Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz

Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz was ordained at the Hebrew Union College in New York in 1985, and served previous pulpits in Amherst, New York, and Chevy Chase, Maryland. He began his career in Israel, as rabbi of the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa.

Rabbi Schwartz is actively involved in Jewish environmentalism. He was a founding member of the Washington, D.C. chapter of Shomrei Adamah, the first national Jewish environmental organization. He serves on the grassroots advisory committee of COEJL, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, and helps lead the Environment Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

Rabbi Schwartz is a prolific writer, the author of three books, a prize winning short story, and articles that have appeared in the Journal of Reform Judaism, American Jewish History, and the Hebrew Union College Annual. His latest textbook, Jewish Heroes, Jewish Values, (1996) is currently used in over 300 religious schools nationwide. A previous text Jewish Theology: A Comparative Study (1991) explores Jewish denominational thinking. Honi The Circlemaker – Eco-Fables From Ancient Israel (1993) is a series of folktales for children.

Rabbi Schwartz enjoys hiking, cycling and photography. He is an avid tennis and table tennis player. He is married to Deborah A. Schwartz, an occupational therapist specializing in hand rehabilitation. Their three children are Nadav, Talia, and Noam.

You can send Rabbi Schwartz an e-mail at RabbiSchwartz@mkorshalom.org