About our Rabbi
Brief Biography
Rabbi Michael Strassfeld has been prominent in the American Jewish community for almost thirty years, dating from his involvement as co-editor of the first Jewish Catalog in 1973. He graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University (1971) with honors in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, after having spent his freshman year at the Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University. He also holds an M.A. degree from Brandeis in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and completed his doctoral coursework in Jewish History at Brandeis. He received his ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1991.
Rabbi Strassfeld was very active in the Havurah movement, having been the founding chairperson of the National Havurah Committee from 1979 to 1982.
Before coming to the SAJ, he held various positions at Congregation Ansche Chesed on the Upper West Side, including Director of Program and Development, Executive Director, and Rabbi of the congregation.
Publications
Rabbi Strassfeld has been the author, editor or co-editor of numerous books and articles, including three versions of The Jewish Catalog, A Shabbat Haggadah: Ritual and Study Texts for the Home; and The Jewish Holidays, a guide to the holidays used in many Jewish households.
In 2000 he co-edited with his wife, Rabbi Joy Levitt, A Night of Questions, a Passover Haggadah published in 2000 by the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation.
His most recent work is A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice published in 2002 by Schocken Books (see more below).
Rabbi Strassfeld has just completed his first CD entitled "Songs to the Soul: Hassidic nigunim" (melodies) available from the SAJ office.
In addition to his congregational and literary roles, Rabbi Strassfeld has been very active in a variety of community activities, both locally and nationally. He was one of the founders and a Board member of Beyond Shelter, a coalition of Manhattan synagogues concerned with homelessness; member of the board of Rabbis for Human Rights- North America; and Vice President of the Abraham Joshua Heschel School. Rabbi Strassfeld currently is a member of the faculty of The Institute for Jewish Spirituality.
Rabbi Strassfeld writes “A Book of Life”
In his new book, A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice, Rabbi Michael Strassfeld writes about the recovery of Judaism's spiritual dimension through everyday ritual. A book that charts a clear path to a more spiritually rich practice of Judaism, from the coauthor of the best-selling Jewish Catalogs.
More information about the book from Jewish Lights Publishing.
Excerpts from the book on Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur
Additional writings from the Rabbi
"Who Knows One?" > (A Poem on Darfur)
Viewing downloadable documents
Some of the content on our web site is a longer text, such as talks, sermons, presentations, detailed descriptions of programs and events, etc. To make these easier to read on screen or to print, we provide these in Portable Document Format (PDF).
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