Rabbi Joshua Waxman
Rabbi Waxman is passionate about making Judaism vibrant, accessible, and meaningful to everyone. “As a rabbi, I strive to help Jews and fellow travelers lead lives of meaning, purpose, and joy,” he writes. “I believe we do this vital work best as part of inclusive, nurturing, and vital communities that embrace who we are, even as they challenge us to imagine what we might become."
Rabbi Joshua Waxman is a native of New York City and a 2003 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Before attending RRC, he studied Russian History and Literature at Harvard University, worked with progressive Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union, and lived and studied in Israel. He served for fifteen years as Rabbi of Congregation Or Hadash in Ft. Washington, PA where he was named rabbi emeritus. He has also served on the faculty of RRC in the Department of Biblical Civilizations and is a past president of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia. He is a Wexner Graduate Fellow, an alum of the Clergy Leadership Incubator fellowship, and serves on the Board of the Wyckoff Love Fund.
Rabbi Waxman is passionate about making Judaism vibrant, accessible, and meaningful to everyone. “As a rabbi, I strive to help Jews and fellow travelers lead lives of meaning, purpose, and joy,” he writes. “I believe we do this vital work best as part of inclusive, nurturing, and vital communities that embrace who we are, even as they challenge us to imagine what we might become. Through Jewish prayer, learning, and living we can come to understand how radically precious each person is, and then use that knowledge to help recognize both our own sacred potential and our obligation to help all people live with freedom and dignity.”
To this end, Rabbi Waxman brings an array of intellectual and spiritual perspectives to Shabbat and holiday services, fosters a vibrant Torah Study and Adult Education program, celebrates music and creativity as vital vehicles for Jewish expression, and promotes broad participation in social action as a way to demonstrate our appreciation for the gifts we have received and to share those blessings with others.
Rabbi Waxman lives in Glen Rock with his wife Aimée and their children Tzvi, Yael, and Adir. He loves word games, the Yankees, Israeli pop music, and pretty much any kind of hot sauce. He has been the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Rishon since 2021.
