Get to Know
Rabbi Elliot Kaplowitz
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Rabbi Elliot Kaplowitz has served as the rabbi of Netivot Shalom since 2015.
He was born in Boston and raised in Livingston, NJ, where he received a comprehensive Jewish Day School education before spending a Gap Year in Israel, learning at Yeshivat Sha’arei Mevasseret Zion.
He continued his academic pursuits at Brandeis University, graduating magna cum laude with a combined BA/MA in Jewish Studies. His honors thesis explored "Jewish Legal Decisions of Rabbis Ovadia Yosef and Moses Feinstein."
His rabbinic journey culminated with his smichah (rabbinic ordination) from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. During his studies, Rabbi Kaplowitz dove deeply into Jewish texts and gained valuable congregational experience through internships at Congregation Beth Sholom in Providence, RI, and Congregation Shaarei Tefillah in Newton, MA.
Before coming to Netivot Shalom, Rabbi Kaplowitz, together with his wife Toby, dedicated six years to serving as the Director of the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative on the Campus (OU-JLIC) at Brandeis University. While in Boston, Rabbi Kaplowitz was also a faculty member at Ma’ayan: Torah Initiative for Women and served as the Mashgiach (halakhic supervisor) for the Mayyim Hayyim Living Water Community Mikveh.
Upon relocating to Baltimore, MD, Rabbi Kaplowitz served as the Rabbi-in-Residence at Beth Tfiloh Congregation before being called to lead Netivot Shalom. Beyond his congregational duties, Rabbi Kaplowitz is actively involved in Baltimore's broader Jewish community, contributing to adult education initiatives such as the Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning and the Baltimore Board of Rabbis. Demonstrating his diverse interests and commitment to lifelong learning, he also holds an MBA from the University of Baltimore and works as an underwriter for a real estate investment company.
Rabbi Elliot and Toby Kaplowitz are the proud parents of Yisrael, Matan, and Oshra.