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254 Broad Avenue Leonia, NJ 07605 201.592.1712

Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz

Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz serves as the spiritual leader of Congregation Adas Emuno, a 150-year-old Reform congregation in Leonia, NJ. Rabbi Schwartz is director and editor-in-chief emeritus of the Jewish Publication Society, the oldest Jewish press in the United States, and the preeminent publisher of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh) and Jewish classics since 1888. Rabbi Schwartz received his BA, magna cum laude, from Duke University, and his MA and rabbinical ordination from Hebrew Union College. He previously served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ. He began his career as the rabbi of the Leo Baeck Center in Haifa, where he also served in the Israeli army.

Rabbi Schwartz is a prolific writer, as the author of books for adults, teens and children, a prize-winning short story, a play, a prayer book, and scholarly articles that have appeared in the Journal of Reform Judaism, American Jewish History, and the Hebrew Union College Annual. His textbook, Jewish Heroes, Jewish Values, has been used in over 300 religious schools nationwide for the past 20 years. Another textbook, Judaism’s Great Debates, was published in 2012 in both adult and student editions. Path of the Prophets: The Ethics-Driven Life (2018) examines the legacy of ancient Israel’s pioneers of social justice.

His most recent children’s works include Adams’ Animals (2017), a selection of the PJ Library, The New Queen of Sheba (2020) and Jonah’s Tale of a Whale (2021). His latest adult book is a comprehensive survey of the full spectrum of modern Jewish thought today, entitled Open Judaism: A Guide for Believers, Atheists and Agnostics (2023).

Rabbi Schwartz has a special passion for Jewish environmental activism, and was especially involved in the early environmental work of the Jewish community. An avid world traveler, he has visited more than 50 countries, and enjoys hiking, cycling, and competitive table tennis. And, of course, reading and writing! Rabbi Schwartz is married to Deborah A. Schwartz; they are the parents of three adult children and one adorable grandson.


Select Archived Sermons



Who Are We Redux? (Yom Kippur 5784)

The Culture Wars (Kol Nidre 5784)

Israel at 75: Facing Our Conflicts (Rosh Hashanah 5784)

A Sense of the Sacred (Yom Kippur 5783)

To Life, Not Death (Kol Nidre 5783)

Letter to My Grandson (Rosh Hashanah 5783)

America (Yom Kippur 5782)

Jonah (Kol Nidre 5782)

Prayer (Rosh Hashanah 5782)

Sesquicentennial (Rosh Hashanah Morning 5782)

Who Shall Live? (Rosh Hashanah Evening 5782)

Say My Name (Yom Kippur 5781)

Democracy Grief (Kol Nidre 5781)

Pandemic Memorium (Rosh Hashanah 5781)

The Great Extinction (Yom Kippur 5780)

You Will Be Found (Kol Nidre 5780)

Walking Together (Rosh Hashanah 5780)

So I Will Plant for My Children (Rosh Hashanah 5779)

Fifty Years Later (Kol Nidre 5779)

Here Come Moses’ Children (Yom Kippur 5779)

Our Country (Rosh Hashanah 5778)

Homo Moralis (Kol Nidre 5778)

Israel at 70 (Yom Kippur 5778)

Avinu Malkeinu (Rosh Hashanah Evening 5777)
The Ambivalent American Jew (Rosh Hashanah Morning 5777)

Xenophobia (Kol Nidre 5777)

Finding Your Voice (Yom Kippur 5777)

The Birthday of the World (Rosh Hashanah Evening 5776)
Who Are We? (Rosh Hashanah Morning 5776)

Legacies (Kol Nidre 5776)

The Work of Our Hands (Yom Kippur 5776)

Ancient Seeds (Rosh Hashanah Evening 5775)
Waiting for Justice (Rosh Hashanah Morning 5775)

The Day of E-tonement (Kol Nidre 5775)

Our Most Common Mistake (Yom Kippur 5775)

Letters to My Children Part 1: Education (Rosh Hashanah Evening 5774)
Letters to My Children Part 2: Identity (Rosh Hashanah Morning 5774)

Letters to My Children Part 3: Community (Kol Nidre 5774)

Letters to My Children Part 4: Empathy (Yom Kippur 5774)

The Book of Life (Rosh Hashanah Evening 5773)

Community (Rosh Hashanah Morning 5773)

Judaism on Fire (Kol Nidre 5773)

Seasons of Love (Yom Kippur 5773)

Before Whom You Stand (Rosh Hashanah Evening 5772)

Memorable Judaism (Rosh Hashanah Morning 5772)

Second Chances or Today is Not Tomorrow (Kol Nidre 5772)

"Let It Go" (Yom Kippur 5772)SayS

Rabbi Schwartz's sermon, "One Earth", was included in the anthology, Touching the Face of the Cosmos: On the Intersection of Space Travel and Religion, edited by Paul Levinson and Michael Waltemathe, and published by Fordham University Press, and as an ebook by Connected Editions in 2016. The collection also includes an essay entitled, "The Touching Interface of the Cosmos", by Adas Emuno Past President Lance Strate.


Select Additional Writings

We Need More Jewish Debate, Not Less (Blog Post) For You Were Strangers in Egypt (Jewish Standard Op-Ed)


Select Media Mentions

Student Cantor

Joseph Flaxman

Religious School Director

Annette De Marco

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