Josh Warshawsky | |
|---|---|
| Born | Deerfield, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Contemporary Jewish music |
| Occupation | Rabbi · musician · composer · educator |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Chaverai Nevarech Music |
| Website | joshwarshawsky |
Rabbi Josh Warshawsky is a Jewish American rabbi, composer, song leader and nationally touring musician. He is best known for producing the multivolume Chaverai Nevarech albums and for spreading participatory Hebrew liturgy in North American synagogues, summer camps and schools. [1]
Warshawsky was raised in Deerfield, Illinois, where he sang in school choirs and learned guitar at age 10. [2] Active in Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and United Synagogue Youth, he credits those experiences for nurturing his leadership and love of Jewish music. [1] He completed a joint B.A. in Religion (Columbia University) and Talmud and Rabbinics (Jewish Theological Seminary) in 2012, and was ordained a rabbi at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles in May 2019. [2] [3]
Warshawsky released a 5-song debut EP, Ruchi V’nishmati, in 2013, followed by his first full-length album Mah Rabu (2015), funded on the Jewcer platform. [4] A live album, Chaverai Nevarech (2018), launched a continuing series that now comprises four volumes. [5] Warshawsky tours extensively, having shared original melodies with more than 150 Jewish communities across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel. [3] He is on the core faculty of Songleader Boot Camp and returns annually to Camp Ramah as a musician-in-residence.
From 2013 to 2016 Warshawsky served as the first artist-in-residence at Temple Beth Am and Pressman Academy (Los Angeles). [6] He was rabbi-in-residence of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago (2020–2023). [7] In 2024 he became rabbi of Congregation Agudas Achim in Bexley, Ohio. [8]
Reviewers describe Warshawsky’s work as folk rock infused contemporary liturgy that functions as “midrash in sound,” enabling congregants to internalize Hebrew texts through simple, easily harmonized melodies. [2] His settings of “Yedid Nefesh,” “Lecha Dodi (Hachamah),” and “El Baruch” have been adopted widely in Conservative and Reform worship. [9]
| Year | Title | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Ruchi V’nishmati | EP | Debut release |
| 2015 | Mah Rabu | Album | First full-length studio album |
| 2018 | Chaverai Nevarech | Live album | Recorded at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles |
| 2021 | Chaverai Nevarech Vol. II: The Shabbos EP | EP | Seven Kabbalat Shabbat tracks |
| 2022 | Chaverai Nevarech Vol. III | Album | Studio album and video series |
| 2025 | Chaverai Nevarech Vol. IV | Album | Includes “Wedding Medley” |
Warshawsky lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife, educator Adina Allen, and their children. [3]