Rabbi Jeremy Barras is a native of Wilkes-Barre, PA. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a Religious Studies Minor at Connecticut College, where he also competed on the men’s tennis team. Rabbi Barras spent one semester of his junior year studying abroad at Tel Aviv University. Rabbi Barras began his studies at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 1998. He subsequently spent one year in Jerusalem, and four years in Cincinnati, OH, where he was ordained as a Rabbi. Rabbi Barras also earned a Masters Degree in Administrative Education and Jewish Education at Xavier University in conjunction with HUC-JIR. In 2002, he was awarded the Ferdinand Isserman Prize awarded to the senior rabbinical student who, in the judgment of the faculty of the Hebrew Union College, contributed the most toward the development of community relations.
Before being ordained, Rabbi Barras served as a student rabbi for congregations in Grand Forks, ND, Valparaiso, IN, and Cincinnati, OH. Since 2002, Rabbi Barras has served as Associate Rabbi at Temple Beth El in Charlotte, NC. While in Charlotte, Rabbi Barras served as a board member of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), the Superintendent’s Interfaith Advisory Board of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and remains a member of the Youth Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR).
Rabbi Barras is married to the light of his life, Jodi Gant Barras. They live in Fort Myers with their daughter Ella Sophia and son Ethan Abraham. In Fort Myers, Rabbi Barras serves as a member of the Lee County Human Services Council and on the Board of the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Rabbi Barras has been appointed to the national board of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA). In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf and tennis, fantasy football, reading, studying Talmud and spending time with his puppy, Tango.