Bring Rabbi Natan to Your Community!

“We brought Natan Margalit as scholar-in-residence for Shavuot. Natan’s personal stories, profound insights connecting deep-ecology and our tradition, made a profound impact on our members. Members reported being inspired to change their lives as a result of his inspiration. Natan is a scholar but it is his gentleness, vulnerability, and joyous zeal for Judaism and ecological thinking that made his visit so important to our community. Typically, Torah and ecological thinking exist in different spheres for my community – Natan’s visit was an eye-opener for them.”

Rabbi Eli Herb, Temple Beth Shalom, Salem, Oregon

“Natan Margalit’s recent presentation on his new book, ‘The Pearl and the Flame’ was fabulous! I expected the usual Judaism/environmental stuff, but that was not at all what was presented. Instead, Natan provided a whole new way of thinking about the multiple and cascading challenges facing our world right now through the holistic lens of Judaism. And he peppered his argument with engaging personal stories that made what could have been abstract ideas accessible. It is a rare treat when someone takes texts or ideas that you know and presents them in a whole new light, opening the text in a new way and expanding your thinking. Natan did all that! He was engaging, accessible and has new and I think radically important ideas to share that could help us think and act in our world in critical ways. I highly recommend him for your synagogue or book group.”

— Rabbi Rona Shapiro, Congregation B’nai Jacob, Woodbridge, CT

“Rabbi Margalit is a phenomenal teacher and speaker – he is a darshan, magid and rebbe at all once. He brings a deep and genuine love for Jewish text, and blends it with the richness of our Hasidic story telling tradition. He is a truly magnetic speaker, capturing our hearts and minds with his accessible style and deep wisdom.”

— Rabbi Daniel Berman, Temple Reyim, Newton, MA

“Loved Natan’s class and his deep understanding of Torah mixed with contemporary environmental texts.“

— Kyle, Urban Adamah Participant

“It was amazing to have Natan come to Colby! There was a lot of meaningful conversation during the event as well as amongst students following the event…. For many students, this opened a door to a new lens on how to look at environmental issues.”

— Bronya Lichtman, Co-President Colby College Hillel

“That was a wonderful presentation, with a lot of fresh ideas and stimulating discussion. Thank you for coming to W&S and participating in our Lunch and Learn. Everyone told me how much they loved it.”

— Sherry Leffert, Speakers Coordinator, Harvard Hillel, Worship and Study Minyan

RABBI NATAN MARGALIT, Ph.D.
Founder, President, Principal Teacher at Organic Torah

Natan Margalit is a rabbi and scholar with 30 years of experience in teaching, writing, organizing and congregational leadership. Raised in Honolulu, as a young adult he spent 12 years in Israel where he received rabbinic ordination. He returned to the U.S. and earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies at U.C. Berkeley with focus areas in Talmud, Literary Theory, and Anthropology. He has taught at Bard College, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Hebrew College Rabbinical School, and now is chair of the Rabbinic Texts Department at the Aleph Ordination Program. He is also Director of the Earth-Based Judaism track of the A.O.P., and is founder of the non-profit Organic Torah. He is the author of The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom and Ecological Thinking (Albion Andalus, 2022).  He lives in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons.