Rabbi Joshua Jeffreys

וַיִּיקַ֣ץ יַעֲקֹב֮ מִשְּׁנָתוֹ֒ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָכֵן֙ יֵ֣שׁ יְהֹוָ֔ה בַּמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹ֥א יָדָֽעְתִּי׃

Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Divine is present in this place, and I… I did not know it!” – Genesis 28:16

From my childhood in New Jersey, Jewish tradition has formed the foundation of my relationship to the world. My love for Judaism was fostered by my community, my teachers, and my family – most especially my parents. By my Bar Mitzvah, I began sharing a dream of becoming a rabbi. Ever since, I have served the Jewish community in some professional or volunteer capacity. 

In 2013, I earned my degree in Jewish Studies from Rutgers University and moved to Richmond, VA. Before joining the University of Richmond in 2015 (where I earned an MBA in 2019), I worked with Jewish organizations as an educator, community builder, and prayer leader. But my life changed in 2016 when I became the part-time interim Jewish Life Advisor for UR.

For two years in the role, I helped  the Jewish community and campus overall navigate the 2016 election, the hatred and heartache of the Unite the Right rally nearby in Charlottesville, and – shortly after becoming the Jewish Chaplain and Director of Religious Life in 2018 – the devastation of the Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting. I sensed a renewed longing to be a rabbi, recognizing we needed holistic spiritual leadership to help heal a deeply fractured society. After a chance encounter with ALEPH and Jewish Renewal, I am blessed to continue my work with the expanded mind-, skill-, and heart-set of a Renewal Rabbi.

Thank you to my Director of Studies Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Rabbi Elliot Ginsburg, Rabbi Natan Margalit, Rabbi Marcia Prager, Rabbi Oren Steinitz, Rabbi Zelig Golden, my Earth-Based Judaism cohort and teachers, and my many chevrutot. They have played an outsized role in shaping me and my relationship to Divinity. R’ Elliot and R’ Leila, with Dr. Kamar Kamionkowski and Rav Aubrey Glazer, also deserve tremendous credit for guiding me through a deeply enriching capstone process.

My University of Richmond Chaplaincy colleagues and friends, Hillel peers (particularly the Shalom Hartman Institute Campus Professionals Cohort), and Temple Beth El community have all helped shape my emerging rabbinate, and I’m grateful for my rabbis Mark Novak and Michael Knopf for their personal guidance and mentorship.

Finally, this moment is not possible without the love, patience, sacrifices, and care of my loved ones: Mom and Dad, Stef, Karen and Marc (z”l), Lori, Dana, Brian, MJ, Ilana, and especially my wife, Amy. I am blessed to spend my life with her as true partners, and grow together as parents to the gift that is our son, Marc. They both inspire me to be my best self and to embody the best of what ALEPH, Renewal Judaism, and Jewish tradition has taught me.