Rabbi Appelbaum grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY in which he saw his father become the founding and long serving president of Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser’s shul. He graduated from Brooklyn College and received semicha, rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in 2009 under Rabbi Dov Linzer, Rabbi Yaakov Love, Rabbi Ysoscher Katz and Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot. Following this, he learned in Yeshiva Ohr Chaim in Kew Garden Hills, Queens, NY under Rabbi Doniel Lander.
Rabbi Appelbaum served as the rabbi at the Greenpoint Shul in Brooklyn, NY, for ten years. Over that time, he helped grow the shul, as Williamsburg and Greenpoint also saw a renaissance in popularity. He, along with various committees, helped cultivate events such as monthly Friday night dinners with speakers, holiday programming, and other events which attracted a wide variety of people. The shul has been written up in the Jewish Week here.
Maurice is currently an ACPE Certified Educator at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey and for Spiritual Health at Emory Healthcare where he is training aspiring chaplains in spiritual care through the course, Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).
Rabbi Appelbaum has been working with prospective converts for over 10 years, serving as the sponsoring rabbi for numerous converts who went through the RCA, Beth Din of American in Manhattan. He also served on numerous batei din for converts directly. Combined he has helped work with over 40 successful converts. Rabbi Appelbaum lives in Teaneck, NJ with his wife, Rebeccah, and their four children.
Judaism Class 