מָה־אָהַבְתִּי תוֹרָתֶךָ
How I love your Torah (Ps. 119:97)
For four decades, Rabbi Roly Matalon has helped nurture a deep and expansive love of Torah at BJ—affirming learning as a spiritual practice that shapes how we live, pray, and show up in the world.
In celebration of Roly’s 40 years of service, we are excited to present a seven-week learning series featuring beloved teachers, colleagues, and friends who have walked alongside him on the path of Torah. Together, they offer teachings that reflect the depth, curiosity, and spiritual seriousness that have animated Roly’s rabbinate and shaped Torah learning at BJ.
This week, we will welcome Rabbi Jan Uhrbach.
Rabbi Jan Uhrbach is founding director of the Block / Kolker Center for Spiritual Arts at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she teaches courses on prayer and prayer leadership. She served as Interim Dean of the Division of Religious Leadership for the 2021-2022 school year. Rabbi Uhrbach is also the founding rabbi of the Gesher | The Bridge Shul in Bridgehampton, Long Island. She played a key role in the acclaimed Lev Shalem prayer book series, as associate editor of Siddur Lev Shalem for Shabbat and Festivals (2016) and Siddur Lev Shalem for Weekdays (2026), and a member of the editorial committee for Machzor Lev Shalem (2010). A distinguished teacher of Torah, she is also a member of the Wexner Heritage faculty, and has taught and served as scholar-in-residence in many synagogues. Rabbi Uhrbach was ordained at JTS, where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. A graduate of Harvard Law School and Yale University, Rabbi Uhrbach served as Law Clerk to Federal District Judge Kimba M. Wood. She is a former partner of the New York law firm of Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP.Rabbi Uhrbach discovered meaningful Jewish learning and practice at BJ, and left the law to pursue the rabbinate because of the inspirational leadership of Rabbi Matalon, and the depth and kindness of the BJ community.
Across the series, distinguished teachers and friends of Roly – including Rabbi Arthur Green, Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein, Rabbi Irwin Kula, Rabbi Michael Paley, Dr. Nathaniel Berman, Rabbi Joy Levitt, and Rabbi Michael Strassfeld – offer Torah in celebration of Roly’s 40 years of service and the vibrant culture of learning he has helped cultivate at BJ.
The series culminates on Tikkun Leil Shavuot, when our community gathers for a night of learning dedicated to Roly’s 40 years of service, featuring Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, followed by learning with the BJ rabbis and rabbinic fellows.
