January 26 – March 9, 2025

Rabbi Dimitry Ekshtut

Rabbi Dimitry Ekshtut is an educator, musician, and builder of Jewish community.
Born in Leningrad, USSR, Dimitry immigrated with his family at the age of five to Philadelphia, PA. While in middle and high school, he fell in love with the guitar, motivating him to move to New York and pursue a career as a professional musician. He holds a Bachelor’s of Music (Jazz Performance) degree and a Master’s of Music Education, both from New York University. Dimitry has had an active career teaching music in public, private, and charter schools throughout New York City. Since 2016, Dimitry has worked to build Jewish community in Harlem. Dimitry directs Base Harlem, a pluralistic, home-based, rabbi-led Jewish community through which he has welcomed over 3,000 unique individuals to his home for shabbat, holiday celebrations, learning, and service opportunities. He is also a co-founder of Kehillat Harlem, a progressive orthodox synagogue and prayer community in Upper Manhattan, and serves as an adjunct professor of Jewish Studies at City College of New York. Dimitry received rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT). He lives in Harlem with his wife, Erica, and their two daughters, Maayan and Dalia.