Biography

Rabbi Neil Tow was raised in Potomac, Maryland, where he was actively involved with Congregation Har Sholom and the United Synagogue Youth (USY).

After graduating from high school in Potomac, he attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, where he became a leader in the campus Hillel organization. After graduating Tufts in 2000 with degrees in International Relations and Spanish, Rabbi Tow attended the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York City, where he was ordained.

During his time at JTS, he studied for one year in Israel, teaching at the Ivry Prozdor Hebrew High School; served High Holiday pulpits in Maryland, Ontario, South Carolina, and New York State; and worked as a student Rabbi at Congregation Sha'are Shalom in Leesburg, Virginia.

He currently serves on the board of the Jewish Federation Apartments in Paterson, New Jersey and on the Jewish Community Relations Council. HE ALSO IS A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS ADVISORY BOARD OF RIDGEWOOD AND GLEN ROCK.

Rabbi Tow is a member of the 2011 "Bergen Leads" class, a 10-month learning and leadership experience for community leaders in Bergen County, New Jersey.

Rabbi Tow is married to Rabbi Rachel Schwartz, who was also ordained at JTS, and now serves as a hospice chaplain in New Jersey. Their pre-school daughter, Dara, is an enthusiastic participant in services at GRJC.

Rabbi Tow's goals are to make Jewish life and learning accessible and relevant to the lives of Jews in the 21st century.

Some of the programs Rabbi Tow has introduced to the community include:

• Shabbat Sheli, pre-Shabbat service for first through third graders
• Widows-Widowers monthly support group
• Community Interfaith Mission to Israel (Planned for April 2012)
• Interfaith Bible study program with the local Lutheran Church
• Pre-High Holiday classes every year
• Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah program
• Adult classes in Torah and Haftarah chanting
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah "Boot Camp" - Pre-Bar/Bat Mitzvah program for students and their families
• Creation of Hebrew School Computer Lab
• Passover outreach & education at local supermarket
• Annual Zimriyah, Spring Jewish song festival
• GRJC Chevra Kadisha
• Musical Preludes to Shabbat – Pre-Shabbat Guitar sing-alongs for all ages
• High Holiday Teen Program
• Rabbi's High School Student Internship Program
• GRJC will have its first Rabbinic Intern from Jewish Theological Seminary, Resnick Internship program, in fall 2012