Build Community

Community does not happen by accident. I work to cultivate it deliberately.

I believe Jewish community thrives when we:

Create real belonging
Honor difference without losing shared purpose
Engage disagreement with dignity
Practice covenantal responsibility

My approach to building community draws on:

Rabbinic models of machloket l’shem shamayim — disagreement for the sake of Heaven
Organizing principles rooted in accountability
Years of congregational leadership

To me, community is sacred architecture. I build it with intention.

I should probably also disclose something important: I am a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and the Detroit Lions.

If you know anything about those franchises, you understand that this is not a casual affiliation. It is a covenant. It is stubborn hope in the face of evidence. It is loyalty stretched across decades.

Make of that what you will.

Being a Mets and Lions fan has taught me a few things about community: you show up even when the season is long. You stay committed when the outcome is uncertain. You argue, you analyze, you lament — and you return the next week anyway. That is what belonging looks like.

So yes, I am deeply loyal to the causes and communities I believe in.

Or I am a masochist.

Possibly both.

But either way, I build community the way I root for my teams: with commitment, resilience, and a refusal to abandon hope.