Rafi M. Cohen

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Jan 1, 2025, 11:29 PM

Living Through Learning

On any given Tuesday at 1:30 pm, a cluster of long-term care residents at The New Jewish Home (TNJH) gathers for a one-half hour for what they call a “spirituality group”. I learned of the group soon after I...

Apr 3, 2022, 5:57 PM

A letter to my son: How & why to love Israel

Before our 13 year-old son embarked on his current 8th grade class trip to Israel (he's now a week into the adventure), parents were tasked with writing a note for the inside of a journal school gave to each...

Jun 4, 2020, 10:15 PM

Where will I sit when I return to synagogue?

Upon their 10-year anniversary from rabbinic ordination, a few of my colleagues wrote insightful reflections on the first 10 years of their rabbinate. Their discernments on Jewish life and what they have learned as rabbis is inspiring and impressive....

Jun 3, 2020, 10:13 PM

Mountains of Possibility: A Shavuot Story

(This is a transcript (more or less) of the story I shared at the Riverdale Y pre-Shavuot Story Slam) My first summer at Ramah Darom was the camp's inaugural summer - 1997. An eager junior counselor excited to join the...

Sep 9, 2019, 11:40 PM

Engaging Younger than Young Adult Jews

My kids are back in school (chances are, so are yours), and I have been reflecting on a comment my older son made earlier in the summer. I had picked him up at the end of day camp that...

Jan 20, 2017, 11:41 PM

My Son’s New Old Book

This morning, I attended my children's Jewish Day School for a special "Chagigat Chumash" ceremony - a one-hour long ceremony to celebrate the receiving of a new Chumash (Five Books of Moses) by every third grade student. I watched with...

Sep 12, 2016, 4:50 AM

When the Fiddler Falls off the Roof

Being a fiddler on the roof is no doubt a precarious role. Every time I see the movie or attend a theater adaptation of Shalom Aleichem's Tevye the Dairyman, I wonder what if the Fiddler falls? This eternal question is...

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About Me

Rabbi Rafi Cohen found his love for Judaism at Camp Ramah and through his synagogue youth group. His interest has always been in creating positive meaningful interactions in Jewish and multi-faith settings, and he connects with people from various backgrounds as Rabbi and Assistant Director of Meaningful Life at The New Jewish Home in Manhattan. He holds a BA from Brandeis University, an MA in Jewish Education from JTS where he was ordained, two units of level one CPE, and completed the JOIN for Justice organizing fellowship. Rafi is on the eternal search for a great cup of coffee and likes listening to music and watching sports with his family.

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