Joshua Ratner
Rabbi Joshua Ratner is the rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in Cheshire, CT. Ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in May 2012, Rabbi Ratner was a Joseph Neubauer Fellow and also earned a Master's Degree in Midrash and a Certificate in Pastoral Care. He also worked as an attorney for five years prior to entering rabbinical school. Rabbi Ratner is passionate about the interplay between Judaism, public policy, and American culture. He has received training in congregation-based community organizing and was part of the original rabbinical student cohort of Rabbis Without Borders fellows. He and his wife, Dr. Elena Ratner, are the proud parents of Dimitri, Eli, and Gabriella.
Articles by Joshua Ratner
Should Women Thank God For Not Making Them Men?
A recent brouhaha has emerged in the Jewish blogosphere over Rabbi Ari Hart’s recent post, “Should I Thank God For ...
The NFL Draft, the Omer, and the Power of Potential
I am a self-confessed football fanatic. From September through January, my Sundays are centered around the performance of the San ...
Do We Prefer Yom Hazikaron or Memorial Day?
Is Yom Hazikaron a good thing? This unusual question recently popped into my head while we were teaching our religious ...
A Contemporary Story Of Redemption
“My father was a wandering Aramean.” With this quote, from Deuteronomy 26:5, we begin not only the Maggid (story-telling) portion ...
Why We Need “Obsolete” Ritual
“Habemus Papam!” — “We have a pope!” After days of breathless anticipation by Catholics around the world, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran ...
What “The Daily Show” Can Teach Us About 21st Century Judaism
I am ready to nominate Jon Stewart as an honorary “Rabbi Without Borders.”Last week, Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, in a ...
Have We Grown Too Big To Succeed?
Affiliation rates are down in suburban Jewish communities across the country. Synagogue structures sit half-empty much of the year. Conservative ...
The Pedagogy of Nemo: What a Winter Storm Can Teach Us About Shabbat
Well, that was an unexpected weekend! For those of you who do not live in the Northeast, we just got ...
Taking The Plunge
It was January 2007, almost exactly six years ago. I was sitting in my office, reviewing a dense corporate document ...
Is Freedom A Jewish Virtue?
Are you on the freedom bandwagon yet? Celebrations of the concept of freedom seem to be permeating the cultural-political zeitgeist ...