I have devoted myself to the revival and flourishing of congregations around the world, most recently the umbrella organization of ten Progressive communities that grew out of Beit Warszawa in post-Communist Poland. In America, we are supported by Friends of Jewish Jewish Renewal in Poland and the World/European for Progressive Judaism.

My intensified engagement with out-of-way congregations began when I travelled to a community founded in the 1640s in Parimaribo, Suriname.

I have served as spiritual counselor for a Jewish-inspired palliative and hospice center, Skirball Hospice. My work focused on offering comfort and insight to people. I also frequently helped patients develop life summary videos and ethical wills. The Skirball work is spiritually rewarding engagement.

Currently I serve as the Rabbi of a progressive synagogue, Congregation Beth Ohr in Studio City, CA. Earlier, I served for 19 years as Chaplain and Hillel Rabbi for The Claremont Colleges. I received my smicha (ordination) from Hebrew Union College specializing in Cairo Genizah documents in Judeo-Arabic. I have studied the history of the Holocaust at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and also Higher Education at The Claremont Graduate University. From 1988 to 1990 I worked as a Mandel Jerusalem Fellow. I did my undergraduate work at Occidental College. I am the founder and spiritual leader of the Mifgash (HaMifgash), a gathering of adult learners who pursue Jewish learning and seek to apply it to the pressing issues of the day.