Rabbi Dr. Ricky Hidary joined the Shearith Israel family in 2012 and quickly became a beloved communal leader of our congregation. Rabbi Hidary delivers regular sermons and seminars, runs our weekly Bet Midrash program, organizes teen minyan, and coordinates Caring Connection, our congregation’s hesed network. Rabbi Hidary has enjoyed learning the Spanish and Portuguese liturgical tradition and is an excellent Hazzan and Koreh. He is spear-heading an effort to digitally record our liturgy so these unique and beautiful prayers can be shared online with students, scholars, and the public. Rabbi Hidary is an outstanding scholar of Talmud and Second Temple Jewish History and is an Associate Professor of Judaic Studies at Yeshiva University. He is the author of Dispute for the Sake of Heaven: Legal Pluralism in the Talmud (Brown, 2010), has penned numerous academic articles, and produces high school teaching guides for teachtorah.org. Rabbi Hidary studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion and Yeshiva University, earned his Ph.D. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from New York University, and received his rabbinic ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate at the ShehebarSephardicCenter in Jerusalem. His wife, Esther, is a dynamic teacher and book club facilitator here at Shearith Israel and is a pioneering leader in Jewish elementary and high school education. They and their four children have become an integral part of our congregational family.