BIO
Since 2012, I have served as the Senior Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Shalom in Westborough, MA. I am the co-founder of Central MA Connections in Faith, an interfaith project that has brought over 300 people representing over 20 different faith traditions together to learn about and from each other. Ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2006, I was formerly Associate Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Israel, Bridgeport, CT for 6 years. I am a graduate of the CLAL (National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership) student program, and the first cohort of CLAL’s groundbreaking ‘Rabbis Without Borders Fellowship.’ Since 2013 I have served as a mentor with the Clergy Leadership Incubator program led by Rabbi Sid Schwarz, training visionary spiritual leaders for the American Jewish community. In 2021 I became the co-chair of the Worship and Ritual committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR).
In my early years, my family was part of a Modern Orthodox community in the suburbs of London, During my college years, I became involved in the Reform community and Jewish Renewal, interning for Rabbi Arthur Waskow and The Shalom Center and Elat Chayyim retreat center in 2000. Prior to entering seminary, I completed a BSC and Ph.D in Cultural Geography (Sociology) at University College London. I am married to Rabbi Suri Krieger (AJR, NY, 2009) and have four adult step-children, and 5 grandchildren.
VISION
Rabbinic Vision | As a rabbi who seeks to understand and serve my community and bring Jewish wisdom into the context of their everyday lives, I bring the outside world into my teaching and provide bridges for congregants to navigate the different parts of their lives. I have a love of Jewish mysticism and spiritual practice and bring creative, experiential prayer into a mainstream, Reform congregation in ways that open people to trying new things. I am passionate about interfaith work and making our congregation more actively present in the wider community. I work as a partner with my lay leadership, shaping the identity and values of the congregation together, and seeking to make it more of a model of the values and sacred community that we all aspire to be.
WHY WHISK(E)Y?
With a father from Glasgow, and much pride in my Scottish connections, I have enjoyed whisky (usually spelled without an ‘e’ in Scotland and with an ‘e’ in the United States) all my adult life. In more recent years, I’ve had the opportunity to explore a great range of whiskeys from around the world, many through seminars and festivals held by the Loch and Key Society at Julio’s Liquor store in Westborough, MA. Beginning as a sabbatical project in 2022, I have begun to research the fascinating connections between Jewish social history and whiskey, particularly in the United States. The marriage of my amateur hobby and my professional work has led to the creation of a podcast, A dram and a drash, and the development of educational seminars . Learn more at A dram and a drash.
