A Portrait of
My Rabbinate
“When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly,
God is the electricity that surges between them.”
— Martin Buber
Every moment is a doorway into curiosity, connection, and the sacred. In each setting, I strive to weave text, story, and practice into experiences that awaken wonder, deepen relationships, and reveal the holiness within our lives and around us.
Sermons
Awe, the Vagus Nerve, and the Evolution of the Sacred
HUC Cincinnati, April 2024
Explore how our ancient longing for something tangible evolved into a spiritual practice of noticing the sacred in the quiet and everyday moments where awe awakens the still small voice within us.
Love or Fear: Esau, Jacob, & the Choices That Shape Us
Shabbat, Temple B’nai Or, December 2024
I invite you to see Jacob and Esau not as heroes or villains but as mirrors, reminding us that every choice we make is shaped by either love or fear, and challenge you to choose the path that opens rather than closes the human heart.
A Blessing for Room 718: The Power of Ritual in a Rational World
Senior Sermon, HUC Cincinnati, April 2025
I reflect on how a strange call to bless an empty hospital room reveals how, when logic reaches its limits, the small rituals we offer one another become sacred anchors of hope, wholeness, and human connection.
Where Questions Lead Us: A New Year’s Call to Wakefulness
Rosh Hashanah 5786, Temple B’nai Or, September 2025
I encourage you to step out of autopilot and into the new year awake by reminding you that the holiest work of our lives begins not with answers but with the courage to ask the questions that shape who we are becoming.
Prayer & Ritual
I strive to create moments when a community breathes together that are accessible, emotionally resonant, and grounded in Jewish tradition. Our siddurim and inherited melodies offer a structure that roots us in generations of communal prayer, while spontaneous prayer opens a door to optimism, catharsis, and honest feeling.
Whether leading Shabbat services, offering kavvanot, or crafting rituals for life cycle moments, I aim to weave music, reflection, and participation into experiences that feel authentic, alive, and deeply connecting.
Teaching
The Oven of Akhnai: A Story of Prioritizing Community Over Miracle
Shabbat, Temple B’nai Or, May 2025
This class uses the story of the Oven of Achnai to explore how Judaism navigates identity, authority, and sacred reassembly after rupture. Through study and discussion, we examine what makes something continuous, who holds interpretive power, and how a tradition can be rebuilt through human hands and still remain holy.
The Science of Ritual: How Spiritual Practice Shapes the Brain and Builds Community
Rosh Hashanah 5785, Temple B’nai Or, September 2025
This class explores ritual as a technology of transformation, drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and Jewish tradition to show how practices like prayer, music, and awe shape the brain and strengthen communal life. Together, we examine how ritual activates systems tied to empathy, memory, and belonging, revealing it not as a relic but as a biological and spiritual engine for healing, connection, and deeper awareness.