Meet an innoFaither: Sid Schwarz
Meet an innoFaither is our series to introduce the inspiring optimists in the innoFaith world and what they’re working on and thinking about. We hope it helps you find and engage with each other across the network to advance faith-rooted social innovation and interfaith collaboration for social impact. Or just meet some cool people.
Meet Rabbi Sid Schwarz, interfaith leader, author, and serial entrepreneur. Rabbi Sid is a Senior Fellow at Hazon and has birthed and led numerous initiatives in the field of Jewish life, leadership, education, and community, including PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values, the Clergy Leadership Incubator, Kenissa: Communities of Meaning, and many more. Sid is a relentless visionary, perpetually pushing the boundaries of what faithful leadership can and must be in a changing world, and doing so with humility, grace, and humor.
What faith(s), if any, do you practice? Is your faith or practice bringing special inspiration or insight for you in this current moment?
I was raised in a traditional/Orthodox Jewish household by parents who were survivors of the Holocaust. My father left Berlin at age 16, two weeks before Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass in 1938, which was the start of the systematic persecution and annihilation of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. As a teenager I was introduced to the writings of Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. His writings answered some of my deepest questions about God, prayer and faith and I was ordained as a Reconstructionist Rabbi and continue to identify as such even though most of my work is cross-denominational.
Where do you live?
I live in the Washington DC area.
What's your favorite pastime?
I am “religious” around an early morning routine of daily tennis and/or racquetball. On weekends, I love to work in my backyard garden. I just became a first-time grandfather and look forward to spending time with my grandson.
What are you working on currently?
I continue to be inspired by Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD, where I am the founding rabbi and continue to periodically lead worship and teach. We have adopted a Christian school in Leogane, Haiti and I have led five service missions to the region since the 2010 earthquake. I direct the Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI), a 2-year fellowship for rabbis on visionary leadership and institutional change. I also direct Kenissa: Communities of Meaning Network, a national network of early stage organizations that are creating new models for Jewish life and community. I continue to write extensively. My articles and books can be found at https://www.rabbisid.org/.
What question are you thinking about these days?
My ongoing passion is to explore ways that faith communities can create healthy “third spaces” for civil discourse, social activism and responsible stewardship of our fragile planet across lines of race, class and religion. I am currently working on a new book to explore these themes.
How can people find you?