Rabbi Joel S. Wasser was born in Toronto, Canada.  He is a graduate of Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.  He has served pulipts in Great Neck, Long Island; Elmira, New York; and Tampa, Florida before coming to Keneseth Israel.  He was the innovator and Dean of the nationally recognized Torah University at Congregation Kol Ami in Tampa, Florida.  He is cited in Who's Who Amongst America's Best Teachers.  He is an ardent Zionist who has been to Israel twenty times and has worked closely with interfaith groups, pioneering a joint Catholic/Jewish mission to Israel a few years back.

He is the proud father of three wonderful kids: Ayala, Shira, and Yoni. His passion includes studying and teaching Torah, where he harbors an expertise in contemporary Jewish law.  He used to be a heck of a basketball player.