Rabbi Emeritus
S. Robert Waxman was the spiritual and educational leader of our congregation through June 2015. He directed the religious school and taught the Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. He conducted most of our regular religious services and holiday services and served at ceremonies such as weddings and funerals.
Rabbi Waxman came to our congregation in July 1981 and in 2001 won the distinction of being our longest-serving rabbi.
Born in Akron, OH, in 1949, Rabbi Waxman received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Hebrew Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He also has a Master of Arts in Hebrew Culture from New York University and Rabbinic Ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York, NY.
Prior to joining the Bnai Israel Congregation, he was the Assistant Rabbi and director of the religious school at Beth El Congregation in Richmond, VA. He also taught at Temple Israel of Great Neck, NY and Tifereth Israel in Glen Cove, NY and served as student rabbi at Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Rabbi Robert Waxman and his wife Barbara moved to Wilmington in July, 1981. Dr. Barbara Waxman recently retired from service as an English professor at the University of North Carolina - Wilmington, and is an author and recipient of the University’s Award for Faculty Scholarship. Dr. Waxman has been a contributor and coordinator to the annual Bnai Israel Sisterhood Friday Night Shabbat Service. The Waxmans have two children, Dina and Daniel, both born in Wilmington.
Rabbi Waxman remains actively involved in the greater Wilmington religious community and Bnai Israel Congregation:
He is a member and officer of the Ministerial Roundtable (a clergy organization working for improved race relations in Wilmington), a member of the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Chaplains Advisory Committee, and a Chair and participant in several Human Relations Month Interfaith Festivals. He is invited to speak at schools and churches throughout Southeastern North Carolina about Judaism and the State of Israel.
Rabbi Waxman is an accomplished musician and is a member of the Kavanotes singing group, which perform Jewish folk music throughout the community at festivals and benefits. He has earned recognition from the Carolina Agency for Jewish Education on many occasions for developing innovative and award winning programs. He is also an avid tennis player.