About Our Rabbi
Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker
Charlie Cytron-Walker became the rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem, NC on July 1, 2022.
Rabbi Charlie arrives at Temple Emanuel with a history of working to bring a sense of spirituality, compassion, and learning into the lives of the community. He loves finding a connection with people of every age and strives to welcome all who enter the congregation, from interfaith families to LGBTQ+ individuals and families to those seeking to find a spiritual home in Judaism, along with all others.
He previously served at Congregation Beth Israel (CBI) in Colleyville, TX since 2006. He was CBI’s first full-time rabbi.
He developed positive relationships with local school districts and helped organized interfaith gatherings including numerous vigils, walks, and relationship building events. He is a past President of the Southwest Association of Reform Rabbis and served on the steering committee of Peace Together. In 2022, he was honored as a Hero Against Hate by the Texoma Anti-Defamation League and recently served as a Special Advisor to the ADL.
On January 15, 2022 Rabbi Charlie and three CBI congregants were held hostage by a gunman in the CBI sanctuary. After an 11-hour standoff, all the hostages were able to escape when Rabbi Charlie threw a chair at the gunman, distracting him long enough for everyone to get out of the building. Since then, he has spoken out on the importance of security training for religious communities, and especially small congregations, as well as the need to build stronger bridges between faith communities, especially on a local level. He has spoken at the White House, testified before U.S. Senate and House Committees, has been published in news sources including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and has been interviewed and/or profiled for outlets from CNN to CBS.
Rabbi Charlie is originally from Lansing, Michigan and he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1998. After graduating, Rabbi Charlie worked at Focus: HOPE, a civil and human rights organization in Detroit, Michigan, and then became the assistant director of the Amherst Survival Center, which housed a food pantry, free store, and soup kitchen in North Amherst, Massachusetts.
Rabbi Charlie attended Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion at its Jerusalem and Cincinnati campuses, receiving his rabbinical ordination in 2006 and M.A. in Hebrew Letters in 2005. His rabbinical thesis was titled, “Jewish Service-Learning: Integrating Talmud Torah and Ma’asim Tovim.” As a student, he served congregations in Ishpeming, MI, Fort Walton Beach, FL, and Cincinnati, OH. During his time at HUC-JIR, he received multiple awards for his service to the community, along with an award for leadership from QESHET: A Network of LGBT Reform Rabbis.
Rabbi Charlie remains completely in love with Adena Cytron-Walker and simply adores his two daughters.
(October 2024)
Wed, April 30 2025
2 Iyar 5785
Photo of the Month
In the News
Op-Ed: Together, here's how we can reduce hate. August 25, 2024
Old Gold & Black (Wake Forest University)
Op-Ed: Most Israelis support two states. Sadly, Hamas does not, January 26, 2024
Israel-Gaza News Resources (from Staying Connected)
Times of Israel Blog Post: October 27, 2023
WXII 12: Israel Solidarity Service, October 10, 2023
Six Jewish Scholars speak on the death Penalty
VIDEO: Rabbi Charlie delivers remarks at ADL National Leadership Summit
VIDEO: D'var Torah, April 28, 2023
Rabbi Charlie delivers remarks at Israel's Diaspora Week celebration (30 min into video)
Rabbi Charlie receives the inaugural Upstander Award from the Stan Greenspon Center
One year after being held hostage, Rabbi Charlie is ‘grateful to be alive’
CNN Op-Ed: What I learned about antisemitism with a gun pointed at my head
The Forward 125: December 2022
Rabbi Charlie at the White House: December 2022
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