Judy Schindler Wallach

Biography

Rabbi Judy Schindler teaches courses in Jewish studies, the Holocaust, and social justice. After 21 years in the pulpit, she was thrilled to move to Queens University in 2016. She loves guiding Queens students through thousands of years of religious wisdom to learn from the lowest and highest moments of Jewish history. She is the founding director of Queens University’s Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center, whose mission is to develop informed and engaged global citizens who, grounded in their own identity, are prepared to respond to prejudice and discrimination with actions advocating human rights for all.

Rabbi Schindler has contributed chapters and articles to more than a dozen journals and books. She co-authored Recharging Judaism: How Civic Engagement is Good for Synagogues, Jews, and America (CCAR Press, 2018) which focuses on recharging congregations through civic engagement and moving the religious community from volunteerism to advocacy. Rabbi Schindler was a consulting editor for Deepening the Dialogue: Jewish-Americans and Israelis Envisioning the Jewish-Democratic State (published in both English and Hebrew) and seeks to move the concept from book to project to strengthen partnerships between progressive Jewish Americans and Israelis. She was a 2017-2018 contributing columnist for the Charlotte Observer and delivered a TEDxCharlotte talk in 2018 entitled “Mastering the Art of Loving your Neighbor.” Rabbi Judy received her Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Tufts University (magna cum laude in 1988); her Master’s from the Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles (1993); her rabbinic ordination at the Hebrew Union College in New York (1995); and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the Hebrew Union College (2020). She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Hebrew Letters from the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. Her academic focus is interfaith relations.

Education

M.A.H.Ll, Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion
B.A., Tufts University