Rabbi Armin serves Shir Hadash as a teacher and community builder, committed to creating a welcoming, intellectually curious, and spiritually grounded Jewish home.
Ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia, Rabbi Armin holds a PhD in Sociology from Humboldt University of Berlin, two MA’s in Jewish Studies, and is an alumnus of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Born in Germany to a family of Hungarian immigrants and raised in Austria and Hungary, Rabbi Armin brings a deep awareness of Jewish diversity, memory, and resilience to his rabbinate. Before moving to Milwaukee, he taught and led prayer in Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and unaffiliated communities across Europe, the United States, and Mexico. He currently serves as a dayan (rabbinic judge) on the Beit Din of Buda in Budapest.
Alongside his congregational work, Rabbi Armin is also a scholar whose work bridges social sciences, Jewish studies, and cultural analysis. He most recently served as Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Florida and previously held fellowships at Brandeis University and the University of Virginia. His writing appears both in academic publications and in public-facing outlets including The Forward, Evolve, and The Conversation.
For Rabbi Armin, scholarship and spiritual leadership are inseparable. He brings traditional Jewish texts and history into conversation with contemporary issues, especially around social and environmental justice, interfaith collaboration, and civic engagement. He believes in a “big-tent” Judaism that inspires learning, strengthens moral courage, and welcomes every member of the community.
Rabbi Armin can be reached at rabbi@shirmke.org.