Welcome! You have arrived at the Ask the Rabbi page.  

This is your opportunity to ask any questions you may have about coming out, being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or just questioning who you are.  I also welcome questions about religious and spiritual traditions and their stances on sexual orientation and identities.  This is also a place for families and friends to ask questions about GLBT people and find resources for help.  If I can't answer a question, I have friends and colleagues who can.  No question is inappropriate as long as it asked respectfully.

Rabbi Joshua Lesser, M.H.L. has lead the growing Congregation Bet Haverim as a place dedicated to celebrating all aspects of Jewish life and creating an accessible spiritual home for those who have not connected in other settings. Together, Rabbi Lesser and his congregation have fostered a warm environment that balances the needs of a diverse community. Together they work to affect the Jewish community and the city of Atlanta in positive ways.

As a former Teach For America corps member and a founding member and long time volunteer of Camp Big Heart, a camp for mentally disabled people of all ages, Rabbi Lesser understands the importance of addressing children from a place of respect. He is committed to creating innovative programs and events to further their Jewish education in fun and exciting ways. And he promotes a positive environment that invites children to connect to Judaism as the children they are and not as (the) mini-adults we sometimes want them to be.

 Throughout his tenure at Bet Haverim, Rabbi Lesser has worked with a wide variety of groups and coalitions to build a better community for Atlanta. Almost immediately, he saw a need to create a safe space for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning folks, as well as their families.  This need surpassed what he and his congregation could provide, so in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and Jewish Family & Career Services, he founded a place of support and information:  The Rainbow Center.  He has also served on the boards of PFLAG, the Anti-Defamation League, and Hillels of Georgia.

 An activist from an early age, he has focused on building bridges between diverse communities. This is demonstrated through his help in forming the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, planning Atlanta’s 9/11 interfaith memorial service and having served as the co-chair of Georgians Against Discrimination fight Georgia’s Marriage Amendment.  He guest lectures at all of the local area colleges from Morehouse, to University of Georgia, Emory, Oglethorpe, Georgia State, etc. on a variety of topics including ethics, homosexuality and religion and understanding Judaism.  He is also an initial member of World Pilgrims traveling to Turkey and Jerusalem to foster interfaith partnerships and dialogue.

Rabbi Lesser has also served as interim rabbi for Emory Hillel where he piloted Social Justice programming and was instrumental in doubling service attendance.  His commitment to furthering new areas in the Jewish community are also evident in his service to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta’s Task Force on Healing and Spirituality.  He also participated in think tanks for Shleimut, a Jewish Healing Institute and STAR- Synagogue Transformation and Renewal.  He is currently enrolled in the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s rabbinic program.

Raised in Atlanta, Rabbi Lesser lives in Inman Park where he enjoys working in his garden, playing rugby and listening to the trains rattle by outside his window.

Rabbi Josh is currently on sabbatical until August 2007 but is still answering e-mail questions.

All dialogue with Rabbi Josh is kept absolutely confidential and everyone's privacy is always respected.