PRESENTING JESSE LAWRENCE PAQUIN AS RABBI AND TEACHER IN ISRAEL
Presented by Rabbi Robert Scheinberg, Ph. D.
As Yishai Paquin presented his first dvar tefillah— an introduction to a liturgical text— in the AJR Introduction to Liturgy course I was teaching, it was clear that this presentation would be emblematic of some of the unique and tremendous gifts he would bring to the AJR community. Yishai submitted a video in which he taught about the morning prayer Modeh Ani and its origins in the writings of Rabbi Moshe ben Makhir in the 16th century-- while wearing a headlamp and simultaneously exploring the cave, not far from Yishai’ s home in Tzfat in northern Israel, that is believed to be Moshe ben Makhir’ s burial site.
Yishai is our AJR renaissance man. U. S. Navy veteran. U. S. Army Chaplain. Adventure tour guide throughout northern Israel. Scholar of the tombs of the illustrious Jewish leaders of the Galilee over the centuries. Deeply spiritual teacher who embodies the soul of the mystical community of Tzfat through the ages. Together with his wife, Shayna, a parent of seven children, and a leader of courageous efforts to make the Tzfat community ever safer, and ever more generous and caring and welcoming.
In late 2023, Yishai and Shayna spoke to my synagogue by Zoom about the impact of October 7 and the war on their community, sharing stories of the challenges of being under missile attack with young children including some with special needs, the beloved friends they had lost, and the remarkable volunteer efforts they had sustained together with their neighbors.
As I write these words, Tzfat is under bombardment again, this time from Iranian missiles. We pray for the safety of Yishai and his family, with the hope that he will be able to join us for ordination. The Jewish world needs rabbis like Rabbi Yishai Paquin, who can guide us to serve God with our minds and hearts and souls, and with our hands and arms and legs and backs. In the words of the Psalms: wv lunf hn vbrnt, h, unmg kf— let all of my limbs proclaim: God, who is like You?!”( Psalm 35:10)
BEIT DIN
Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD- Somekhet Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman Rabbi Matthew Goldstone, PhD
16 AJR 2026