About

Meet our head of school

Rabbi Dr. Bauman is the Proud Head of School at Hebrew Academy of the Capital District in Albany, NY.  Recently he served as the Head of Judaic Studies at Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School and an Adjunct Professor of Theology – Jewish Thought at Loyola University in Chicago, IL.  Rabbi Bauman has taught Tanakh and Talmud at Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago and Robbins Hebrew Academy in Toronto. He was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps from 2011-2018, stationed in Great Lakes, IL, and Okinawa, Japan, among other places.

He received his rabbinic ordination from the world-renowned Talmudic Scholar Rabbi David Weiss-Halivni z”l, Rabbi Zalman Nehemiah Goldberg z”l, former head of Jerusalem’s Supreme Court, and Rabbi Ozer Glickman z”l Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University. He holds a Master’s degree in Jewish Studies from The Jewish Theological Seminary, a Master’s degree in Education Administration from New York University, and a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. His undergraduate work was completed at The American University in Washington, DC with a B.A. in Sociology, Education, and Jewish Studies. Rabbi Bauman earned a Doctor of Hebrew Letters degree in Jewish Ethics at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago.

Prior to his work in the U.S. Navy, Rabbi Bauman served congregations in the United States and Canada. Rabbi Bauman and his wife, Elly, are blessed with two adult children, Matan and Ori, who live in Israel. Rabbi Bauman is an avid motorcycle rider and can be seen traveling to and from school on his Harley-Davidson. In addition, Rabbi Bauman has training in martial arts, having studied in the U.S., Okinawa, Japan, and South Korea. He was born in Reading, PA, two blocks west of the Monopoly Board railroad station, and raised between Reading, PA and New Rochelle, NY. He is the author of What Would You Do: You Write The Book On Being a Mensch!