Creating Connections. Teaching Torah.
Finding Meaning.
We live in a world that can’t stop talking, but rarely do we pause and listen. After I ask someone about their parents or their children or the many things they care about, people tell me I have a great memory. I deflect and gently move the conversation along. I know my memory helps, but the crucial detail is that I listen when other people talk. I embrace the opportunity to know you better. If I know you, I can invest in you, and help you grow.
In the peaks of the Jewish lifecycle, when I meet with wedding couples, converts, new parents, and B’nei Mitzvah families, I state my goal at the outset: to celebrate who they are, why they are special, and how the Jewish tradition can inspire them to find more joy and meaning in their lives. Through listening carefully, I craft a service or ritual with them that creates Kedushah, the sense of the sacred. All of these investments are why I am a Rabbi: I want to help people flourish through the transformative power of Jewish living and learning. Everything I do as a Rabbi is in service to this goal.
about
My route to becoming a Rabbi was certainly not a straight line! My first step was on Masada at 5:30 am on my 2001 Birthright Israel trip. As I watched the sun rise out of the Dead Sea, I felt connected to the Jewish people in a way I never had before. That moment catalyzed a trajectory that culminated three years later in a call to HUC-JIR from my cubicle at GE. In between those two moments, yes I got my Bachelors degree in Information Systems, but more importantly I fell in love with the wisdom of the Jewish tradition, and helping individual Jews and Jewish communities thrive. That passion has only grown over these past twenty years as I continue to invest in my own learning and growth, and create opportunities for communities and individuals to do the same. I live in Westchester, NY with my wife Kate, our three sons, Benji, Micah, and Ezra and our dog Gizmo.
