My Jewish Journey

My own road to becoming a rabbi started when my parents decided that I didn't have enough Jewish friends.  With that, they piled me in the back of the family station wagon and drove me to the URJ Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas, where I spent ten summers, first as a camper, and later as a CIT, and then camp counselor. I still love camp!

My Ninth Grade Bunk Picture

During college, I was lucky enough to spend a semester at Beit Hashita, a kibbutz in the Golan.  Part of the time, I helped make pickles and those fancy little onions that go in martinis. I also learned a lot of Hebrew, made lifelong friends, and came to know the country in a deep and intimate way. This was my first trip and it instilled in me a strong commitment to Israel. After college, I worked for Young Judaea in Houston, Texas, as the regional director of the youth group and I managed the regional camp for a summer.

After a number of years of work outside the Jewish world, my love of Jewish community led me back to synagogue life as a Jewish professional. With my background in high tech, I began to help Jewish organizations with their websites and membership databases. I also began teaching Sunday School as my passion for Jewish education resurfaced. Soon thereafter, I began my work as the Youth Educator at Temple Israel in Boston,  working with teens and their families for four years. During this time, I was also involved as a lay leader in TI's Riverway Project. My wife, Julie, and I hosted Shabbat dinners and services in our home for the 20s and 30s in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods. I also helped to organize and lead the first Riverway trip to Israel in 2005. It was on this trip that I began to seriously consider becoming a rabbi.

In 2007, with much support from our family and friends, and our community at Temple Israel, Julie and I packed our house and our eight month old, son, Noah, and went to Jerusalem for my first year of  rabbinical school. We had a wonderful year living in the neighborhood of Baka, getting to know our neighbors and regularly praying with the inspiring Kol HaNeshama community.

Our family on the beach in Tel Aviv

After this amazing year in Jerusalem, we left for the gorgeous sunshine of California and I spent another five years of study, reflection, and practice at the HUC-JIR campus in Los Angeles. I was fortunate to have learned from and with many congregations and have woven bits and pieces of all of these experiences into my own rabbinate.

 Following my ordination in 2013, I was blessed to join Congregation Beth Or in suburban Philadelphia as the Director of Lifelong Learning. We have been so warmly welcomed to this vibrant congregation and have loved getting to know Philadelphia. Julie has been serving on the Outreach Committee and Noah is singing with the Junior Choir. This past summer, we were lucky to spend two weeks at URJ Camp Harlam and became huge fans!  Introducing Julie and Noah to Jewish summer camp has brought me full circle.  We feel lucky to be on this path and are looking forward to the next adventure.

Our family at a Shabbat dinner at Beth Or