President
Being in Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld’s presence is like a gift…the way she holds space, the way she listens, the way she’s open, the way she’s fun and caring. She’s brilliant and kind and doesn’t take herself too seriously in a way that is so inviting and open.
– Rabbi Rebecca Weintraub`20, Assistant Rabbi, B’nai Jeshurun in New York City
Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld has been president of Hebrew College since 2018. She previously served as Dean of the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College for 11 years. Rabbi Anisfeld graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1990 and subsequently spent 15 years working in pluralistic settings as a Hillel rabbi at Tufts University, Yale University, and Harvard University.
She was a regular summer faculty member for the Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel from 1993-2016 and is co-editor of two volumes of women’s writings on Passover, The Women’s Seder Sourcebook: Rituals and Readings for Use at the Passover Seder and The Women’s Passover Companion: Women’s Reflections on the Festival of Freedom.
She has been recognized on multiple occasions as one of the most influential rabbis in America by Newsweek, the Daily Beast, and the Jerusalem Post. Rabbi Anisfeld writes and teaches widely, weaving together Torah, rabbinic commentary, and contemporary literature in her wise and compassionate approach to the complexities of the human experience and the search for healing and hope in a beautiful but fractured world.
As we are buffeted daily by news of violence, cruelty, ignorance, and intolerance in our nation and around the world – I am grateful to be part of an institution where love of teaching and learning – love of Torah – is at our core, and where we strive to make our study an act of sacred service to a world in need of healing and hope.
Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld
Contact Info
Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld
617.559.8773
sanisfeld@hebrewcollege.edu