Greetings and thanks for coming to my website. I’m Rabbi Patrick Beaulier. Feel free to call me Rabbi Patrick. I’m a non-traditional rabbi, spiritual seeker and facilitator. Here you’ll find a little about myself, my approach to Judaism, speaking engagements, and services.
Small Batch, Locally Sourced, Artisanal Judaism
I am the rabbi for a pop-up Jewish community called Kehillah. An independent alternative to traditional synagogues in Richmond, VA, Kehillah provides Jewish life through smaller, more intimate events including Shabbat dinner and kirtan prayer services, Shabbat Torah Study at the VMFA, and fun Jewish holiday events like the Jewfro Passover Seder. We are proud to be the first (and only) Jewish presence at VA Pridefest through our Shabbat At Pride Booth, and are also well known for Kehillah Cares, our campaign to provide emotional wellness and support services to those in need.
My Background
I was ordained by RSI, an independent rabbinical program in Manhattan, founded by the late Hungarian Rabbi Joseph Gelberman. Additionally, I am a Prepare-Enrich certified premarital and relationship coach, Grief Support Specialist as well as a Psychological First Aid provider and completed a certificate in Spirituality, Health and Healing through Clayton State University.
I have been featured in three books, The New Reform Judaism: Challenges and Reflections, Contemporary American Judaism: Transformation and Renewal, Oy Oy Oy Gevalt!: Jews and Punk, and contributed to a few others. You can find me in the media on ABC, CBS, CNN, as well as in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond Magazine, The Chesterfield Observer, the Reflector, Times of Israel, the Atlanta Jewish Times, and several other newspapers, magazines and blogs.
And more importantly: my wife Stefanie, our adult son Javon, and I live with our two cats Maggie and Toes.
I am available to answer your questions and to help you on life’s journey, so feel free to email me anytime.
Jewish Life Online
I am the proud founder of Darshan Yeshiva, the world’s only distance learning based conversion to Judaism program with rabbis from all recognized streams of Judaism in America, Canada and Italy.
I also serve as Director of Innovation for Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary.
I have had the pleasure of writing/editing several books including Ahavah Rabbah, PunkTorah: The First Anthology and the NewKosher Vegan Cookbook, as well as countless articles for blogs such as PunkTorah and My Jewish Learning. I am also a contributor to Ritualwell, a project of the Reconstructionist movement of Judaism.
What I Believe
My only rule is that you are in charge. Whether I am performing a wedding, leading a Shabbat weekend, or giving a presentation to your synagogue or school, I believe that you are in charge and that I have a responsibility to provide you with the best experience possible.
God is a lived experience. I believe that there is an experience that is a part of us, and yet entirely beyond us. It is the source of everything in the universe, the source of transcendence, the source of life. I choose to call this “God”, because that word (for better or worse) best encompasses my understanding of the nature of reality. I have no problem with people who choose a different term, or who understand God in a different way, or who reject God entirely. Holiness is not mutually exclusive.
Judaism is both the religion of the Jewish people, as well as the shared cultural folkways and history of the ancient Jewish family. I affirm as holy both the religious and cultural aspects of Jewish life, as both of these forces bring us into a sense of covenant with one another. As the famous Rabbi Kaufman Kohler said, “Judaism is the universal religion of a particular people.”
For religion to survive, it must innovate. We honor God by recognizing and celebrating Judaism’s innovative nature — always open to new ideas and ways of interpreting itself. We should not be afraid of the innovation that is built into the very framework of Jewish life.
