MEET

Rabbi Loren Berman

My approach to Jewish learning: I believe that Jewish texts are our inherited and ever-evolving treasure, and with just a bit of curiosity and direction, one can uncover deep traditional wisdom to bring to our current moments, both personally and communally. Text study may be presented as foreign, outdated, and patriarchal, but I'm always amazed that struggles we face today were shared by those of our ancestors, and they wanted us to learn from their experiences. But, for me, it's not only about engaging with what's been written, but also about writing a new chapter. To that end, my approach to Jewish learning is learner-focused, question-driven, and focuses on what we have to say about a given text, how it speaks to us, and how it can be relevant in our own lives. When we are excited to engage in Jewish text study and bring our full selves to it, we offer future generations something to learn from and build on as well.

My professional bio: Originally from Los Angeles (where he was a child actor), Loren is the East Coast and Mountain West Regional Jewish Educator for Moishe House and Sefaria's Learning Department Outreach and Engagement Associate. Previously, he was the supervisor of High Holidays programming at Riker’s Island Correctional Facility and a former teacher of Torah in a rural Jewish village in Ghana through the Kulanu Teaching Fellowship. During rabbinical school, Loren completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Mount Sinai Hospital, and interned at the Hunter College Hillel and with Rabbi Uri Topolosky at Kehilat Pardes in Rockville, Maryland. He also participated in a number of rabbinic leadership fellowships through Rabbi David Jaffe's Inside Out Action & Wisdom Project, JOIN for Justice, the 92nd Street Y, AIPAC, and the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. Loren received rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a B.A. in Psychology from Columbia University, and a B.A. in Talmud & Rabbinics from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Over the years, his education has also taken him to Pardes, Drisha, Yeshivat Hadar, and Yeshivat Har Etzion. In his spare time, Loren enjoys exercise and martial arts, travel, and experimenting with new spices in the kitchen.