Draft:Adam Mintz



Adam Mintz (born May 15, 1961) is an American Orthodox rabbi, Talmud teacher, and professor of Jewish History, based in New York City. He is a prominent advocate for Orthodox conversions to Judaism and currently serves as the head of the conversion court, Rodfei Zedek, having successfully converted over 400 individuals since 2020. Rabbi Mintz is the Founding Rabbi of Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim in New York City and a member of the Talmud faculty at Yeshivat Maharat. Additionally, he is the founder and President of Project Ruth, an initiative dedicated to providing halakhic guidance and supportive preparation for individuals seeking to convert to Judaism.

Early life and education
Mintz was born in Washington D.C. to Benjamin Mintz, originally from Milwaukee, and Harriet Ashinsky, originally from Brooklyn. He attended the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Greater Washington before transferring to Manhattan Hebrew High School in Riverdale, New York. Following his high school education, Rabbi Mintz pursued higher education at Yeshiva University in New York. He graduated from Yeshiva College in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in Jewish History and a master's degree in Medieval Jewish History.

In 1985, Rabbi Mintz received rabbinical ordination (Semikhah) from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University. He further advanced his rabbinical qualifications in 1988 by obtaining the Yadin Yadin Semikhah from RIETS, qualifying him to serve as a rabbinical judge.

In 2011, he earned a Ph.D. in Modern Jewish History from New York University, with his doctoral thesis focusing on the history of the eruv in North America.

Career
Rabbi Adam Mintz served as the Associate Rabbi for Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side from 1992 to 1996. He was then appointed Senior Rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue, a Modern Orthodox congregation, where he served from 1996 to 2004. During his tenure at Lincoln Square Synagogue, Rabbi Mintz made history by hiring Julie Stern Joseph, the first woman Congregational Intern in an Orthodox synagogue in America.

In 2004, he founded Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim, a Modern Orthodox community synagogue located at 241 West 72nd Street in New York City, which was established with the vision of creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for Jews seeking a vibrant and engaged community.

In 2020, Mintz founded Project Ruth, an organization dedicated to facilitating accessible Orthodox conversions to Judaism. Following the October 7 events, there was a significant increase in Jewish conversions in America, with Project Ruth playing a pivotal role in this movement as one of the largest of its kind in the U.S.

Education and Leadership Roles
Mintz is deeply committed to Jewish education and teaches Talmud and Practical Rabbinics at Yeshivat Maharat in Riverdale, New York. Additionally, he is the founder and director of 929 English, an online platform dedicated to promoting the daily study of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). As Co-President of the Manhattan Eruv, Rabbi Mintz expanded the eruv to include almost all of Manhattan from 146th Street to the southern tip of Manhattan in order to better serve the Jewish community in Manhattan.

Beyond his rabbinical duties, Rabbi Mintz has experience as a community leader in New York: from 2004 to 2006, he served as President of the New York Board of Rabbis, a nondenominational association comprising over 800 rabbis, and he also served as the Liaison to the Jewish Community for William C. Thompson, the Comptroller of New York City. Rabbi Mintz was a member of the Orthodox Roundtable, a Modern Orthodox rabbinic think tank focused on promoting halakhic discussion and practical responses to contemporary issues.

Rabbi Mintz has also made notable contributions in academia and was a Tikvah Scholar-at-Large at the Tikvah Center for Law and Jewish Civilization at New York University Law School from 2012 to 2013. He has also served as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Jewish History at City College and has been a visiting lecturer at Queens College, Brooklyn College, City College and Rutgers University.

Publications
Mintz is a prolific author and editor, contributing extensively to the field of Jewish scholarship. His works encompass a wide range of topics related to Judaism and Jewish life, reflecting his deep knowledge and commitment to advancing understanding in these areas:


 * Building Communities: A History of the Eruv in America
 * “The Community Eruv and the American Public Square,” Diné Israel
 * “A Chapter in American Orthodoxy: The Eruvin in Brooklyn,” Hakirah
 * “Variable, Vital, and Frequently Chaotic: American Jewry,” Jewish Quarterly Review
 * “Is Coca-Cola Kosher? Rabbi Tobias Geffen and the History of American Orthodoxy,” in Rav Chesed: Essays in Honor of Rabbi Dr. Haskel Lookstein
 * The Talmud in Translation, in Printing the Talmud: From Bomberg to Schottenstein
 * Conversion, Intermarriage, and Jewish Identity (editor)
 * It’s A Thin Line: Eruv From Talmudic to Modern Culture (editor)
 * The Relationship of Orthodox Jews with Believing Jews of Other Religious Ideologies and Non-Believing Jews (editor)
 * Jewish Spirituality and Divine Law (editor)

Personal Life
Mintz is married to Sharon Liberman who is the Curator of Jewish Art at The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary Library (JTS) in New York and serves as the Judaica International Senior Specialist, for Sotheby's, where she was responsible for the sale of Codex Sassoon, the world’s most expensive book. The couple resides on the Upper West Side and have three children and three grandchildren.