ABOUT ME
"My sacred task as rabbi is to ignite the God-given hidden spark (Or HaGanuz) within each person, and connect this light to others through building spiritual community. The tool of ignition, inspiration, and agitation is our Torah, 70 Faces and all, and my task is make Torah come alive (through diverse venues) in the present so it will live in the future. I seek to be a madrich/guide and leader who can help others traverse through the windy pathways of life. I strive to connect to my congregants and students through our stories, finding each other within our own narratives and journeys."
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ABOUT RABBI DAVID BAUM
Rabbi David Baum is a congregational rabbi, writer, and community builder dedicated to helping people find meaning, connection, and purpose through Jewish life. He serves as the rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Kodesh in Boca Raton, Florida, where he has helped build a thriving, multi-generational community rooted in the belief that people and relationships—not buildings—are the foundation of Jewish life.
A first-generation American and the grandson of four Holocaust survivors, Rabbi Baum’s work is shaped by a deep sense of Jewish continuity, responsibility, and resilience. Born and raised in South Florida, he returned home after rabbinical school to help create the kind of Jewish community he longed for as a child—one grounded in authenticity, belonging, and shared purpose.
Over the course of his rabbinate, he has helped grow Shaarei Kodesh from an emerging congregation into a vibrant spiritual home, cultivating what he describes as a “covenantal community”—one in which individuals see themselves not as members, but as partners in a shared Jewish mission. His work focuses on meaningful prayer, deep Torah teaching, leadership development, and creating pathways for people to connect to Judaism in ways that are relevant to their lives.
Rabbi Baum believes that each person carries a hidden divine spark—what Jewish tradition calls the Or HaGanuz—and that the role of a rabbi is to help bring that light into the world through Torah, relationships, and community.
Locally and nationally, Rabbi Baum is an active leader in Jewish communal life. He serves on the Executive Council of the Rabbinical Assembly and is a past president of its Southeast Region, as well as a past president of the Palm Beach County Board of Rabbis. He has served on the boards of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County and the Levis Jewish Community Center, and currently serves on the board of JARC, supporting Jewish adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He is also engaged in interfaith work through the Boca Raton Interfaith Clergy Association, building relationships across the broader community.
Rabbi Baum is an alumnus of the Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI) Fellowship (cohort 2), a two-year program that supports and encourages rabbis in areas of innovative thinking and institutional transformation and was one of fourteen rabbis chosen to be a Global Justice Fellow with American Jewish World Services from 2019-2020, and was part of the fifth cohort of the Institute of Jewish Spirituality’s Clergy Leadership Program.
Beyond the synagogue, Rabbi Baum is an active voice in conversations about Jewish identity, leadership, and the future of synagogue life. His writing has appeared in The Times of Israel, eJewish Philanthropy, The Forward, and other publications, and he is the host of the podcast Torah From Boca, where he brings Torah into conversation with contemporary life.
Rabbi Baum was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he also earned a Master’s degree in Jewish Education. He lives in Boca Raton with his wife, Dr. Alissa Baum, and their three children.