Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald

Crash Course In Jewish Thought

Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald has pioneered and developed many of the most dramatic and effective Jewish programs, impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world.  Ordained at Yeshiva University, where he was a student of Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Buchwald served from 1973 for 15 years as the Director of Education at Lincoln Square Synagogue in New York, which became one of the largest and most successful centers for adult Jewish education programs in America. In July of 1987, Rabbi Buchwald founded the National Jewish Outreach Program. NJOP sponsors many Jewish awareness campaigns such as Shabbat Across America/Canada and Read Hebrew America/Canada as well as the Crash Courses in Hebrew Reading, Basic Judaism, Prayer and Jewish History. These programs are now offered at more than 3,670 locations across North America, and in 37 countries worldwide.

In November 1997, Rabbi Buchwald was named to the Forward 50, a list of America’s 50 most influential Jews, and in April 2007 and 2008 was included in Newsweek’s list of the top 50 Rabbis in America. In May 2001, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Yeshiva University in recognition of his pioneering outreach work.

Rabbi Buchwald is renowned for making complex Jewish topics easier to grasp through his exceptional pedagogic skills and quick sense of humor. He lectures across the country, and overseas, and leads experiential programs in cities throughout the world.

Rabbi Buchwald and his wife Aidel, reside in New York City, and are the proud parents of four children and three grandchildren.