Meet our Clergy

Rabbi Shaul Robinson took up the position of Senior Rabbi at Lincoln Square Synagogue on September 1, 2005. Rabbi Robinson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1967 and earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics and Political Science at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. He was also awarded a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) with Distinction from the University of Nottingham, England. His MBA focused on the management of Not-for-Profit institutions and his dissertation was titled "The Working Lives of Rabbis". 

Rabbi Robinson attended Yeshivat HaMivtar and the Joseph Straus Rabbinic Seminary in Efrat for seven years where he studied under Rabbi Chaim Brovender and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. He attained semicha from the Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary (part of Ohr Torah Stone). His semichas were awarded by The Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Rabbi Riskin and Rabbi Brovender, and also by Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg. He also undertook one year of professional training in Practical Rabbinics at Yad AviHaYishuv (Rothschild Foundation) in Jerusalem . 

After graduation from Strathclyde, Rabbi Robinson spent a year as the National Secretary of the Union of Jewish Students, which combined fieldwork on behalf of Jewish students with the publication and coordination of educational materials. 

Rabbi Robinson met his wife, Sarah, while in Israel and they married in 1992. Following that, he was appointed the first ever full-time Rabbi for Jewish Students at Cambridge University, England, where he and Sarah lived for 3 years with their children, Avrami and Esther. In 1997, the Robinsons moved to Barnet Synagogue, England, where he took up a part-time role and before becoming the full-time Rabbi in 1998. Over the years, the Robinsons welcomed four more daughters - Chaya in 1998, Ariela in 2000, and twins, Tova and Tehilla in 2003. During his time at Barnet, Rabbi Robinson also served as Director of the Centre for Rabbinic Development - where he set up and directed the first ever "Department for Professional Rabbinic Development" in the UK . He was also Executive Director of "Encounter" - the organization that runs the UK 's largest Orthodox Adult Education Event.

You can contact Rabbi Robinson at rabbi@lss.org or (212) 874-6100 ext. 613.

Rabbi Efraim Tepler Rabbi Efraim Tepler recently completed his semicha studies at RIETS where he was a Wexner Honors Fellow. Efraim grew up in New Rochelle, NY and studied at Yeshivat Hakotel in Israel. He spent his first two summers after yeshiva creating new features for the online Torah platform Mercava. He spearheaded the flowchart project that transforms the written page of Talmud into a graphic illustration of the various stages of the Talmudic analytic process. He graduated from Yeshiva University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. In addition to serving as Assistant Rabbi at LSS, Efraim teaches Gemara and Halacha at NSHA in Great Neck. Some of his hobbies include: learning Torah, playing tennis and basketball, and connecting with friends and family. Rabbi Tepler can be reached at rabbitepler@lss.org

Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald is one of the leaders in the movement of Jewish return in America today. He has pioneered and developed many of the most dramatic and effective outreach programs in this country.

Ordained at Yeshiva University, where he was a student of Rabbi Dr. J. B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Buchwald served from 1973 for 15 years as the Director of Education at Lincoln Square Synagogue in New York, which, during his tenure, became one of the largest and most successful centers for adult Jewish education programs in America. He also established and coordinated Lincoln Square’s celebrated outreach program. Since 1975, Rabbi Buchwald has led the now-renowned “Beginners Service,” a special Shabbat service for people with little or no synagogue experience.

In July of 1987, Rabbi Buchwald founded the National Jewish Outreach Program. NJOP sponsors the acclaimed SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA /CANADA and READ HEBREW AMERICA /CANADA campaigns, establishes Beginners Services and offers the TURN FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SHABBAT, PASSOVER ACROSS AMERICA and SUKKOT ACROSS AMERICA programs, as well as free “Crash Courses” in Hebrew Reading, Basic Judaism and Jewish History. These programs are now hosted by more than 5000* locations across North America, and in 41* countries worldwide.

NJOP also has an extensive presence on the web. NJOP’s JewishTweets was the first Jewish presence on Twitter, and has become Twitter’s most highly-followed Jewish newswire, generating more than 250,000 impressions daily. Jewish Treats, NJOP’s enormously popular email, offers Juicy bits of Judaism, daily, on diverse Jewish topics. Through these much admired programs and the innovative Jewish consciousness-raising advertising campaigns, NJOP has successfully reached more than 1,621,193* North American Jews and engaged them in Jewish life.

In May 2001, Rabbi Buchwald was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Yeshiva University in recognition of his pioneering outreach work. He has been included in the Forward 50, a list of America’s 50 most influential Jews and Newsweek’s list of the top 50 Rabbis in America.

Rabbi Buchwald was Founding President of the Association for Jewish Outreach Professionals (AJOP). He lectures across the country and overseas, and leads experiential programs in cities throughout the world. He and his wife Aidel, reside in New York City, and are the proud parents of four children and a growing number of grandchildren.

You can contact Rabbi Buchwald at ezb@lss.org

I grew up in Jerusalem in a family of Hungarian immigrants. I have two siblings, a sister and a brother. In my high school years, I attended Yeshivat Shefa under the guidance of Rabbi Steinsaltz. After graduating, I completed two years at Yeshivat Tekoa and then joined the IDF as part of the Hesder program. Following my military service, I returned to Yeshivat Tekoa and completed my studies there by June 2023.

Ellin graduated from Nishmat’s Miriam Glaubach Center’s U.S. Yoatzot Halacha Fellows Program in 2021. She received her B.A. in Physics from Barnard College and is a graduate of GPATS (Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies for Women) at Yeshiva University. She was born on the Upper West Side and now resides there with husband Jeremy and son Ariel. They look forward to getting to know members of the broader Manhattan community. Ellin can be reached at nycyoetzet@gmail.com and via phone at 646-598-1080.