Rabbi Dr. David Harbater is an author, Jewish educator, public speaker, chazzan (cantor) and singer.
He is the author of the Purposes and Rhythms of Jewish Living curricula for the world-renowned Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, a project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His book In the Beginnings: Discovering the Two Worldviews Hidden within Genesis 1-11 was described by the Jerusalem Post as “a work to be treasured” and by Rabbi Yitz Greenberg as a “book… studded with fresh insights, deep conceptual and ethical teachings” and an “intellectual, spiritual fest”.
Rabbi Harbater has also published articles on Jewish education and the Bible, and he regularly posts videos and writes articles on the parasha (the Torah portion) and current events, which are published in the Times of Israel and shared around the world. He worked at CLAL in New York, taught Judaic Studies at the Yeshivah of Flatbush and the Pelech high schools, created and ran a gap-year post high school Israel program, and served as a lecturer in Jewish education and identity at Herzog College. He has also served as Chazzan and Torah reader in many communities throughout the US and Israel, and released an album of original Jewish music.
He currently teaches Bible and Jewish thought at Midreshet Torah v’Avodah, the Amudim Seminary, and the Women’s Beit Midrash of Efrat. He studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion, Yeshiva University, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, received his rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, and earned his PhD in education from the University of Haifa.
Rabbi Harbater and his wife Alissa live in Efrat and they are the parents of three children.
A Book by Rabbi Dr. David Harbater