Har Sinai Rabbi Benjamin Sharff Named President of Baltimore Board of Rabbis

The Baltimore Board of Rabbis named Har Sinai Congregation Rabbi Benjamin Sharff president. The Board of Rabbis is a forum for rabbis to confer and promote communal issues, facilitate cooperative programs among congregations, organizations and agencies, and serve as a Jewish educational and informational resource.

In addition, the Board of Rabbis provides opportunities for rabbis to gather for collegial support, providing professional development resources for rabbis in their diverse settings.

Sharff joined Har Sinai Congregation in 2010 as its senior rabbi. Since joining the congregation, Sharff has worked to bring a sense of energy and excitement to congregational life. He introduced such programs as Shabbat Rocks!, a Shabbat service led by Chai Jinx, the congregation’s in-house rock band in which he and his wife, Dr. Joy Sharff, perform.

Sharff conducts both creative and traditional worship services in ministering to his congregation’s spiritual, personal and religious needs. He has coordinated and taught adult and youth education programs and communal outreach programs as well as engaged in interfaith activities and discussions. Sharff has a passion for addressing topical issues and issues of conscience.

Previously, he was associate rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Tuscon, Arizona. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, Sharff received his rabbinic ordination and a Master of Arts in Hebrew letters from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 2004.