Just who do I think I am?

Most people want to know the facts first, so here are just a few of the opportunities that I have had (from present to past), all of which have helped to form the professional that I am today and the skills that I am able to share.

HUC-JIR, New York, NY: Creator and Coordinator, Cantorial Certification Program
Adult Educator: CAJE, Melton, URJ Summer Kallot, URJ Kutz Camp, Hava Nashira, URJ Scheidt Seminar, URJ Biennial Conventions, Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and more.
Scholar-in-Residence at dozens of congregations across the country
Program Director: Synagogue 2000
HUC-JIR, New York, NY: Associate Dean
Cantor/Educator at congregations in both White Plains, NY and Cleveland, OH
Cantorial Ordination: HUC-JIR, New York, NY
Full-time Youth Director
MA in Jewish Communal Service, Brandeis University

I’ve been invited to lead worship and teach in a wide variety of congregations and cohorts; I’ve had the chance to learn from and collaborate with amazing artists and friends; I’ve coordinated conferences, run Religious Schools, created and run a graduate-level educational program; and I’ve learned from every single opportunity.

I strive in my teaching, consulting, and worship-leading to put tools in the hands of congregants, lay leaders, educators, and clergy that will enable us all to be more mindful, pro-active, and creative in regard to the role of Judaism in our lives.

I believe that communal worship is a time when clergy have the largest number of congregants in a single room for a limited amount of time, and it is worth both effort and resources to use that time to acknowledge deep truths, change perspectives, build relationships, rejoice and mourn, learn, and inspire action. Taking communal worship and ritual seriously (though not literally), and allowing (and expecting) it to make a difference in one’s life can affect one’s world-view, and bring positive change to the synagogue, the home, and the community at large, for the benefit of all involved.

The Jonah Maccabee Foundation

Honoring the life and memory of Jonah Maccabee Dreskin by supporting projects that empower youth in the arts, in social activism, and in Jewish life. Click on the image below for more information.

If you would like to support the Foundation by purchasing a "So is Life" CD, which I recorded with Rosalie Boxt, Josh Nelson, and Dan Nichols, please click here.