Our Rabbi
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Our Rabbi |
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Rabbi Friedman is a 1971 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, with a B.A. in Religious Thought. He received his M.A. from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1973 and was ordained by that institution in 1975. In 2001, the Seminary recognized Rabbi Friedman’s service to the Jewish community by awarding him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa. Over the years, the rabbi has been active in various rabbinical and interfaith organizations in all of the communities in which he has served. He is past president of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Dallas, past president of the Greater Carolinas Association of Rabbis, and former vice president of the Greater Hartford Rabbinic Association. He has served as president of the Christian-Jewish Council of Greater Charleston, the President of the Greater Charleston Clergy Association, and continues to serve as co-chair of the Greater Carolinas Association of Rabbis’ Wildacres Interfaith Institute held in North Carolina every summer. He has served as vice chairman of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Dallas and on numerous committees both in the Jewish community and the general community. He currently sits on the board of the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire and is a member of both the Interfaith Clergy Association of Manchester and the New Hampshire Board of Rabbis as well as the Rabbinical Assembly. He is one of the gay-friendly Conservative/Masorti rabbis of Keshet. Rabbi Friedman is the author of two chapters in a long-awaited book on Jewish ethics being published by the Rabbinical Assembly’s Aviv Press. One chapter deals with Jewish attitudes toward people with disabilities and the other with the ethical treatment of animals. Rabbi Friedman’s article “Overcoming Halakhic Obstacles to the Conversion of People with Significant Disabilities” appeared in Conservative Judaism, vol 58:4 in the Summer of 2006. He is currently working on a book on Paths of Enchantment in Jewish Life. Since the spring of 2007, he has hosted a television program on Manchester’s Educational station entitled “Jewish Perspectives.” The rabbi is married to Janice Wald Friedman, a Reiki Master, Meditation and Yoga Instructor and Disability Rights Advocate. Their son, Aaron M. Levy, is a musician, songwriter, and music instructor in Charleston, South Carolina You can access our Rabbi's blog at NewHampshire.com and can also see online video from our local Manchester educational station of our Rabbi’s program “Jewish Perspectives.” |
Since the fall of 2006, Rabbi Edward M. Friedman has been
our rabbi. Rabbi Friedman most recently served in Bloomfield, CT, as the
rabbi of Beth Hillel Synagogue. Prior to that he was the spiritual
leader of congregations in Charleston, South Carolina and Northampton,
Massachusetts, and served on the rabbinic staff of congregations in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Dallas, Texas.