Rabbi Adam ChalomKol Hadash Humanistic Congregation
Rabbi Adam Chalom
Rabbi Adam Chalom’s family background is a microcosm of the Jewish world. His mother comes from an Ashkenazi East European Yiddish Socialist and Reform Judaism background and was born in the Midwest, while his father comes from the Brooklyn community of Syrian Sephardic Orthodox Jews. They found their common ground in Humanistic Judaism, and Adam was raised as a Humanistic Jew at the Birmingham Temple, the founding congregation of Humanistic Judaism.
Rabbi Chalom earned a B.A. from Yale University in Judaic Studies (1997), a Master’s Degree at the University of Michigan in Hebrew and Jewish Cultural Studies (1999), Rabbinic ordination from the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism (2001), and is currently completing his PhD at the University of Michigan in Near Eastern Studies.
Rabbi Adam Chalom joined Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in July of 2004. Before then, he served for three years as co-Rabbi of the Birmingham Temple in suburban Detroit, Michigan where he excelled at adult education. Rabbi Chalom is also the Assistant Dean for the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, the leadership and rabbinical training institution of the world-wide movement of Secular Humanistic Judaism; the membership chair of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis; and serves on the editorial board of the quarterly journal Humanistic Judaism. In addition to several periodical articles, he has written adult and youth education curricula, taught leadership and rabbinic training seminars, and presented workshops and keynote addresses at several national conferences.
For Rabbi Chalom, Humanistic Judaism is not only a professional pursuit, but a personal passion that he shares with his wife, A.J., who also grew up as a Humanistic Jew at the Birmingham Temple – they were even in the same youth group. Together they expect Humanistic Judaism and Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation to continue to grow as more and more people connect with its powerful message of personal dignity, integrity, self-reliance, and mutual support.
Contact Details: Rabbi Adam Chalom
tel. (USA) 847-602-4500
mail: info@kolhadash.com
See also: Rabbi Chalom's blog "Not Your Father's Talmud" where he explores the Talmud from a Humanistic perspective, one page a day.
הרב אדם שלום נולד בארצות הברית ומתגורר עם אשתו באזור שיקגו ומשמש כרב של הקהילה היהודית הומניסטית קול חדש. למד עברית באולפן עקיבא בנתניה ובאוניברסיטה העברית. הוסמך לרבנות בשנת 2001 על ידי המכון הבינלאומי ליהדות הומניסטית חילונית בארצות הברית. הרב שלום ישמח לעזור בסיוע לטקס או בעצה לזוגות ישראליים חילוניים באזור שיקגו.
