Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz

Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz is Senior Rabbi of the largest Jewish Congregation in New Jersey, B’nai Jeshurun, in Short Hills, where he had previously served as Senior Associate Rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Sholom. He earned his Master in Hebrew Literature degree from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 1996 and was ordained by HUC-JIR in 1997.Rabbi Gewirtz is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). Most recently, he served on a CCAR Task Force to study interfaith marriage and the potential participation of clergy in interfaith initiatives throughout the U.S. He also is a member of the President’s Rabbinic Council for the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and serves on the Board of the New Jersey Jewish News.

A native New Yorker, Rabbi Gewirtz was drawn to B’nai Jeshurun when he learned of its long and storied tradition, most moved by the community’s steadfast and abiding commitment to authentic worship, substantive Jewish study, and the prophetic values of social justice.

A strong advocate of social justice, Rabbi Gewirtz is a founding executive committee member of the Newark Coalition for Hope and Peace, an interfaith organization of Jews, Christians, and Muslims that is committed to ending gang violence in Newark. Rabbi Gewirtz is an avid Zionist and a member of ARZA (the Association of Reform Zionists of America). He has led nine trips to Israel in his 13 years as a rabbi.

A regular contributor to numerous professional publications, including the CCAR Journal and The American Rabbi, he is the author of The Gift of Grief: Finding Peace, Transformation, and Renewed Life after Great Sorrow.