With the 2024 fall semester in full swing, we are delighted to introduce the talented and dedicated members of our AJRCA community.
Today we are thrilled to spotlight AJRCA faculty member, Rabbi Phil Graubart.
Rabbi Phil Graubart comes from a long line of rabbis. In fact, he is the 9th generation of rabbis in his family, who emigrated from Poland in the 1920s and settled in Toronto, Canada. His great grandfather, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Graubart (1862–1937) was the chief rabbi to Toronto’s Polish and orthodox Jewish community. The story of the Graubart family reads like a history of the Jewish people in North America. After the death of the legendary Rabbi Yehuda Leib Graubart, the dynasty shifted to Chicago, where two of Yehuda Leib’s sons, David and Philip, both rabbis, also played significant roles in the religious community.
Rabbi Graubart trained as a conservative rabbi, and went on to hold pulpit positions in Massachusetts and La Jolla for thirty years. While he is no longer a pulpit rabbi, he is active on the faculty of AJRCA, where he teaches two courses: The World of the Bible (a history course) and Jewish Thought; both required courses. When asked what he enjoys about teaching at AJRCA, Rabbi Phil noted that, despite certain limitations, Zoom teaching affords students from all over the country the opportunity to learn together. He believes that being a transdenominational institution, in which all sects of Judaism learn together, is a strength, and finds that once a class begins, the distinction between learners of different backgrounds is minimal. There is room for all Jewish thinkers to learn and discuss together. Whether he is teaching a cantorial, chaplaincy, or rabbinic student, all views are welcome and respected.
Recently, Rabbi Graubart published an article in the well known Catholic publication Commonweal. When asked, “Why a Catholic publication?” he opined that many ideas are more universal than just Jewish; we are more alike than different. As Rabbi Graubart stated, “Catholics also have a relationship with the Hebrew Bible.”
Now that he is retired from actively serving a congregation, Rabbi Phil has had more time to pursue his other passion: writing. He has written six mystery novels, including Rabbis and Gangsters, Women and God, and his latest release, Here There is No Why, each of which contains Jewish themes and characters. His novels make for fun reads!
Written by Susan Casamassima