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Shalom Friends!
As the Rabbi of Kesher Israel, I’d like to take some time to introduce myself. I hope that in time, you can share with me your story, how you came to call West Chester “home,” and what I can do to help you experience a meaningful connection to Judaism, spirituality, and God.
After a long journey of self-discovery and exploration I followed through on my dream to become a rabbi, and have been blessed with many experiences connecting me to God and the Jewish people. I was ordained by a pluralistic seminary, The Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY in 2018. I try to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible, by emphasizing heimishkeit, and unique ways to embrace our tradition. Through creativity, story-telling, music, and text study, I’ve learned that there is no one right way to be a Jew!
To me, Judaism is profoundly about life, about preserving it at all costs, about communal obligation and loving thy neighbor, and about “ahavat Yisrael,” the love of Israel and the Jewish people. My ritual practice includes music, bibliodrama, meditation, text study, cultural immersion, prayer and more. We are living in an interesting time period and the values of the Jewish faith can be a balancing, stabilizing and empowering force. I imagine there are others like me, who are in need of inclusive and welcoming teachings – I hope they look to Kesher Israel as a place of refuge and inspiration.
I hope I can continue to educate and pray with those people who call West Chester home. My path wasn’t always easy, and the presence of God wasn’t always obvious, but as Maimonides begins his principles with “I affirm,” so too do “I affirm” that God has been leading my way here to West Chester and that I will do my best with those divine intentions.
In my spare time I enjoy exercise, yoga, playing guitar, piano, writing and studying. You can find me hiking on the Appalachian Trail, out in Strouds Preserve, paddling on rivers and lakes on a paddle board, or calling congregants to celebrate the life-cycles of their life. You can also find me playing fetch with my miniature poodle, Stella. I’d like to get to know you as well, please contact me at the synagogue!
L’shalom,
Rabbi Sam
