For me, Jewish leadership has always been about balancing Tradition and innovation, people and Torah, systems and heart.
At every stage, I’ve been drawn toward the living place where questions meet belonging, where ideas meet real lives.
My work today grows from years of learning, leading, and listening across different seasons of rabbinic life. Each stage has deepened my understanding of serving a community with authenticity, clarity, and care.
Growing Up
I grew up immersed in Jewish communal life, watching my parents involved in synagogue life. For me, growing up in a community is where curiosity, passion, and leadership started to emerge.
In sixth grade, I shadowed our synagogue’s rabbi for a school project, an early glimpse into a life of service and presence. And in high school, I took on actual leadership roles.
Even before I fully realized it, I was drawn toward spaces where Torah, community, and growth came alive.
Hungry for Learning
During college, my relationship with Torah shifted. I remember sitting with a local rabbi, who I had asked to study Talmud with me. (Something, I assumed good Jews did.)
I struggled through the Rashi script, which I had never seen, and the Aramaic of the Talmud, something I didn’t know about. I felt frustrated, embarrassed, and still somehow more curious than ever.
Instead of turning away, I leaned in.
I began to realize that Torah and Jewish learning must become more accessible, tangible, and alive.
Finding the Keys to the Kingdom
At the Ziegler School, I immersed myself fully in Talmud and halakhah, basically any text that I could get my hands on. I was finding access to the Tradition in ways that I didn’t have it before.
These years weren’t just about gathering information though, they were about learning how to live Torah with and among people.
I wasn’t simply building skills, I was building a way of being, grounded in presence, service, and integrity.
Torah and leadership wasn’t about perfect knowledge. It was about carrying imperfection faithfully.
Building Trust, Growing Community
When I entered congregational rabbinic life at Congregation Beth Shalom, the theories became life.
We weren’t just building programs, we were building relationships that could carry people through real seasons of life.
I saw community deepen when people stepped forward with their own visions, their own hopes.
Amidst the aftermath of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, I stepped into a season of leadership that was less about answers and more about presence, helping carry grief, hold space, and stay close through unimaginable loss.
Later during the pandemic, I learned again that real leadership is not about having all of the answers.
It’s about showing up, staying close, and building spaces where people don’t have to carry their burdens alone.
Even six feet apart, even behind masks, the work was still about drawing people closer to one another, to Torah, to hope.
Helping Others Tell Their Story
After several years of congregational leadership, I was drawn toward a different kind of work: helping Jewish communities see themselves more clearly and share their stories with greater integrity.
Through consulting, independent Torah teaching, and writing, including With Torah and Love and A Better World is Possible, I stayed close to the heart of Jewish life, even as the work shifted from physical spaces to digital ones.
There is real power in digital Torah and it cannot fully replace the simple, sacred presence of people learning together in the same room.
During this season, projects like Exploring Judaism continue to grow beyond what I could have imagined, offering Torah that could reach across screens and distances, even when tables could not be shared.
The values that shaped my journey also shape my approach to Jewish life today.
You can learn more about what I believe here.
For those inclined, you can view my resume here.