynamics, our relationship to each other and to Judaism, our thoughts and feelings about marriage as an institution, and why we wanted to get married in the first place. He had a way of making us feel at ease, allowing us to open up about things that are deeply personal but really important to discuss before taking such a huge step in life together.
From that afternoon on, through dozens of conversations, he helped us understand each other on a deeper level and communicate effectively about topics that had the potential for causing tension and frustration. He always seemed to have the perfect things to say, drawing from his own writing and his favorite selections from literature (both religious and secular). The ketubah we produced with his guidance is a really special keepsake that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.
Working with Rabbi Brent was essentially like doing pre-marriage couples therapy. His process was thorough and it required a significant amount of effort, but it was hands-down the most important investment we made throughout the two years we spent planning our wedding. We formed a really special bond with Rabbi Brent and we feel so fortunate to have him as a resource in our lives, from these early months as newlyweds and beyond. We love him!! -
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Jordan Sent on 10/04/2022Could not imagine a better Rabbi
At first, I was pretty lukewarm on the process of holding a wedding. Me and my now wife had already gotten a marriage certificate during the pandemic two years prior, and the thought of going through the entire process and expense of putting on such a production seemed to be overkill to celebrate something that had already "happened.''
Now, however, thanks primarily to Rabbi Brent, I look back at the lead-up to our wedding and our ceremony as a truly wonderful experience that I believe will pay dividends decades into the future. Alongside helping lead a beautiful wedding, we're convinced the process materially improved the chances of us having a healthy marriage that lasts in the long run.
As we began our introductory session, very quickly my wife and I realized that we were about to undergo the furthest thing from an assembly-line process a few of my friends have been disappointed in in their experiences with religious officiants.
Rabbi Brent began by quickly leading us into conversations in and out of session with him about the shape and tenor of our lives. These sorts of discussions we had occasionally engaged with but were too polite and non-confrontational to address directly. Rabbi Brent got us talking about what matters, like the shape and tenor of the lives we hoped to live with each other, what marriage meant to both of us, the expectations we had for each other in our relationship, and what role we wanted Judaism to play in our lives.
While leading into these conversations, he also gave us the tools to address them more constructively and from a more loving posture. We would check in every few weeks, check in on what serious life topics we discussed and what fights we had. Rabbi Brent is openminded and a world-class listener who did a masterful job of taking us into and beyond our disagreements and transforming them into learning opportunities on how we should best engage with each other. While he has a rough schema for the types of topics he wants to get into, he is flexible and skilled enough to use the "material" our relationship raises each week to bring us to where the discussions grow most useful.
The principles and tools he introduced and demonstrated on our disagreements helped us look at problems thematically and not settle for one-off solutions. For instance, the framework he kept coming back to, the need to recall the occasionally wide distance between impact and intention, is a really helpful way of looking at relationships I expect to come back to for decades to come. These discussions culminated in an exercise to write a ketubah which was deeply meaningful to both of us.
Our relationship was between a Jew and a gentile, and Rabbi Brent handled the discussions with sensitivity and grace. He led a beautiful ceremony us three developed together that was a life highlight.
I could not give a stronger recommendation for choosing Rabbi Brent to accompany you and your future spouse through your marriage process. If you have questions feel free to get in touch with me via linkedin or twitter https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorschneider https://twitter.com/jordanschnyc?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor.
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Noa N. Sent on 09/21/2022Prioritize your marriage, not just your wedding
Rabbi Brent is so much more than a wedding officiant, and we couldn’t be happier to have found him. Working with him for the time leading up to our wedding, instead of just hiring someone for the day of did so much for us. Rabbi Brent’s approach is different in the best way. We instantly felt comfortable with him, and looked forward to each meeting together. During this time, not only did he help us to reach a deeper understanding of one another, he also got to know us very well, as individuals and as a couple, which made our ceremony all the more special and meaningful. Our wedding guests are still commenting on how awesome our Rabbi was, and how beautifully he lead our ceremony.
My husband and I were raised with different levels of exposure/connection to our Jewish heritages, and Rabbi Brent was an informative and gentle guide through the Jewish learning areas while always being open and not overbearing, and sent us helpful material to learn from on our own. He prepared us for the inevitable ups and downs of a long lasting marriage, and our sessions even helped ground us during the exciting, but also overwhelming process of wedding planning. Our beautiful Ketubah, which is now framed in our living room, was written by us, with the guidance of Rabbi Brent, and we love that it’s so personal to us.
After this experience, we believe that this process should be a standard for all couples before getting married. We will surely recommend Rabbi Brent to any Jewish and Jew-ISH friends and family who decide to get married in the future. -
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Janelle Sent on 08/07/2022
We loved Rabbi Brent!
