MEET

Eli Reiter

Eli Reiter is a recovering New Yorker now based in Chicago. A 3rd year Master’s of Divinity student at the University of Chicago, his academic focus is on anthropology of religion. He’s also a rabbinical student in his final year. He takes his lifetime of Yeshiva background education with a sense of responsibility and obligation to those who did not have access to those texts and traditions, and has made it his hallmark to give over these ideas in a manner that is captivating to those who did not have the same access to those educational opportunities. He’s also a lifetime educator, with ten years of classroom experience. As a community builder, he founded two intentional communities with support from the Israeli Ministry of the Diaspora.

He is also a writer and storyteller. His essays have appeared in the New York Times, Esquire, Slate, Wired, Washington Post, and CNBC, among other outlets. Eli is also three-time winner of The Moth Story Slam and the host of the live longform storytelling show Long Story Long. His guests have included bestselling authors like Nick Flynn, comedians like SNL’s Sasheer Zamata and The Daily Show’s Hasan Minhaj, and podcasting personalities like Unorthodox’s Mark Oppenheimer and This American Life’s Elna Baker. He also produced the Muslim Jewish storytelling show.

Eli has taught storytelling in a variety of places, from schools and museums to homeless shelters. He also hosts Jewish-centered events from a Muslim Jewish storytelling series to events sponsored by Moishe House. He hosts retreats for young Jews to build a wider pluralistic Jewish community. The themes of the retreats vary, from storytelling to travel.