Rabbi Dr. Barry Freundel is the spiritual leader of Kesher Israel: The Georgetown Synagogue. He received his smicha from Yeshiva University and his Phd from Baltimore Hebrew University where he serves as an Assistant Professor of Rabbinics. He has also served as an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Maryland, an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University, and a Consultant to the Ethics Review Board of the National Institute of Aging of the National Institutes of Health. Rabbi Freundel is also head of the conversion committee of the Rabbinical Council of America.
Rabbi Freundel is Vice-President of the Vaad of Washington and is very involved in community issues in the Greater Washington area. He is regarded as a resource and authority on eruvim, and has assisted in their construction in a number of cities, including Washington. He is the author of Contemporary Orthodox Judaism's Response to Modernity published by KTAV in 2003 as well as numerous scholorly articles.