Rabbi Joe was born and raised in London and attended Cambridge University and UCL’s School of Public Policy where he received degrees in political philosophy. He studied for many years at Yeshivat Har Etzion and received semicha from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.
Corinne grew up in Leicester, England and has a background in art history with degrees from Leeds University and the Courtauld Institute. After making aliyah in 2011 she trained as a gourmet chef at the Tadmor Institute and worked in a number of Israeli restaurants and has spent time studying at Nishmat and Matan.From 2015 to 2022 Rabbi Joe and Corinne were the directors of the OU-JLIC NYU & Downtown building a community of hundreds of students and young professionals known for its warmth. The innovative programs they built whilst there included:
- Gangsters & Gedolim tours, introducing participants to the rich Jewish history of the neighborhood
- Bet Sicha, a space for Jewish women to discuss difficult or taboo topics
- Jewish Eats, a hands-on culinary experience tasting the range of Jewish food cultures
- The world’s largest 929 study group, completing the study of Tanakh over 3.5 years
- Abraham’s House, a program which trained students and young professionals to organize effectively around issues of social need, combining the study of relevant Torah texts with multiple volunteering opportunities
The community was known especially for its emphasis upon hesed and providing assistance to those in need. Rabbi Joe received the Jewish Week’s 36 Under 36 award for his Covid relief work that mobilised hundreds of volunteers to find vaccination appointments, provide meals to those experiencing food poverty, fight senior isolation and aid public school students struggling with remote learning. Connected to this work Rabbi Joe is also the National Hesed Director helping to scale volunteer projects across the JLIC network.
In September 2022, Corinne and Rabbi Joe, along with their children Mika, Tal and Barak, returned to Israel where they will be launching JLIC Tel Aviv the first JLIC community focused around young professionals.