Rabbi Andy Bachman lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Rachel Altstein, and their three daughters, Audrey, Lois, and Minna. Andy and Rachel have lived in Brooklyn since 1990.

Born in 1963, Rabbi Bachman was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Educated in public schools in the northern suburbs of Milwaukee, he studied history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While in college he developed a deep interest in pursuing Jewish scholarship and service due to the influence of two teachers: the European cultural historian George L. Mosse; and Irv Saposnik, who directed the UW Hillel in the 1980s and 1990s.

During those University years, Rabbi Bachman spent a year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In addition to coursework, he was privately tutored in rabbinic literature by Rabbi Hank Skirball, director of NFTY in Israel. It was Rabbi Skirball who first formally suggested HUC-JIR, where Rabbi Bachman was ordained in 1996.

As a rabbinical student, Rabbi Bachman served as Educator at Congregation Beth Elohim, overseeing the Religious School, Adult Education, and working as Student Rabbi. After his ordination in 1996, he served as Rabbi Educator until 1998, when he became Executive Director of the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life: Hillel at NYU.

While at NYU, Rabbi Bachman pioneered award-winning programming in the arts, culture, social action, and Israel advocacy, gaining national recognition for developing new ways of reaching a younger generation of Jews seeking connections to Jewish life. Notable achievements include developing the first Alternative Spring Breaks with the American Jewish World Service; the publication of Ain Sof, a Shabbat Bencher; the VISA service program; the Taub Israel studies program and Jewish Life Liaisons; and Creating Commentary, a for-credit course on Judaism and the Arts, now offered at NYU, SUNY Purchase and University of Southern California.

In 2003, Rabbi Bachman and Rachel Altstein, along with several friends, founded Brooklyn Jews, an innovative outreach program for the many unaffiliated Jews who have made Brooklyn their home in the past decade. Based on the principles of openness and creativity, Brooklyn Jews quickly gained a national reputation for a fun new way to engage young Jews “where they're at.” Programs include First Fridays, the Gan Shalom Workshop (testing new ideas in Jewish children's education), Adult Learning, Social Action, and holiday celebrations. Brooklyn Jews is supported generously by Natan, the Nash Family Foundation, the Revson Foundation, UJA Federation of NY, and Avoda Arts. Rabbi Bachman writes a (almost) daily blog which may be found at  www.andybachman.com.

Returning to Beth Elohim to serve as its Rabbi is a long-held dream of Rabbi Bachman and both he and Rachel look forward to many blessed years of building, in collaboration with the membership of the Temple and the broader Brooklyn community, the best in Torah, Worship and Deeds of Loving Kindness.