Avram Mlotek

Avram Mlotek (born 1987) is an American Open Orthodox rabbi, cantor, writer and actor. Mlotek is a founder of Base Hillel, a pluralistic home centered outreach program for Jewish millennials, now in nine cities worldwide and serves as rabbi for the program's Manhattan location.[1]

Early life and education

Mlotek is the son of Zalmen Mlotek, artistic director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, and Debra Cohen Mlotek.[2] He is a grandson of Joseph Mlotek and Eleanor Mlotek. He grew up in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, and in Teaneck, New Jersey.[3] Mlotek has a younger brother, Elisha, who is a filmmaker and was a founding member of the Hasidic jam band Zusha.[4]

In 2009, Mlotek graduated with a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University where he was a 2008 Sorensen Fellow.[5] He received rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in 2015.[6] According to the Base Hillel website, he has studied theatre at Sarah Lawrence College, Islamic Scriptures at Bergen Community College, cantorial music at Yeshiva University, Talmud at Yeshivat Hadar, theater education at City College, and clinical pastoral education at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Currently, he is a student at Fordham School of Social Work.[7]

Career/Activism

Given the rise of antisemitism after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Mlotek traveled to sites of various antisemitic activities and wrote about his experiences in Paris,[8] Pittsburgh,[9] Philadelphia[10] and Manhattan, where he was accosted by a Farrakhan supporter on a subway train.[11]

In 2019, Mlotek announced[12] he would officiate at same-sex ceremonies for Jewish couples. In 2020, Mlotek officiated an Orthodox ceremony for a same-sex couple.[13] He has argued for greater inclusion of multi-faith families[14] and other marginalized populations within Judaism.

In April 2020 during COVID-19, Mlotek organized The Third Seder, An Online International Celebration of Yiddish Culture which featured some of the leading Klezmer performing artists in a benefit program for The United Community Services of Westchester.[15][16]

Acting

Mlotek has performed on the Yiddish stage since he was three years old, most notably in the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's Off-Broadway Family show, Kids and Yiddish,[17] in which he appeared for several seasons and is featured on their original cast album, Kids and Yiddish, A Musical Adventure. As a child, Mlotek was featured in several Klezmer CDs including The Klezmatics,[18] Oy Vey Chanukah for Kids,[19] Di Grine Katchke,[20] and others.

Mlotek has performed in staged readings for the National Yiddish Theatre-Folksbiene including Chaim Grade's My Mother's Sabbath Days,[21] H. Leyvick's The Wedding in Fernvald,[22] H. Leyvick's The Miracle of the Ghetto[23] and Paddy Chayefsky's The Tenth Man (in Yiddish).[24]

Writing

Mlotek's writing has appeared in The New York Times[25], The Los Angeles Times[26], The New York Daily News[27], The Forward[28], Haaretz[29], Tablet[30] and The New York Jewish Week.[31]

Recognition

In 2016, Mlotek was listed as one of America's "Most Inspiring Rabbis" by The Forward[32] and in 2012 was named a "leading innovator in Jewish life today" by the Jewish Week's 36 Under 36 Section.[33]

Family

He is married to Yael Kornfeld, a geriatric social worker.[34]

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gollark: You'd need horribly expensive specialised network equipment.
gollark: I really doubt you have 10Gbps.
gollark: I should really have planned for this eventuality.
gollark: Oh.

References
  1. "What?". Base. 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  2. "Teaneck’s Avram Mlotek to Receive YCT Ordination". Jewish Link (New Jersey). 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  3. "Avram Mlotek". Office of Innovation, Hillel International. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  4. Wojno, Rebecca (2014-12-07). "Wordless melodies to soothe the soul. Times of Israel. timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
  5. "Reflections: 20 Years of Sorensen Fellows | Brandeis University". www.brandeis.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  6. "Avram Mlotek". Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  7. "Avram Mlotek". Base. 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  8. Mlotek, Avram (2018-04-05). "Paris, When It Mourns – And Fights Hatred". jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  9. McCausland, Phil; Johnson, Alex (2018-10-28). "Thousands turn out in a cold rain to proclaim: Don't be scared to be Jewish". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  10. Mlotek, Avram (2017-03-07). "What Cemetery Vandals Couldn't Anticipate". jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  11. Mikelionis, Lukas (2018-11-03). "Facebook says it 'mistakenly' removed rabbi's story about harassment by Farrakhan supporters". Fox News. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  12. "I'm an Orthodox rabbi who is going to start officiating LGBTQ weddings. Here's why". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2019-04-05. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  13. Liphshiz, Cnaan. "After endorsing same-sex marriages, a US Orthodox rabbi performs his first". www.timesofisrael.com.
  14. Mlotek, Avram (2017-06-17). "Time to Rethink Our Resistance to Intermarriage". jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  15. Palmer, Joanne. "Wait. There's a third seder?". jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com.
  16. Desk, BWW News. "Experience An All-Star Third Seder – An Online International Yiddish Cultural Celebration". BroadwayWorld.com.
  17. Graeber, Laurel (2003-12-05). "Family Fare". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  18. "The Klezmatics - Rise Up! Shteyt Oyf!". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  19. Oy Vey! Chanukah!, Sisu Home Ent., 2000, retrieved 2019-04-23
  20. "Music Review: Sheva Zucker: Di grine katshke". www.klezmershack.com. 1998-05-20. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  21. Mlotek, Avram. "Being Chaim Grade". jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  22. "A Staged Reading of Di Khasene in Fernvald (The Wedding in Foehrenwald)". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  23. "Past Performances". Amanda (Miryem-Khaye) Seigel מרים־חיה סגל. 2006-11-05. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  24. Desk, BWW News. "National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's THE TENTH MAN In Yiddish Sells Out". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  25. Mlotek, Avram (2019-09-27). "Opinion | Hearing the Shofar's Cry in the Jerusalem of Lithuania". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  26. "Op-Ed: Google could use a little godliness". Los Angeles Times. 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  27. Mlotek, Avram. "A letter to an anti-Semite from a rabbi". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  28. "Avram Mlotek". The Forward. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  29. "Avram Mlotek". haaretz.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  30. "Avram Mlotek, Author at Tablet Magazine". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  31. "Avram Mlotek". jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  32. "Avram Mlotek". The Forward. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  33. Mark, Jonathan. "Avram Mlotek, Going back to the future". jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  34. Brawarsky, Sandee (2010-06-25). "Yael Kornfeld and Avram Mlotek". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-23.


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