We loved working with Rabbi Brent! As soon we had our first conversation with him, we knew we were in good hands. Part of his process was to get to know us and prepare us for the ceremony over 10 Zoom sessions. During these sessions we had thoughtful discussions and Rabbi Brent took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple. We come from different religious backgrounds, and he helped facilitate conversations around religion, as well as emotional intelligence, our families, and our relationship. We worked together to write our ketubah and plan our ceremony. On our wedding day, our family and friends were touched by how well Rabbi Brent knew us and how personal and beautiful the ceremony was. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house! We highly recommend working with Rabbi Brent and hope our paths cross again. -
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Sammi Sent on 07/19/2022Best Decision Ever
There is truly no words that can express our gratitude, appreciation, and love for Rabbi Brent. As a jewish couple, it was very important for us to have a rabbi that aligned with our jewish beliefs was important to us. But also, one that actually knew us as a couple and had a connection to our love and this commitment we were making to each other. While my husband and I did not have relationships with rabbis from growing up, we were starting from scratch. We got married in beacon (The Roundhouse) and during my husbands search for Rabbis in the area, up popped Rabbit Brent Spodek. We met with him in September 2021 in person and from there, we connected instantly. He made us feel comfortable as we shared our story, what we wanted from our wedding, and our dreams and hope for the future as a couple. Leading up to our June 2022 wedding, we spent the next 9 months meeting with Brent over ZOOM for sessions where we talked about our families, the kind of marriage we wanted for ourselves, our communication styles - essentially pre-martial counseling. While we did not anticipate this when we started our rabbi search for our wedding, this was a blessing I know my husband and I are grateful for. Through these sessions, Brent not only got to know us better - but also guide us on how to strengthen our relationship and areas in our relationship that needed support. Two months before the wedding, we talked through logictics of the ceremony and ketbuah - and Brent was incredibly helpful, organized, and knowledgeable. Then, the day of the wedding, when we had our ketubah signing, I was so emotional - in the best way possible. Feeling so grateful for the day and for Rabbi Brent being in our lives and helping us to this day. The ketubah signing and ceremony went off without a hitch. Actually, a bee landed on my hand as I was reading my vows and Rabbi gently brushed it away. He kept us calm, focused, and looking ahead. Even in the sun, while it was quite warm, the rabbi kept his cool. I know he will be a part of our lives forever and we are forever thankful to Rabbi Brent. -
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Melissa Sent on 07/01/2022HIGHLY Recommend!!
When looking for a rabbi for our wedding we were very specific in our interview process. We wanted to work with someone who didn’t just show up on the day of but showed up throughout the months leading up to the wedding and after. When we met with Rabbi Brent – we knew instantly it was a perfect match. He not only made our ceremony so personable, but he made the months leading up to the wedding so joyous. He reminded us of the importance to break barriers and really develop our emotional intelligence. He helped us understand our love languages and value what we were doing well in our relationship. Our wedding ceremony was also perfect. Our friends all commented on how personable and authentic it was. Rabbi Brent is someone you will love spending time with! We cannot say enough positive things about him as a rabbi and a person! We will cherish the discussions and ceremony for the rest of our lives! We HIGHLY recommend Brent! -
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Jennifer Sent on 12/02/2021We are a stronger couple because of Rabbi Brent!
When we imagined what the process of getting married would be like, we knew that there would be many decisions to make about the wedding day. We wanted our engagement to not just be about the minutia of wedding planning, but also wanted to spend time preparing ourselves for the commitments we were about to make to each other. Rabbi Brent is more than just a wedding officiant. He gently and lovingly guided us through a process of learning about ourselves and each other. Our time meeting with him, working through a list of questions as a couple (over some wine), and writing letters to each other helped clarify why we decided to take this next step as a couple. Our letters to each other were the basis of the formal commitments we made to each other on our wedding day (in the form of a Ketubah). We are able to look at our ketubah every day and reaffirm our promises to each other. Our family and friends who attended our wedding spoke so highly of Rabbi Brent. They marveled at how beautiful the ceremony was and how well he knew us. The ceremony was deeply personal and reflected all of the work we did with Rabbi Brent. We feel so indebted to him for helping us become a stronger couple. We highly recommend him! -
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Rachel Sent on 11/12/2021
Best investment of our wedding!!!
Working with Brent isn't just about your wedding day: it's about the marriage you're creating, and the promises that each of you want and need to make to one another to build a meaningful and lifelong partnership. He guided is through a powerful and thoughtful process, which included writing our own custom marriage contract (ketubah). We LOVE this document, and read it often, because it's a beautiful reminder of why we're so great together and what we need to do to keep our marriage strong. When we navigated challenges leading up to our wedding, Brent was there to give us invaluable relationship and communication tools. And when our first year of marriage was unexpectedly filled with numerous medical scares and a global pandemic, those tools served us time and again. In all the hard of life, our marriage is what's rock solid, and we know that our choice to work with Brent helped us make that a reality. Plus, he couldn't have been better on the wedding day itself! We're so grateful to have worked with him, and truly couldn't recommend Brent more highly!! -
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Hannah Sent on 09/25/2025Recommend for premarital counseling!
While we had another rabbi officiate our wedding, we did our pre-marital counseling with Brent. Our time with Brent helped us think beyond the wedding itself to the marriage we wanted to build together. The process led us to create a ketubah that feels like a personally meaningful and practical document we can refer to in order to reflect on and be accountable to our commitments. We would recommend Brent to couples who want to put the effort into understanding each other better and gaining tools to deal with future conflicts.
If you're curious about the process, it seemed similar to asking each other questions from the published "36 Questions to Fall in Love," with Brent adding marriage-focused questions and depth to the discussions. In the final stages, Brent guided us in translating our conversations into commitments in our ketubah. -
Rose Sent on 08/15/2023
Rabbi Brent Review
Our wedding day was such a joyous occasion, and we owe a big part of that to Rabbi Brent! When we first met Rabbi Brent, we both agreed that we wanted him to officiate our wedding.
Not only did Rabbi Brent officiate our ceremony, but he also provided us with counseling sessions leading up to our wedding day. These sessions were an opportunity for us to explore our relationship further and gain insight into ourselves. Rabbi Brent guided us through each session. He provided a safe and nurturing space where we could openly discuss our hopes, dreams, and concerns. He took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple, allowing him to craft a ceremony that was personal and meaningful.
During the ceremony itself, Rabbi Brent integrated our values, beliefs, and traditions into the service, making it a true reflection of who we are. He created a welcoming and warm atmosphere during our sessions with him as well as on our wedding day. Thank you, Rabbi Brent! -
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