Eric Leiderman

Judaism permeates every part of Eric's day. He wakes up to daven -often at minyanim around town-drops his son off at JCC preschool, and then heads to his job, where he works to infuse Israel education into religious school curricula. Ordained as a rabbi, he is committed to educating non-Jews about Judaism and encouraging Jews to engage Jewishly.

Eric serves as Midwest Regional Director of IsraelLINK-the middle school curriculum department of StandWithUs, an international Israel education and advocacy organization. In his role, he fosters Israel-centered learning tools for Jewish day schools and synagogue schools. He manages everything from onboarding to graphic design to engagement metric validation. Plus, he singlehandedly created a professional development webinar series for teachers, culminating with a two-day summit.

Eric is a leader in so many ways: He serves as President and Co-founder of Masorti On Campus, an organization that supports traditional-egalitarian Jewish campus communities; Vice President of MERCAZ USA; board member of the American Zionist Movement; and committee member of Shtiebel, a lay-led halakhic egalitarian community, where he is responsible for the community's online presence.

AGE:
32

PRONOUNS:
he/they

PRIMARY GIG:
Midwest Regional Director at IsraelLINK

ON THE SIDE:
President and Co-founder of Masorti On Campus, Vice President of MERCAZ USA, member of the American Zionist Movement’s Board of Directors, committee member of Shtiebel, and creator of the Facebook group “Surely This Will Save Conservative Judaism”

CELEBRITY DOPPELGANGER:
Jonah Hill

WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IN THE LAST 10 YEARS:
Having my former students return as my colleagues.

YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE:
My father’s rules for public speaking: Be funny. Be brief. Be seated.

IF TIME AND MONEY WERE LIMITLESS, I WOULD:
Move back to Jerusalem and become a permanent student at the Conservative Yeshiva.