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Rabbi Elan BabchuckRabbi Elan Babchuck

Rabbi Elan Babchuck is committed to leaving behind a world that is more compassionate and connected than the one he found. In pursuit of that commitment he serves as the Executive Vice President at Clal, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and the Founding Executive Director of Glean Network, which partners with Columbia Business School. He was ordained in 2012, and earned his MBA that year, as well. A sought-after thought leader, he has delivered keynotes at stages ranging from TEDx to the US Army’s General Officer Convocation, published in The Atlantic, The Guardian, Washington Post, and Religion News Service, has a column for The Wisdom Daily, contributed to Meaning Making – 8 Values That Drive America’s Newest Generations (2020, St. Mary’s Press) and is the co-author of the forthcoming book Picking Up the Pieces: Leadership After Empire (2023, Fortress Press). He also serves as: a Founding Partner of Starts With Us, a movement to counteract toxic polarization in America, a Research Advisory Board Member of Springtide Research Institute, which focuses on spirituality, mental health and Gen Z, a founding board member of Beloved Network, a network of startup Jewish communities, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Changemaker Initiative. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island with his wife, Lizzie Pollock, and their three children: Micah, Nessa, and Ayla. In his spare time, he finds sanctuary while climbing rock walls around New England and tending to his backyard garden.

Everything I need to know about dying with dignity I learned from a houseplant

March 1, 2024December 15, 2021 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

Life lessons from a dying plant

Categories Another Way Of Looking At Things, Bring The Sacred Down To Earth, Compassion and Empathy, Longform, Relationships & Family, This Week In Wisdom, Uncategorized Tags "Weekly D'Var", bromeliad

And I Did Not Know…

December 20, 2021November 11, 2021 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

“I GOT ONE!” With the recent announcement by the CDC that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for children ages … Continue Reading

Categories Bring The Sacred Down To Earth, Compassion and Empathy, Inspiring Story, Longform, Uncategorized Tags "Weekly D'Var", Covid-19, vaccine

Once-in-a-Decade Revelations

May 20, 2026May 13, 2021 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

After all these years I couldn’t tell you one thing I learned that night from the Torah study sessions, but I can tell you how they made me feel: like I mattered.

Categories Breaking False Dichotomies, Hold Dualities Together, Longform, Longform, This Week In Wisdom Tags "Weekly D'Var", Bamidbar, Census, Pew

How I Quit Multitasking

February 22, 2024February 22, 2017 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

Multitasking has been proven again and again to be completely self-defeating. So… how do we defeat multitasking instead of letting it defeat us?

Categories Daily Life, Wisdom Warehouse

Let’s Make Tuesdays Truthful

April 19, 2016April 19, 2016 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

Is it possible to make Facebook an authentic, real experience? Maybe let’s start with once a week.

Categories Uncategorized

How To Savor Each Moment Without Becoming A Hedonist

March 16, 2016 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

How a moment with his son helped Elan learn to appreciate the moment while tempering it with this wisdom of age.

Categories Daily Life

Lessons From A Silent Retreat

January 19, 2016 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

Getting past “When’s lunch?” to a silence that quiets inwardly as much as it does our mouths.

Categories Spirituality & Faith, Wisdom Warehouse

It Takes a Village, and Other Things I Want to Believe

January 14, 2016January 6, 2016 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

On September 13th, 2001 you checked out “It Takes a Village” from the public library in town. Not this one. … Continue Reading

Categories News & Politics

Will ‘Giving Tuesday’ Get the Same Attention as ‘Black Friday’?

December 4, 2015December 1, 2015 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

“What? Am I boring you?” I asked, as my friend’s eyes wandered around his living room where we sat on … Continue Reading

Categories Daily Life, Wisdom Warehouse Tags Black Friday, Charitable Giving, Cyber Monday, Giving, Giving Tuesday, Shopping

Why I Wrote a Thank-You Note to My Dead Grandmother

February 21, 2024November 3, 2015 by Rabbi Elan Babchuck

Late Saturday night, long after the trick-or-treaters had filled their buckets after my loud neighbors finished what I can only … Continue Reading

Categories Daily Life, Wisdom Warehouse Tags Family, Gratitude, Laughter, Love
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