Contact Rabbi Adler rabbiadler@adathisraelnj.org
Rabbi Benjamin Adler has been the spiritual leader of Adath Israel Congregation since 2014. He is passionate about being present and guiding individuals and families through the sweetness, sorrows, challenges, and opportunities of Jewish life. Drawing on the ancient wisdom of the tradition and the progressive values of modern Judaism, he has spent years building and sustaining warm, committed, and caring communities that support each member as they find their own unique spiritual path.
A graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City where he earned a master’s degree in Jewish Philosophy, Rabbi Adler also studied at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, he graduated cum laude from Columbia University with a BA in History.
Before entering rabbinical school, he worked for Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City and spent time working in the digital media world. Rabbi Adler has served congregations in Rockaway, New Jersey, Pittsfield, Massachusetts and Greenport, New York.
He has served as president of the Board of Rabbis of Princeton Mercer Bucks, vice president of the New Jersey Rabbinical Assembly, on the board of trustees of the Gottesman RTW Academy, and on the Religious Pluralism committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey. Rabbi Adler co-founded the Rockaway Interfaith Community, worked with the New Jersey Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee and Clergy of Lawrence Township, and helped plan a conference that trained Conservative rabbis in the skills of community organizing.
When he is not teaching, preaching, and leading his congregation, Rabbi Adler can probably be found following the San Antonio Spurs, reading, watching a good movie or TV show, fixing things around the house, or on the slopes in the winter. He is married to Lisa Adler and they have three children: Ronen, Jonah, and Miya.
Photo credit: Mike Schwartz
Click on the title of the articles below to read on Rabbi Adler’s website
- Trying Time September 5, 2024This has been tragic and trying week for Israel after the announcement that the army found the bodies of 6 hostages in a tunnel underneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat were murdered by Hamas only one or two days before the […]
- Overlapping Bans August 29, 2024For the last few months, I have been thinking about how the breakdown of the post World War II political system in America has become particularly difficult for the Jewish community. For the last 75 years or so, our politics had mostly coalesced around a centrist idea that pluralism is good and a value that […]
- Fast Revival August 22, 2024Because of the leap year in our Jewish calendar, the holidays since last Passover have been exceedingly “late”. The last word is in quotation marks because, of course, the Jewish holidays come exactly on time every year, taking place on the same dates of the Jewish calendar. They do, however, move relative to the Gregorian […]
- Don’t Want to Know August 15, 2024The word “tourism” often has a negative connotation. No one really wants to be called a tourist because it implies that you are an interloper, an unsophisticated visitor to an authentic, living place. A tourist goes to Paris and eats at MacDonalds. A tourist visits a location with unique history but sees what they want […]
- Long Overdue August 8, 2024For the last two weeks the buzz in the Jewish community has been over the possibility that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro would be named the vice-presidential running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris. In the end, she chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz instead. The choice of a running mate is ultimately a deeply personal one. […]
- Coming Home August 1, 2024This morning the news broke that Evan Gershkovich, along with several other Americans and Russian dissents, were freed from Russian prisons. Gershkovich is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who was unjustly imprisoned for doing his job. His case has been on the minds of many in our area because he grew up in […]
- No Shame in Talking July 18, 2024On February 21, 2007, I sat in a session with Dr. Ruth Westheimer called “Charm, Charisma, and Sexuality in the Rabbinate/Cantorate: Learning to appreciate the power, and the danger”. I know this because I still have the syllabus from the class, which was a part of my Senior Seminar in the last year of rabbinical […]
- Reprieve July 11, 2024Two elections in the last few days in two of America’s most important allies have had a big impact on the large Jewish populations of those nations. Both the United Kingdom and France went to the polls within days of each other. The impact of the results depends upon one’s expectations. One the one hand, […]
- Spoils of War July 5, 2024War creates moral dilemmas. In fighting to achieve a just outcome, militaries are faced with difficult choices. While it is impossible to prevent civilian casualties, armies cannot indiscriminately kill the innocent. In protecting civilians, soldiers may sometimes be forced to sacrifice military goals. During the Israel-Hamas war, civilian deaths and injuries have been the focus […]
- The Beginning of the Story June 28, 2024Our society’s children should be a source of unity in our country. Everyone wants kids to grow and thrive and succeed in life. Everyone wants our students to achieve in math and science and reading. Yet, for some reason we have decided to fight our culture wars through our children. What books they can read, […]