Rabbi Yonatan Cohen, born in Israel and raised in Canada, joined the CBI family in the summer of 2006. During his tenure, CBI has significantly grown its membership and broadened its educational programming for youth and adults. Rabbi Cohen’s Shabbat Shalem program has been recognized by the Legacy Heritage Foundation for its innovative work in the field of community education and engagement.

R. Cohen is a respected, passionate teacher in both the shul and the broader community. He regularly teaches classes at CBI, and is a frequent instructor for Kevah groups and at larger community learning opportunities on topics including Halakha, rabbinic literature, Talmud, Midrash poetry, prayer and Jewish thought.

He also taught at the Wexner Foundation’s Summer Institute, and for the Hartman Institute of North America. R. Cohen has been a guest lecturer on Jewish Medical Ethics at UC Berkeley and on Jewish Liturgy at the Magnes Museum of Jewish Art and Life. He also teaches Jewish Thought to middle school students at Oakland Hebrew Day School.

R. Cohen serves as a Rabbinic Mentor for Yeshivat Chovevei Torah rabbinical students and is a Mentor to Kevah Teaching Fellows. He serves on the founding board of Kevah, and is a founding advisory board member of the Merkavah Torah Institute.

R. Cohen holds a BA in Philosophy from McGill University in Montreal, and received rabbinic ordination for Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Additionally, he is a Sr. Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.

Most of all, R. Cohen enjoys parenting with his wife, Frayda, and re-experiencing life through the eyes of their four children.