Rabbi Emmanuel serves as Assistant Campus Rabbi at Slifka—the very community that inspired him to become a rabbi as an undergraduate. He is grateful to honor that legacy by championing today’s students as they shape the future of Jewish cultural, religious, and intellectual life at Yale and beyond.
Rabbi Emmanuel’s Jewish journey reflects Slifka’s spirit of pluralism. Raised in a Conservative synagogue, he studied at an Orthodox day school and an Israeli yeshiva, and served as a rabbinical student in both Reform and Reconstructionist communities. His path has taken him from leading a rural synagogue in Vermont to supporting post-college young adults in urban Washington, D.C. Throughout it all, Slifka remained a home, where he returned as a rabbinic intern during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before attending rabbinical school, Rabbi Emmanuel worked as a community organizer for Jews United for Justice. He holds a BA in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Yale University and received ordination from the Rabbinical School at Hebrew College, where he was a Wexner Graduate Fellow.
Originally from New York City, he lives in New Haven with his wife, Shira. He enjoys yoga, writing poetry, and rooting as a reluctant yet committed New York sports fan.