Rabbi Aaron Rotenberg

I was born and raised in Thornhill, Ontario the suburbs of Toronto, where I went through the Jewish Day School system. It was only in stepping out of the system and attending public school in grade 12 that I sought out and found Jewish life and community that spoke to my soul. 

I graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University where I studied Bible, Psychology and Creative Writing. It was there, living in JTS dorms with people of different religious backgrounds, finding their way together and learning about the academic study of Judaism that I felt the expanded possibilities of ways that Judaism could be meaningful to my own life. 

I then moved to Israel/Palestine for 2.5 years, studying at Midreshet Ein Prat, Tel Aviv University and learning about the political situation by spending time with Palestinians in the West Bank. In Jerusalem, I was exposed to mindfulness practice in a Jewish frame and the close knit neighborhood community in Nachlaot, amidst other seekers, with frequent living room davening, collective support and supportive spiritual and political exploration. 

I returned to Toronto, to pursue an MFA in film production and be close to family.  Back in Toronto, I sought to be part of building a community that had the inspiring elements of Jewish community I had found in my travels. 

I co-founded The Orchard, an independent, intentional Jewish home that was the site of community events, home life and many havdallahs. 

I also got involved with international interfaith work through the International Conference of Christians and Jews, organizing yearly conferences and local interfaith efforts. 

I stepped more fully into Jewish Leadership as the Spiritual Leader of Annex Shul, a downtown-based community mainly serving folks in their 20s and 30s. Being at Annex Shul, I sought further support and guidance as I began leading community and started rabbinical training at the AOP.

In the summers since 2014 I have worked as an educator with Heart to Heart, a camp program that brings together Jewish and Palestinian teenagers together for a month of shared society-building and encounter in Canada. 

I continue to be involved in various positions of leadership while pursuing rabbinic ordination, working with B Mitzvah students, couples and families in lifecycle moments. I was part of the Earth-Based Judaism Cohort at ALEPH, which helped me find nourishment in the connections between Jewish practice and the earth. I enjoy leading occasional photography workshops.

Recently, I have been part of starting Renewal Shabbat services in Toronto, to bring learning from the AOP and DLTI to people in Toronto eager for renewed and engaged spiritual life. 

I live in a shared home with friends and family including my spouse, Jenny.