Alumnus Interview with Rabbi Chaim Strauchler
Revel graduate Rabbi Chaim Strauchler ‘99YC, ‘06R, ‘06BR is the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck, New Jersey. He grew up in West Orange, New Jersey and is a proud graduate of YU and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), following in the footsteps of his mother’s father, Rabbi Gershon Romanoff, a rabbi in Hudson, NY, Chelsea, MA and Bronx, NY. His father’s parents were Holocaust survivors who moved to Minneapolis, MN after the war.
Revel News had a chance to catch up with Rabbi Strauchler to discuss his career as a shul rabbi and how his education at Revel influenced his professional and personal lives.
What was your Jewish education like as you grew up?
Throughout my childhood, I attended Congregation Ahawas Achim B’nai Jacob & David (AABJ&D) under the leadership of Rabbi Alvin Marcus. I studied at The JEC in Elizabeth, New Jersey from kindergarten through eleventh grade which was a wonderful experience with great teachers and friends. Following that, I studied at YU early admissions and then at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel.
What convinced you to attend Yeshiva University?
The opportunity to expand my knowledge and skills in Torah and secular studies. Both my parents are graduates of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
What led you to continue your studies at Revel?
The opportunity to study Torah with Revel faculty whom I was exposed to as an undergraduate at YU.
How do you take what you’ve learned from your studies at Revel and apply it to your role as the rabbi at Rinat?
So much of my thinking is a function of the skills and traditions that have been passed on to me. When I teach Tanach [bible] or history, it is with the frame of thinking and many of the insights that I imbibed from professors such as
Rabbi Dr. Shnayer Leiman, Dr. Barry Eichler, Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Cohen, Dr. Elisheva Carlebach, Dr. Richard Steiner, Dr. Jeffrey Gurock and Rabbi Dr. Yaakov Elman.
Can you recollect one or two experiences that would give readers a feel for the essence of your Revel experience?
As much as the classroom was critical to my Revel experience, the chance to “talk in learning” in the 5th Floor Library with fellow students in my courses as well as students who were not, was the essence of the Revel experience for me. We were a community of learners – all engaging in ideas, scholarship and a lived Jewish life on and beyond the YU campus.
What would you like to say to students considering pursuing Jewish studies at Revel?
The advanced Torah learning available only at Revel will deeply enrich your thinking and living for long into your future.
-
Articles
- December 2022
- November 2022
- September 2022
- June 2022
- February 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- September 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- November 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- February 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- July 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- February 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
-
Meta