Mark Kaiserman
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Mark Kaiserman (born April 25, 1970) is the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El of West Essex in Livingston, New Jersey.
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[edit] Career
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Kaiserman received his ordination from the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1997[1] and was an honors English Literature/Judaic Studies graduate from SUNY Binghamton in 1992. For seven years he was the Assistant/Associate Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas having previously worked as the student rabbi in Texarkana, Texas; Quincy, Illinois; and Victoria, Texas. Since July 2004, he has been the rabbi at Temple Emanu-El of West Essex in Livingston, New Jersey, a 500-family Reform congregation.
In his rabbinate, Kaiserman encourages a climate of diversity and integration among Temple committees and the Jewish community. His programmatic focus includes worship, youth activities, adult education, outreach[2], and interfaith work[3]. He often uses film and popular culture in his teaching and is known for his original Purim shpiels, dynamic teaching style, and humor[4]. Rabbi Kaiserman led the first synagogue-wide trip to Israel from Temple Emanu-El.
[edit] Leadership and Honors
In the Fall of 2007, Kaiserman was named to serve on the Central Conference of American Rabbis' Task Force on the Challenges of Intermarriage to the Reform Rabbinate[5]. In 2007-2008, he served in the second cohort of the prestigious STAR Rabbis: From Good to Great program for 2007-2008[6]. He has taken a leadership role in several organizations including the bike rides of the environmental organization, Hazon, co-chairing "Bike to the Beach" 2007 and participating in the New York Ride in 2005, 2007, and 2008[7].
Rabbi Kaiserman was named "Youth Worker of the Month" in May 2007 by the Union for Reform Judaism[8]. Several of Kaiserman's sermons have been published in The American Rabbi and his modern midrash on the Akedah was printed in the Spring 2000 issue of the CCAR Journal[9]. In college, Kaiserman graduated phi beta kappa and magna cum laude. He received numerous awards in rabbinical school including the Simon Lazarus Memorial Prize for the Highest Academic Standing in the Graduating Rabbinical Class. His portrait was painted by Dallas artist JR Smith[10].
Kaiserman has been a featured speaker at several synagogues and programs including Temple Beth El in Charlotte, North Carolina; Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas[11]; and at both the URJ North American and Regional Biennials. He has been a teacher and conference planner at several NFTY Youth Conventions and URJ Youth Workers Conferences.
[edit] Family
Kaiserman is related to a number of prominent or growing-in-prominence Jewish professionals. His grandfather, Menashe Unger, was a well-known Yiddish writer and journalist[12] . His older brother, Saul Kaiserman, is the Director of Life-Long Learning at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York[13]. His sister, Toby Berkow, is the Executive Director for Temple Israel of Hollywood[14]. His sister-in-law, Elizabeth Freirich, is a second-year rabbinical student the Hebrew Union College in New York. His sister-in-law's brother, Jonathan Freirich, is a Reconstructionist ordained rabbi at Temple Bat Yam, a Reform synagogue in South Lake Tahoe, California.[15]
[edit] Notes
- ^ [1] Ordination announcement from HUC-JIR
- ^ [2] Amazon's "So you'd like to...Convert to Judaism" by Kaiserman
- ^ [3]Notification on class on The Passion of the Christ that Kaiserman taught
- ^ [4] Article by Mary Blye Howe on her Shavuot experience learning with Kaiserman
- ^ CCAR Newsletter, November/December 2007, p. 2
- ^ [5] NJ Jewish News article on Kaiserman & STAR
- ^ [6] NJ Jewish News article on Kaiserman & Hazon
- ^ [7] Union for Reform Judaism Weekly Briefing, May 4, 2007
- ^ [8] CCAR Journal Spring 2000 Table of Contents
- ^ [9] JR Smith Portrait page
- ^ [10]Temple Emanu-El in Dallas' 10th Anniversary Film Series announcement
- ^ New York Times Obituary, July 8, 1969
- ^ [11]Temple Emanu-El, New York Staff List
- ^ [12]Temple Israel of Hollywood Staff List
- ^ [13] Temple Bat Yam "About the Rabbi"
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Interview from RJ Youthworker
- Temple Emanu-El of West Essex, Livingston, New Jersey
- Kaiserman Bio from Temple Emanu-El
