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Announcement: Second Annual r/Judaism Ask the Rabbis

Join us on Monday, Sept 19, from 2:00pm – 4:00pm ET (NYC) for our SECOND ANNUAL Ask the Rabbis with some of our community rabbonim!

We’re quickly approaching the High Holidays and this AMA was a popular event last year, so we wanted to do it again! Read last year’s post here.

The following Redditors have provided proof to the mod team that they have smicha/Rabbinical ordination and agreed to do this panel in the final week leading up to Rosh Hashana.

The goal of this panel is to answer your questions about Jewish law, thought, community, and practice, from a variety of viewpoints. You are welcome to ask more personal (that is, “regular AMA”) questions – as always, it is the guests’ prerogative to answer any questions.

Bios written/submitted by the subjects.

  • u/sonoforwel [Conservative] – I am a Conservative rabbi, ordained in 2014 at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where I also attained an MA in Talmud and Rabbinics. I serve as Rabbi Educator of a small congregation in North-East Los Angeles, California, where I live with my wife and two kids. I grew up in Colombia, South America, and continue to work with mixed-language communities in Southern California.
  • u/dlevine21 [Pluralistic/Post-Denominational] – From San Diego – grew up in the Orthodox world eventually receiving Orthodox Smicha. I also received a BA (Jewish Studies), BS (Cognitive Science), and MA (Jewish History) from UCLA. I currently identify as pluralistic/post-denominational. I’m currently the Senior Jewish Educator for Orange County Hillel, the rabbinic fellow at a local congregation and an adjunct professor in Jewish Studies at UC Irvine. I’m a frequent writer and podcaster and you can find my materials posted on Facebook and Instagram. I currently live in Irvine with my wife Shaina, and when not talking Judaism I’m an avid rock climber and mountaineer. AMA! -Rabbi Daniel Levine
  • u/rabbifuente [Non-denominational/Traditional] – I grew up at a Reform synagogue in the Chicago suburbs, attending some version of organized “Hebrew school” through the end of high school. At the same time I began doing a lot of independent learning in high school and joined Hillel and Chabad in college where I was active in programming and studying with the rabbis. Post-grad I continued to learn with various rabbis as well as independently and in 2021 I received smicha from a small, independent program out of New York. I would say I am a “non-denominational” rabbi, however I fall somewhere around Traditional/MO in terms of theology. Currently, I am focusing on small group/1:1 study and counseling and am teaching a “Jewish Literacy” class based on Rabbi Telushkin’s book. I am always more than happy to talk to anyone about Judaism, answer questions, etc.
  • u/SF2K01 [Orthodox] – Originally from Columbus, Ohio, I was exposed to a variety of denominations growing up, from Reform to Orthodox, before settling on Modern Orthodoxy as a teenager. I only attended public schools and went straight to college after high school, attended the University of Cincinnati and got my undergraduate degree in Jewish Studies. Afterwards, I spent 2 years in Israel learning in Shapell’s Darche Noam before coming to Yeshiva University to start my graduate degree in Jewish History at Revel and achieved Rabbinic Ordination through YU’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, particularly with Rabbi Ezra Schwartz, Rabbi Dr. Jeremy Wieder, Dr. Steven Fine, Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, and Dr. Yaakov Elman. After completing my studies, I worked in outreach for a few years before pivoting to become a fundraiser for Jewish educational institutions. Aside from my Rabbinic and Academic interests, I am a longtime gamer, sci-fi and tech enthusiast, and reside in Washington Heights, Manhattan, with my wife, daughter, and two Siamese cats.
  • u/rebthor [Orthodox] – I’m an Orthodox rabbi living in Queens, NY. I received my semicha from a yeshiva in Queens that’s small enough that I would dox myself if I said the name. I also learned at Sh’or Yoshuv in 5TFR for a little while. I grew up non-Orthodox in Buffalo, NY primarily in the Conservative movement and was very active in USY. I also was very close to the Chabad rabbis there and have a special place in my heart for Chabad although I don’t identify as Lubavitch. I love learning halacha so my favorite rabbis are generally poskim; I often refer to the Aruch HaShulchan, R’ Moshe Feinstein, Maran Ovadiah Yosef and the Tzitz Eliezer when trying to figure out what to do. I also am a big fan of the works of R’ Jonathan Sacks and libadel R’ Dovid Hofstedter. I have 4 children, a dog and a wife who has put up with me for 23 years. To pay the bills I work as a programmer. In my free time, I like to read, play video games, watch sports. and bake sourdough bread.
  • u/fullhauss [Orthodox] – I grew up in the LA area, and was very involved in the Conservative movement. In college I shifted to Orthodoxy while obtaining a BA in Judaic Studies. After college, I spent two years studying at Shapell’s/Darche Noam before going to Yeshiva University to obtain my Smekha. I have worked at a Jewish day school and am now shifting to work with college students on campus.
  • u/theislandjew [Orthodox (Chabad)] – I’m Avromy Super, a rabbi and Chabad representative on the small Caribbean island of St Lucia, together with my wife and three children. Born in Australia, I graduated with Smicha and a Bachelor of Arts from the Rabbinical College America and have visited dozens of countries and communities worldwide on behalf of Chabad. I love traveling and meeting new people.
  • u/NewYorkImposter [Orthodox (Chabad)] – I’m Chabad-affiliated, but don’t like labels due to the stigmas and assumptions that often come along with them. I have Chabad Smicha from Israel/Singapore which I got after completing post-highschool Yeshiva Gedolah in Melbourne and Crown Heights. I’ve previously hosted services in New Zealand and Sydney. I currently use my Smicha informally in informal outreach in the Australian film industry and the Sydney Jewish community (and occasionally on Reddit and Discord 😉).
    • NewYorkImposter will be joining the AMA late, due to the unfortunate time difference.

Note: If you are a rabbi with a smicha and would like to be recognized here with a special flair, please message the mods with your smicha. For your anonymity (something many value about this site), we do not share that document with anyone else and do not share anything about you without your permission. The flair is generally just Rabbi – denomination.

The AMA will occur:

  • 2:00p – 4:00p ET (NYC)
  • Monday, September 19, 2022 / Yom Sheni, 22 Elul 5782

I will make a new post that morning!

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