שלום וברכה

Thanks for dropping by!

I'm Rabbi David Kay...
...how can I be of service?

Born and raised in a decidedly non-Jewish neighborhood of Chicago, I learned early on how important it is to be secure in your Jewish identity. Ours wasn't a kosher or Shabbat observant home, but it was filled with the love and beauty of Jewish values, culture, and ritual. My dad, of blessed memory, was a Jew by choice, so all my aunts, uncles, and cousins were Christian. It was a natural and deeply-rooted lesson in embracing difference -- one which has guided me to this day.

In high school, I got involved in my denomination's international youth group. By the age of 17, I was sure I wanted to be a rabbi -- something my own congregational rabbi talked me out of doing at that time. He was right. It would have been a disaster at that stage of my life.

So, I took a different path. I got my undergraduate degree in Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution from the University of Illinois; worked in a biomedical research lab and then for an animal welfare and advocacy organization; studied taiji with a Taoist teacher; and played in an original acoustic duo, which morphed into a semi-popular local band. After the band broke up, I played occasional solo gigs. One was at a coffeehouse at the synagogue of the Deaf in Skokie, IL. I met my spouse there, re-engaged with institutional Judaism, gained facility in American Sign Language, and ended up back at my goal of becoming a rabbi.

During my rabbinic studies, I served as student rabbi for the Hebrew Association of the Deaf of New York, conducted High Holiday services in voice and Sign at Rochester Institute of Technology / National Technical Institute of the Deaf, and led Passover services and seders for a Masorti congregation in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In May 2002, I was ordained as a rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where I also received my Master of Arts in Jewish Education. After a brief tenure at a start-up congregation, I served Congregation Ohev Shalom in Orlando from 2004 to 2021.

Today, I'm extending two decades of service to reach unaffiliated and underserved Jews and Jewish communities who are looking for an authentic and traditional approach that's egalitarian and inclusive.

So, please feel free to get in touch -- I look forward to being of service to you.