David Lazar (born 1957) is a US born rabbi-educator who has served communities in Israel and Europe.
Lazar was educated at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh, where he combined Jewish studies with service in the IDF’s armor-corp. His BA in Bible Studies is from the Hebrew University and rabbinic ordination and MA in Jewish Studies (1993) are from the Schechter Institute. He was also a Jerusalem Fellow at the Mandel School for Educational Leadership(1998-2000).
Raised in a committed liberal Conservative Movement family in Los Angeles, Lazar moved toward Orthodoxy in his teens. After completing his army service in 1980, he was one of the founders of Moshav Gan Or at Netzarim in the Gaza Strip. It is there that he met his wife Sascha Meijers – a recent immigrant to Israel from Holland. They were married there in the summer of 1981 and moved to Jerusalem the year after.
Lazar served as Education Director at Kehilat Mevakshei Derech (at the time, independent) and was the Rabbi of Kehilat Ya’ar Ramot (Masorti/Conservative), both in Jerusalem. He later moved to Tel Aviv where he was the spiritual leader of Kehilat Tiferet Shalom (Masorti/Conservative). He has worked over the years in a wide variety of educational frameworks such as the TALI school system, Camp Ramah in California and Canada as well as in the NOAM and Young Judea youth movements.
He is the founding director of RIKMA: Spiritual Community Leadership Development, which has accompanied many of the Masorti/Conservative and Mitkademet/Reform rabbis over the last 15 years. Over the years, Lazar has been active in many non-profit organizations such as the Israel AIDS Task Force, the Jerusalem Open House and the Rabbinical Assembly.
From 2010 to 2013, Lazar was the rabbi of the Jewish Community of Stockholm, Sweden. Aside from fulfilling his regular duties leading the prayer services at the Great Synagogue, teaching and counseling members of the community, Lazar was active in LGBTQ advocacy and interfaith dialogue.
Today, Lazar lives with his wife Sascha in Palm Springs, California, where he serves as the spiritual leader of Or Hamidbar.
