I know how important it is to be surrounded by loving community and people who care. I have lived in lots of different places and seen Jewish life expressed in lots of different ways. While home is Portland, Oregon, I was born in Rochester, New York, where much of my family remains, grew up in northern California and even lived in Germany (I can’t say I remember it well, I do have a love of piping hot soft pretzels—a holdover favorite snack since I was a kid). During high school, I was inspired by the RAC L’taken program, NFTY, and the rabbis at my synagogue to commit to leaving this world better than I found it. After high school, I moved to Washington, DC where I went to college at American University. While at American, I studied abroad in Belgium where I held an internship with a Jewish NGO. It was my abroad work experience that made things click—I wanted to be a rabbi! I knew that becoming a rabbi was the right path for me because it was the clearest way that I could make an impact on my community. My alma mater’s motto is “Ideas into action, action into service.” I read that statement not as an ideal, but as an imperative. 

I began to put my ideas into practice after college when I moved to south Florida to work at the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County to facilitate teen communal programming. While I had the opportunity to implement ideas, more than anything, I learned that service to community requires living in community. I learned that lesson most poignantly when I met my wife Phylicia (who you can see in the picture above). We met on a dating app and amazingly, on our first date when I told Phylicia I wanted to be a rabbi, she didn’t run! After the Year in Israel, we moved to Cincinnati together and got married in June 2019. Our wedding was an incredible moment for us to share our love for each other with our community. We also threw a pretty darn good party!

Now, Phylicia and I are ready for whatever life will throw at us--including our son Micah. 

I can’t wait to connect soon!