Leadership

Rabbi Misha Shulman, Founder & Director

Actor, educator, playwright, activist, Rabbi Misha’s roaming soul has found a comfortable abode at The New Shul and a happy home in Brooklyn with his wife, Erika and their three boys. Born and raised in Jerusalem, and now a New Yorker for over a quarter of a century, Rabbi Misha is the founding director of the School for Creative Judaism, where he leads a team of a dozen talented artist-teachers instilling a Judaism driven by kindness and questioning into the hearts and minds of Jewish children and teens. Perpetually exploring the borders and overlap between faith, art and activism, he was ordained at Theater for the New City by a committee of five rabbis and five artist-activists. His great love for, and curiosity about prayer and meditation have led to his intimate exploration of the Book of Psalms, of which he’s translated several chapters into English. In recent years his studies have focused on medieval and early modern masters of Musar, or ethical living. Rabbi Misha has been working for co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians for close to three decades, and is a member of Torat Tzedek; The Torah of Justice, and Israelis for Peace. He holds an MFA in Playwriting from Brooklyn College and an extensive theatrical resume, and religiously follows the Talmudic maxim: “whoever doesn’t nap on Saturday afternoons will be tired all week.” His rabbinical advice is to try it out.