Rodef Shalom

Rabbi Aaron Bisno

Rabbi Aaron Benjamin Bisno—ninth Rabbi of Rodef Shalom—is the senior spiritual leader of our congregation. With more than 1,100 member-households in his care, Rabbi Bisno is at the helm of all worship, pastoral care, and lifecycle events within our community. He is also charged with overseeing our Family Center, directed by Mimsie Leyton; our Religious School, led by Susan Loethner; our adult education programs; and our liturgical music, the bailiwick of Acting Director Don Megahan. 

Rabbi Bisno is assisted by Rabbis Sharyn Henry and Amy Hertz. Rabbi Emeritus and Senior Scholar Dr. Walter Jacob completes the Rodef Shalom rabbinic team.

With his wife, Michelle, Rabbi Bisno arrived at Rodef Shalom in June 2004. Within months, the couple’s first child, Adam Jordan, joined their family and our congregation. Their second son, Michael Judah, was welcomed into the world in July 2008. Rabbi Bisno is known for his affability, accessibility, and the ease with which he relates to all members of our congregation—as well as his warm embrace of preaching, teaching, and leading. These attributes, along with his experience in matters pastoral, programmatic, and organizational, make him an ideal fit for Rodef Shalom.

Rabbi Bisno was ordained in 1996. The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati provided his education and training and is also where he earned his master’s degree in Hebrew Letters in 1995. Rabbi Bisno’s additional education includes a bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, from which he graduated in 1990, and a master’s degree in Organizational Dynamics, conferred by the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.

Prior to his arrival in Pittsburgh, Rabbi Bisno served as Associate Rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia for six years. His career began shortly after his 1996 ordination when he became executive director of the Hillel Jewish Center at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, a position he held until 1998.

Rabbi Bisno is currently Rabbinic Co-Chair of the Union for Reform Judaism's Pennsylvania Council's Commission on Outreach and a member of the URJ-CCAR's Joint Commission on Outreach and Synagogue Community. Additionally, he is a former Chair of the Pittsburgh Reform Rabbis Council, and he is a Past President of the Greater Pittsburgh Rabbinic Association (GPRA). He serves on Pittsburgh's United Jewish Federation's Community and Public Affairs Committee (CPAC), teaches in The Florence Melton Mini-School Adult Education Program, and is on the Board of Community Day, Pittsburgh's Jewish Day School.

In 2007, Rabbi Bisno was recognized by Pittsburgh Magazine and Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project (PUMP) as a "40 under 40" honoree. The award honors those under the age of 40 who are making a positive impact on the region.

In 2011, Rabbi Bisno received two distinguished awards during a special Catholic Mass at Saint Paul Cathedral. In recognition of the many ways that he has enriched interfaith dialogue and respect between the Jewish and Catholic communities, the Most Reverend David A. Zubik, Bishop of Pittsburgh, named Rabbi Bisno a recipient of the Church Alive! Award from the Diocese of Pittsburgh. In addition, Pope Benedict XVI awarded Rabbi Bisno with the Benemerenti Medal, a papal honor in recognition of “outstanding contributions to interfaith relations.” The Benemerenti Medal (which translated means “to a well-deserving person”) was instituted by the Holy See in 1832 to recognize those who have provided unique service to the Church. These awards were presented seven months after Rodef Shalom honored the Bishop with its inaugural “Pursuer of Peace” Award and three months after Rabbi Bisno and Bishop Zubik led 28 Jews and Catholics on an interfaith pilgrimage to Rome and Israel. It was the Rabbi's first trip to Rome and the Bishop’s first trip to Israel.

Rabbi Bisno would love to hear from you. You can reach him by phone or by email through the information listed on this page.