Benjamin J. Samuels has served as rabbi of Cong. Shaarei Tefillah of Newton Centre since 1995, and teaches widely in the Boston Jewish community. He earned his semikhah (rabbinical ordination) from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, holds a PhD in Science, Philosophy, and Religion from Boston University, and received an MA in Biblical Studies and Medieval Jewish History, and a BA in English Literature from Yeshiva University.