Meet the Rabbi

Rabbi Dr. Bauman is the Head of Judaic Studies and Community Engagement at Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School and rabbi of the Lake Shore Drive Synagogue, a modern orthodox synagogue on Chicago’s Gold Coast. Rabbi Bauman has taught Tanakh and Talmud at Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago and at Robbins Hebrew Academy in Toronto. He was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps from 2011-2018, stationed in Great Lakes, IL and Okinawa, Japan, among other places.

He received his rabbinic ordination from the world-renowned Talmudic Scholar Rabbi David Weiss-Halivni z”l and from Rabbi Zalman Nehemiah Goldberg z”l, former head of Jerusalem’s Supreme Court. He holds a Master’s degree in Jewish Studies from The Jewish Theological Seminary, a Master’s degree in Education Administration from New York University, and a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. His undergraduate work was completed at The American University in Washington, DC with a B.A. in Sociology, Education, and Jewish Studies. Rabbi Bauman earned a Doctor of Hebrew Letters degree in Jewish Ethics at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago.

Prior to his work in the U.S. Navy, Rabbi Bauman served congregations in the United States and Canada. Rabbi Bauman and his wife, Elly, are blessed with two adult children, Matan and Ori, who live in Israel. Rabbi Bauman is an avid motorcycle rider and can be seen traveling to and from Akiba-Schechter on his Harley-Davidson. In addition, Rabbi Bauman has training in martial arts, having studied in the U.S., Okinawa, Japan, and South Korea. He was born in Reading, PA, two blocks west of the Monopoly Board railroad station, and raised between Reading, PA and New Rochelle, NY.