Congregation Beth Israel of Northern Valley
Rabbi
David Bockman
| David Bockman grew up in California and was ordained
a rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York in
1986. Since that time, he has served pulpits in Kansas
City, Maryland, New Orleans and North Carolina. A
fifteen-summer veteran of Camp Ramah, Rabbi Bockman
enjoys an innovative and creative approach to Jewish
life. He is known for playing jazz trumpet and shofar in
gospel, klezmer and jazz groups, including performances
at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and the House of Blues.
His Jewish musical projects have included the vocal
quartet ‘Beignet Yisrael’ and the smooth jazz
trio ‘Rabbi, Russian and Blonde.’ As a Seminary
student, he won the Henry Fisher prize in homiletics, the
Solomon and Rose S. Lasdon prize for creativity in
translating Guys and Dolls into Hebrew, and first prize
in the UJA/Morris Kaplun university essay contest. Rabbi Bockman has studied physics, linguistics, music and literature as an undergraduate at the University of California at San Diego. In addition to his Master of Arts in Jewish Studies and rabbinic ordination, he has completed course work towards his PhD in Jewish Philosophy, focusing on the post-modern French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. He has taught Jewish History at the University of New Orleans, and developed adult courses on Jewish philosophy and the musicals of Stephen Sondheim, oppression, and the nexus between 20th century math and Judaism. Rabbi Bockman is proud to be married to Vicki Hyman, a newspaper reporter who grew up in Monsey, NY. Their delightful son Theo is not only a really swell kid, but he keeps his father humble. They love living in Bergen County and facing the challenges of ready access to kosher food and abundant Jewish and Israeli culture. Congregation Beth Israel welcomed Rabbi Bockman as our spiritual leader in September of 2004. |
Last Updated 06/27/06 04:30 PM
(C) Copyright 2004 Congregation Beth
Israel of Northern Valley, Bergenfield, NJ