Rabbi Joshua Cohen
Rabbi Joshua Cohen comes to Temple Emanuel after having spent the past year living with his family in Modiin, Israel. During this year, he has been teaching courses in business ethics, the Arab-Israeli conflict, informal education for the Young Judaea Year Course, as well as an introductory course in Jewish education to students at Tel Aviv University through a partnership between the university and JESNA, the Jewish Educational Service of North America.
Prior to his year in Israel, Rabbi Cohen was the rabbi at Temple Beth Emunah in Brockton, Massachusetts. In addition to creating wonderful and meaningful relationships with the shul membership, Rabbi Cohen was instrumental in developing educational opportunities for the area Jewish community. Under his direction Torah Lishmah was created, a high school initiative that combined social action with practical textual learning. Students divided their time working in family shelters with the underprivileged and in the classroom studying the Jewish values behind their efforts. Rabbi Cohen was known in the synagogue as one who created a fun, personable and joyous atmosphere in services, and his divrei Torah sparked many debates and conversations over Kiddush each week. His style of teaching made those who attended his classes feel comfortable, and his open approach led participants to introspection about their own life journeys.
Before becoming the rabbi in Brockton, Joshua was the assistant director at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. He oversaw a staff and camper population of over 700 each summer, and was directly responsible for the daily programmatic and educational curricula of the camp. During the year he recruited staff and campers, and worked in fundraising and development with over 30 communities throughout the Midwest.
Rabbi Cohen hails from Skokie, Illinois. A graduate of List College and Columbia University, he and his wife, Sarah Bierman, have a five-year old daughter, Sidney, and a newborn son, Shenan. They are all extremely excited to be part of the Temple Emanuel family.
