Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson

JOSHUA M. DAVIDSON – Peter and Mary Kalikow Senior Rabbinic Chair

Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson holds the Peter and Mary Kalikow Senior Rabbinic Chair of Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York. From 2002 through 2013 he served as senior rabbi of Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester in Chappaqua, New York, and from 1997 to 2002 as assistant and associate rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, advising that synagogue’s award-winning Social Action Committee.

A graduate of Princeton University and ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Davidson’s work has included anti-death penalty advocacy, LGBTQ inclusion and interfaith dialogue. In 2009, he was honored for his interfaith efforts by the Westchester Jewish Council and the American Jewish Committee, on whose New York Board he sits.

Currently Rabbi Davidson chairs A Partnership of Faith in New York City. He is a member of the Hebrew Union College Board of Governors, HUC’s President’s Rabbinic Council, the Clergy Advisory Board of Interfaith Impact of New York State, the Board of UJA-Federation of New York, and the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council. He is a past president of both the Westchester Board of Rabbis and the Chappaqua Interfaith Council. From 2001 to 2006, he served as chair of the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ Committee on Justice, Peace and Religious Liberties and vice-chair of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. He also chaired the Commission’s task force on Israel and world affairs. He is a past board member of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America.

Rabbi Davidson was honored with a Corkin Family Fellowship at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Clal-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. His articles have appeared in The Jewish Week, Commentary Magazine, The New York Times, The New York Post, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel and The Huffington Post; and he is a contributing writer in Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman’s Prayers of Awe series.

Over the last decade, Rabbi Davidson has guided Congregation Emanu-El through a revisioning to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Articles by Rabbi Davidson

Securing the Fortress of Hope. The Times of Israel, January 27, 2022

The Deep Meaning of This Year’s Hanukkah. CNN, November 28, 2021

The third face of antisemitism. The Times of Israel, May 26, 2021

It’s Time to Reopen. Synagogues Should Lead the Way. The New York Jewish Week, May 20, 2021

Two Truths and a Lie. The Times of Israel, May 17, 2021

More than a coincidence. The Times of Israel, January 18, 2021

Redeeming America and 2020. The Times of Israel, December 25, 2020

Extending our Arms  The Times of Israel, December 10, 2020

David and Donald: The Idle Kings. The Times of Israel, November 16, 2020

What the Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin Can Teach America the Day After the Election. The Times of Israel, November 5, 2020

Finding meaning in Rosh Hashanah amid a pandemic. CNN, September 17, 2020