Rabbi Jonathan E. Blake has served Westchester Reform Temple since 2003 and assumed his current position of senior rabbi in 2012. His love of Torah and passion for Reform Judaism infuses his rabbinate, and his courses in adult education and enrichment draw large crowds of enthusiastic learners of all ages. Subjects of particular interest include History of Interpretation, Biblical and Rabbinic Literature, Jewish-Christian Relations, and Jewish History and Culture. Above all Rabbi Blake works to help us find our own stories in the master story of the Jewish People.

A musician, “foodie,” oenophile (lover of wine), and practitioner of yoga, Rabbi Blake works to help people experience Judaism and cultivate a spiritual outlook through all five senses. A music lover since his childhood days in Allentown, Pennsylvania, he is an experienced vocalist and a less experienced but no less enthusiastic guitarist. Rabbi Blake is a summa cum laude graduate of Amherst College, where he majored in English literature.

Rabbi Blake is recognized outside WRT for his contributions to the Reform Movement. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Synagogue 3000 and the President’s Council of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He has been a regular contributor to the Union For Reform Judaism’s online and printed publications, “Ten Minutes of Torah,” “Reform Voices of Torah,” and “Torah at the Center,” and is a featured author in “Text Messages: A Torah Commentary for Teens” (Jewish Lights, 2012).

In 2000, he received his Ordination from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, where he received honors for academic achievement and homiletics. Prior to coming to WRT, he served Temple Beth-El in Rhode Island as Associate Rabbi and Director of Education. Rabbi Blake is married to Kelly McCormick. They reside in Westchester.