Rabbi Basil Herring

Rabbi Dr. Basil Herring is the Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Council of America. He has served in that position since July 2003.

From 1994 till 2003, Rabbi Herring served as Executive Chairman of The Orthodox Caucus, a dynamic national group of leading rabbinic and lay leaders. In this capacity, Rabbi Herring was responsible for implementing a broad array of national as well as regional and local projects and initiatives on critical issues confronting the Orthodox and Jewish communities.

Over the course of a distinguished 30 year career in the congregational rabbinate, Rabbi Herring led congregations in Kingston NY, Ottawa Ontario, and Atlantic Beach NY.

Rabbi Herring has authored a number of books and articles on a variety of topics. These include studies in Jewish philosophy and Biblical commentary, several widely used and quoted volumes dealing with Jewish ethics and contemporary issues, a manual for rabbis and synagogues on practical aspects of the modern rabbinate, a volume of sermons, and another on Jewish prenuptial agreements. He has also edited and published a monthly subscription newsletter for rabbis.

Born in South Africa, Rabbi Herring studied there, as well as at Yeshivat Kerem Beyavneh in Israel, before coming to the U.S., where he received both his Semichah and Ph.d (in Medieval Jewish Philosophy) from Yeshiva University and its affiliated RIETS seminary.  Rabbi Herring lectures widely on the interface between Torah, Orthodoxy, the Jewish community, and modern society.

He and his wife Sherri are the proud parents of 4 children, and six grandchildren.