Peter J. Rubinstein is Director of Jewish Community and the Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at the 92nd Street Y since 2014. In this capacity, he oversees Jewish content and programming within the Bronfman Center, collaborates with staff throughout the institution on innovative programs related to Jewish themes, and forges new collaborations with faith leaders both within and beyond the Jewish community.
He is also the Rabbi Emeritus of Central Synagogue where he served as the Senior Rabbi for 23 years. Prior to his position at Central Synagogue, Rabbi Rubinstein served as the Rabbi of Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains, New York and Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, California.
He is the immediate past Chair of the Partnership of Faith in New York City, which includes the senior clergy of the city’s major congregations and was co-president of the US Board of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. He is the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City and is on the Board of the New York Region of the American Jewish Committee and Co-Chair of its Rabbinic Round Table. He is presently the director of the Be Wise Fellowship in Jewish Entrepreneurialism at the HUC-JIR in New York City. He was the long-time rabbinic Chair of the NCRCR.
Rabbi Rubinstein is a founder of the Rabbinic Council of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and was long time Rabbinic Chair of the NCRCR. He was ranked number three in Newsweek’s 2012 list of “America’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis” and was named one of the 28 “2014 America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis” by The Jewish Daily Forward.
Rabbi Rubinstein graduated from Amherst College and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Amherst College in 2017. His essay "A Search for Truth: A Touchstone of our Judgement" is included in JFK The Last Speech (2018). He co-authored “Innovation in All Generation” which appeared in the Winter 2017 edition of the The Reform Jewish Quarterly.