RABBI PHIL COHEN, Ph.D.
June, 2011

Phil Cohen received rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. He came to the rabbinate from the desire to receive the Jewish education he’d never had and found a profession teaching Torah, helping people find their paths to the Torah and to the Jewish tradition.

After rabbinical school he went on to Brandeis University, where he received a Ph.D. His doctorate is in Near Eastern/Judaic Studies, with a specialty in Jewish thought. Rabbi Cohen considers himself a theologian with interests in Bible, biblical commentary, medieval and modern Jewish thinkers, bioethics, as well as American Jewish history.

Rabbi Cohen is particularly interested in the state of Israel and has visited Israel more than sixteen times. He also has a long standing interest in interfaith matters, and has taught in churches and other houses of worship. He loves to write scholarship and fiction and is published in both areas. In addition, Rabbi Cohen writes a regular column that he sends out on the internet called Rabbi Cohen’s Almost Weekly Email.

He considers himself a bona fide movie junkie, with a love of Israeli cinema.

Rabbi Cohen is married to Betsy Gamburg and is the proud father of Elisheva (Elly) and Talia (Tali).

Contact Rabbi Cohen:  (716) 481-7929
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SENIOR SCHOLAR, RABBI PHILIP BENTLEY, DD
August, 2005

SHALOM

I have come to Agudas Israel Congregation bringing with me what I hope is the ability and vision to take our congregation into a bright future. Let me tell you a little about myself. Coming from an old Chicago family, I was raised and educated in and around Chicago. I graduated from Shimer College in Mount Carroll, Illinois (which is now in Waukegan, Illinois) and spent a year doing Jewish studies in Winnipeg, Canada.

I married my wife, Phyllis, in September 1968 and began rabbinic school the same month at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. There I earned a Bachelor of Hebrew Letters (BHL), a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters (MAHL) and a Doctor of Divinity (DD), which is conferred after 25 years of rabbinic service.

Phyllis and I have two sons, Shanan and Josh, both of whom are in their 30s and currently living in New York.

I have had a variety of experiences during my career, serving congregations in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles (the oldest congregation in the Western Hemisphere), Jericho, New York, and Queens, New York, as well as other places for shorter periods. I have been a Hillel Director at the University of Denver, a rabbinic school administrator, and a college instructor.

Activities in many organizations in the Jewish community, the interfaith community, the Reform movement, Zionist organizations, and in the world of NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) working for human rights, the environment, and peace have also augmented my career.

I have written and have been published on a variety of subjects. My specialty is exploring Jewish traditions on such issues as peace, the environment, and human rights. I also have strong interests in Kabbalah and in Jewish music.


Rabbi Philip J. Bentley