40 Under 40: Samantha Trief
Samantha “Sam” Shabman Trief, 30, is a rabbi at Temple Sinai.
Samantha Trief, 30
Rabbi Samantha “Sam” Shabman Trief was thrilled to join the Temple Sinai team in July 2016. She was ordained as a rabbi that same year from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York.
Born and raised in Scarsdale, N.Y., Rabbi Trief was excited to move South, and now feels incredibly lucky and blessed to call the Atlanta Jewish community her home.
“I was surprised to find how similar Atlanta can be to New York. I was at the JF&CS The Tasting event a few weeks ago, and it was awesome to look around the room and feel connected to almost everyone in the community; it’s not too big and not too small.”
Passionate about traveling and exploring the world, Trief spent much of her college and rabbinical school years traveling to remote places with her now-husband, Natan Trief, who is also a rabbi.
“Sri Lanka was one of our favorite trips. We loved the food and the culture and surfing,” she said. “At the time I was a vegetarian — though, since moving to Atlanta, I now eat at Chick-fil-A – and it had amazing vegetarian food. Another favorite was Southeast Asia. … I love to travel anywhere that has amazing, unique cuisine, and I also love places with rich Jewish history.”
Trief has been a proud member of the board of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Southeast region since she moved to Atlanta, and is a recent graduate of LEAD Atlanta, Leadership Atlanta’s program for new and emerging professionals.
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