Shlomo Porter
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Shlomo Porter is the executive director of the Etz Chaim Center for Jewish Learning. He is a past president of AJOP (Association for Jewish Outreach Professionals), and also has served as an AJOP trustee since its founding in 1985. Rabbi Porter currently resides with his wife Shoshana (Ungar) Porter in Baltimore, Maryland
.
Rabbi Porter is originally from Milwaukee
, Wisconsin
, where he was raised by his parents who began their life anew in America after spending World War II
in the Jewish-Russian partisan movement
.
Rabbi Porter's parents, together with his mentors, Rabbi Michel and Rebbetzin Feige Twerski
, had a profound influence on his life and encouraged him to attend Beis Medrash L'Torah
, a yeshiva high school in Skokie, Illinois
. Afterwards, Rabbi Porter spent thirteen years at the Ner Israel Rabbinical College
in Baltimore, and then going on to Loyola College
to receive his master's degree in counseling.
From 1974-1977 Rabbi Porter organized SEED (Summer Educational and Enrichment Development) programs in Milwaukee. The Porter family moved to Santa Clara, California
, so that Rabbi Porter could teach and administer Yeshiva and Medrasha Kerem (a high school for young men and women that combined outreach and Torah learning). In 1981 Rabbi Porter moved back to Baltimore to expand and direct the Etz Chaim Center of Jewish Studies, a multi-level program of outreach and adult learning which has reached over 10,000 Jews of every affiliation. Over the years The Etz Chaim Center of Jewish Learning has grown and presently has a Russian division, a college outreach program, advanced women's program, two centers in Baltimore, and two branches in Washington
and Philadelphia
.
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
Rabbi Porter is originally from Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, where he was raised by his parents who began their life anew in America after spending World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the Jewish-Russian partisan movement
Jewish partisans
Jewish partisans were fighters in irregular military groups participating in the Jewish resistance movement against Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II....
.
Rabbi Porter's parents, together with his mentors, Rabbi Michel and Rebbetzin Feige Twerski
Chernobyl (Hasidic dynasty)
Chernobyl is a Hasidic dynasty that was founded by Grand Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky, known by the name of his work as the "Meor Einayim Chernobyl is a Hasidic dynasty that was founded by Grand Rabbi Menachem Nachum Twersky, known by the name of his work as the "Meor Einayim Chernobyl is a...
, had a profound influence on his life and encouraged him to attend Beis Medrash L'Torah
Hebrew Theological College
The Hebrew Theological College, known as "Skokie Yeshiva," is a Yeshiva in Skokie, Illinois which also functions as a private university on campus. The primary focus of the Yeshiva is to teach Torah and Jewish traditions...
, a yeshiva high school in Skokie, Illinois
Skokie, Illinois
Skokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Its name comes from a Native American word for "fire". A Chicago suburb, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348...
. Afterwards, Rabbi Porter spent thirteen years at the Ner Israel Rabbinical College
Yeshiva Ner Yisrael: Ner Israel Rabbinical College
Ner Israel Rabbinical College or NIRC, is a prominent yeshiva in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, a disciple of Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, dean of the Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania...
in Baltimore, and then going on to Loyola College
Loyola College in Maryland
Loyola University Maryland is a Roman Catholic, Jesuit private university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges...
to receive his master's degree in counseling.
From 1974-1977 Rabbi Porter organized SEED (Summer Educational and Enrichment Development) programs in Milwaukee. The Porter family moved to Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
, so that Rabbi Porter could teach and administer Yeshiva and Medrasha Kerem (a high school for young men and women that combined outreach and Torah learning). In 1981 Rabbi Porter moved back to Baltimore to expand and direct the Etz Chaim Center of Jewish Studies, a multi-level program of outreach and adult learning which has reached over 10,000 Jews of every affiliation. Over the years The Etz Chaim Center of Jewish Learning has grown and presently has a Russian division, a college outreach program, advanced women's program, two centers in Baltimore, and two branches in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
Articles
- Etz Chaim Hits 30 - Baltimore Jewish Times (10/27/2006)
- Reinventing Etz Chaim - Baltimore Jewish Times (10/15/2005)
- Rabbi Nix Mixed Children's Choir Show - Baltimore Jewish Times (12/14/2001)