President, URJ

Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him) is president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the most powerful force in North American Jewish life. The URJ leads the largest and most diverse Jewish movement in North America, reaching more than 2 million people through 825 congregations, 14 overnight camps, the Reform teen youth Movement NFTY, and the Religious Action Center in Washington DC. For more than 150 years, the URJ has been at the forefront in promoting an open, progressive Judaism.

The URJ’s programs and communities inspire more and more people—from children to seniors—to explore what it means to be Jewish, pursue justice around the world, and forge stronger ties to Israel.

A longtime and devoted creative change agent, Rabbi Jacobs spent 20 years as a visionary spiritual leader at Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) in Scarsdale, New York. Before that, during his tenure as the rabbi of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, he created the first homeless shelter in a New York City synagogue. 

He’s a tireless advocate for an Israel that is secure, Jewish, democratic, and pluralistic, with a vibrant Reform Jewish community. Rabbi Jacobs has studied for two decades at Jerusalem's Shalom Hartman Institute, where he is a senior rabbinic fellow.

Rabbi Jacobs is regularly featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, The Washington Post, Ha’aretz, The Forward, NPR, and CNN, among others.

Rabbi Jacobs and his wife Susan K. Freedman have three adult children.

Latest by Rabbi Rick Jacobs

The URJ Equity Indicator: A New Tool to Guide Your Efforts Creating a Communities of Belonging

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
Yolanda Savage-Narva
We are so proud to launch the Union for Reform Judaism's (URJ) Equity Indicator; an exciting new tool that will help guide all of us in our efforts to create equitable Communities of Belonging. An equitable Jewish community is a space and place where all people have the opportunity to feel affirmed, safe, celebrated, and experience a sense of belonging.

Pastor vs President

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
The furor that has followed Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s call for President Trump to act with mercy, offered at the national prayer service following the inauguration, raises questions about the integrity of religion and democracy in our country.