CIVIL SOCIETY

Neil Blumofe is the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Agudas Achim (CAA) in Austin, Texas, a flourishing, growing community in step with the innovations and spirit of the city of Austin. CAA is rooted on a 40 acre Jewish community campus and also is in the forefront of meeting people and creating Jewish experiences in diverse, unexpected places. Rabbi Blumofe holds Rabbinic Ordinations from the Academy for Jewish Religion California and the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). From JTS, Rabbi Blumofe also holds the diploma of Hazzan (Vocal Cantorial Arts), and an MA in Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages. He is on the faculty at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, in Austin, where he teaches in the D.Min and M.Div programs. He is a Rabbis Without Borders Fellow, a rabbinic mentor for the CLI program (Hazon), and also a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. In addition, Blumofe has a weekly podcast about the significance of jazz (Liner Notes), which airs weekly on the NPR affiliate radio station and is nationally distributed. He also produces live music events in Austin, where he speaks and performs with other musicians, creating awareness of the innovative power of tradition and the connections between the Jewish Wisdom Traditions and the improvisational majesty of Jazz.

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