Rabbi Joel Sisenwine

Joel Sisenwine has been the Rabbi of Temple Beth Elohim since the year 2000, a period of great growth and energy in the life of our community. A native of Philadelphia, Rabbi Sisenwine graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. There, Rabbi Sisenwine received the prestigious Wexner Foundation Fellowship for Jewish Leadership, as well as the nationally recognized Truman Foundation Fellowship for public service.

Following studies at various institutions of higher learning, including Tel Aviv University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, he was ordained a rabbi from the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1995.

Rabbi Sisenwine has distinguished himself as a leading voice in the local and national Jewish community. He is currently the rabbinic chair of the Reform movement's Commission on Worship and Religious Living, and also serves on the President's Rabbinic Council of the Hebrew Union College. He was also as a founding member of the region's Reform Beit Din, and has served on several local and national leadership boards, including the Jewish Community Center, the Rashi School, and the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis.

Rabbi Sisenwine is the author of various articles and publications. He shares life with his wife Heidi, a teacher at the Rashi School, and his three daughters. He can occasionally be seen on the basketball courts of the JCC, the bleachers at Fenway Park, or enjoying time with his family.