Cincinnati Jewish Burial Practices During the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic: March 2020-March 2022
With changes occurring in the burial practices due to pandemic protocols, I was curious about how they have changed over the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. As I serve as the Director of Pastoral Care at a senior living facility, where I have encountered deaths, burials, and more,Continue Reading
Featured in the American Israelite’s “Conversations with a Rabbi” Series
As the American Israelite, Cincinnati’s local Jewish weekly publication, decided to create a new series, “Conversations with a Rabbi”, they decided to pick me as their pioneer. Written by the editor, the article can be found on page six of the newest issue of the paper. The article summarizes my educationalContinue Reading
Rabbinic Supervision of Kosher Kitchen Concludes at Cedar Village
I was sad to hear the news a week ago at my job that, as of yesterday, there would be no further rabbinic supervision of the kosher kitchen. And, indeed, yesterday turned out to be the first day in the nearly quarter-century history of where I work that there wasContinue Reading
Newest Appearance on Let There be Light Podcast
The “Let There be Light” podcast invited me back on their show as a guest as well as the first in their new local rabbis series. The full podcast episode is available here, as well as on your favorite podcast-catcher. In the meantime, here are two clips from the episode:Continue Reading
Statement from the Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis Regarding Hostage Incident at Congregation Beth Israel of Colleyville, Texas
Having signed on to the following statement along with my colleagues on the Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis yesterday, I am hereby sharing it: To our fellow Greater Cincinnatians, We, the Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis, are profoundly disturbed by the hostage situation that unfolded over multiple hours of theContinue Reading
What’s New with Rabbi Drew?
I am excited to share a new feature for 2022: What’s New with Rabbi Drew? Having realized that I don’t share enough about my professional life, I have been inspired to share what’s been going on for me professionally. While I do not know if this will be a weeklyContinue Reading
Recent Guest Spot on The Let There Be Light Podcast
Last week, I served as a guest co-host on the recent episode of the Let There Be Light podcast, the official podcast of The American Israelite. As such, along with the hosts of the podcast, for the 20th episode of their second season, we discussed contents of the newest issue of TheContinue Reading
Considering Jewish Drinking [The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s 2030 Strategic Plan]
Having read about the findings from the Cincinnati 2030 forum, I was struck by how relevant my Jewish Drinking initiative is for these findings. For those less familiar with my Jewish Drinking initiative, I began it a couple of years ago with resources on drinking in Jewish history, tradition, andContinue Reading
Wine-Tasting Event at Mayerson JCC in Cincinnati [Upcoming]
I am excited to share that I will be leading a tasting-and-teaching event in just three weeks from today. Taking place at the Mayerson JCC on October 28th, “An Introduction to Wine in Jewish Life: A Pairing of Tasting and Tradition” will be exactly that: an introduction to wine-tasting, asContinue Reading
Newest Village Art Insights Presentations: Highlights of the Meyerson JCC’s Sukkah Art Exhibit (2021)
I am excited to share that I recently published the tenth in a series of Jewish art videos. For the tenth presentation in the Village Art Insights series, Jessica Sebastian and I collaborated to discuss highlights of “Under One Roof”, the Mayerson JCC‘s annual sukkah art exhibit. This was theContinue Reading