Click here to watch the recording of the Torat Yovel Honoring Rabbi Lee
When I think about Rabbi Lee, I don’t just see a man. I see a weaver, an artist at work, carefully threading together the moments and people that shape a life, a family, a community. My own story is part of that tapestry—woven, like so many others, with care and connection, threaded through with the bright, indelible threads of his influence.
Rabbi Lee is my rabbi. He officiated when I became a Bat Mitzvah, guiding me through that liminal space between childhood and the responsibilities of Jewish adulthood. He stood with Peter and me under the chuppah, blessing our marriage and binding us to each other in covenant. He helped welcome each of our children into the Jewish community, holding them as babies and reciting the words that proclaimed their place among the Jewish people. And years later, he stood with them as they became B’nei Mitzvah, draping a tallit across their shoulders, as he had done for me, and blessing them as they accepted the responsibilities of our shared tradition.
Lee’s story starts in a candy shop in Philadelphia, where family and tradition were inseparable. As a yeshiva boy, he grew up steeped in the rhythms of Jewish learning, sharing a room with his grandmother, where generations of wisdom mingled with the sweetness of his family’s trade. It’s ironic, perhaps, that he doesn’t eat sweets anymore, but the lessons of those early years—the work ethic of a family business, the non-hierarchical model of leadership his parents demonstrated—became the foundation of his rabbinate. His parents were his pillars, instilling in him not only a love for Judaism but a profound love of this country, a gratitude for its opportunities, and a commitment to service.
From Philadelphia, Lee’s journey took him to Temple University and then to the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. By the time New York became his soul’s home, he had already embraced what would be his lifelong commitments: to family, to the Jewish people, to art, to story, and, most of all, to connection.
Rabbi Lee is a storyteller in the truest sense, not simply recounting events but bringing them alive, drawing you into the narrative, and finding a place for you within it. He listens with unparalleled attentiveness, making you feel like the only person in the room. And when he speaks, the stories he tells aren’t just his—they are ours, woven together in ways that reveal something essential about who we are.
He is, of course, a scholar—a lover of Jewish texts and their endless commentary, someone who delights in the process of interpretation and the discoveries that come with it. That love of study, born in his yeshiva days and honed over a lifetime of learning, has been one of the defining features of his rabbinate. Whether delving into Torah, poetry, or modern commentary, Lee engages with texts not just as ancient artifacts but as living, breathing sources of wisdom.
He brings that passion for study to our community, inspiring us to see ourselves in the text and to bring the text into our lives. Text study with Lee is never just about learning—it’s about transformation, about allowing the text to shape our perspectives and deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. At RSNS, this love of study has become a communal inheritance, passed from him to us in countless sessions around tables, where his insights and enthusiasm have drawn us closer to Judaism and to one another.
At RSNS, Lee found his canvas. When he began, the congregation was a small group of 80 families. Over the years, it grew to 150, then to 350. Yet through all that growth, the intimacy, the sense of belonging, never wavered. Under his leadership, RSNS became a community that wasn’t just about loving Jewish history and rituals—it was about loving the Jewish people. For over 10 years, after the start of his coming to RSNS, he worked alongside Joy, as co-rabbis, building a foundation of partnership in service to the Jewish community. He then transitioned to building a clergy team with Eric and me. What we all love and admire about Lee is that he holds all the people he works with, both lay leaders and professionals at RSNS, as essential to the makeup of his working community. And his laugh, that unmistakable laugh you could hear from any room in the synagogue, echoes his love for life and for this community.
Lee’s love of the arts has informed and enriched his work as a rabbi. His deep appreciation for beauty, creativity, and expression has not only enhanced his life but has also permeated the culture of RSNS. Whether it was incorporating a stirring piece of music into prayer or drawing on the visual arts to help us see ancient texts in new ways, Lee’s artistry has inspired us to approach Judaism with a broader lens. His passion reminds us that art and Judaism are interwoven, each deepening the other.
Lee’s connection to the Reconstructionist movement has been both a source of strength for the movement and a source of collegiality and commitment for him personally. As president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, he exemplified leadership rooted in partnership and vision, fostering a community of rabbis dedicated to creativity, equity, and Jewish flourishing. His role on the prayer book commission demonstrated his breadth and depth of literature, enabling him to expand the lens through which we enter prayerful moments. Lee’s expert choice of readings to supplement traditional liturgy enriches our worship at RSNS and serves as a model for the broader movement.
For me, Lee has been more than a rabbi—he’s been a partner. We have worked together for half a century, learning from and with each other, sharing in the growth of this community and the evolution of our own journeys. He has taught me how to lead with heart, how to serve with passion, and how to weave the threads of tradition and relationship into something enduring and sacred.
Lee’s legacy isn’t just about numbers or accomplishments—it’s about relationships. His love for his family is central to who he is. His daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren light up his world, and his sister, who was his biggest supporter, remains a profound influence. I know he wishes his parents and his sister could bear witness to this moment of celebration because they were the foundation of his life, the ones who first taught him what it means to weave together love, values, and connection.
He models leadership as a team effort, generously sharing his time and talents, and supporting a clergy structure that empowers others. His love for the arts and his passion for cooking became part of that leadership. To dine at his table is to be welcomed into a home that felt like an extension of the sanctuary, where the lines between work and life, between community and family, blur in the most beautiful way. And if you ever tried to clean up after dinner, you’d hear his familiar refrain: “Don’t clean up my kitchen, and I won’t clean up yours.”
And then there’s Louie’s Diner, where Lee is a regular, not just for the food but for the connection. It’s a reflection of who he is—he values the moments where life slows down, where community happens over coffee and conversation. For Lee, service isn’t just about what you give—it’s about being present, building deep, meaningful relationships, and creating a sense of belonging wherever you are.
It’s been 50 years since Rabbi Lee began in the rabbinate and over 40 years since he began at RSNS. His legacy is one to emulate, but more than that, it’s one to celebrate. He embodies the Reconstructionist vision of Judaism as a living, breathing process, one where the past and the present are in constant dialogue, and where community is at the heart of it all.
Rabbi Lee has taught us not only to honor our history but to live our Judaism vibrantly in today’s world. He has woven together the threads of countless stories, including mine, and creates something enduring, something sacred. As he continues to weave, may his work and the connections he nurtures carry forward, blessing us all.
May his story, and ours, continue to unfold, beautifully intertwined.
Rabbi Jodie Siff
