Rabbi Joseph Kolakowski
Chaplain and Public Speaker

A) What qualities make the nominee deserving of the Z3 Bridge Builder Award?

Rabbi Joseph Kolakowski has been on the frontlines of building bridges between Jewish communities and those of other religious traditions for close to 20 years. Since 2018, he has served as the Chaplaincy Program Director at a state prison in Pennsylvania, leading a diverse group of chaplains of all faiths, as well as advocating and providing assistance to chaplains around the country. He has made special efforts to build bridges with groups that often are perceived to be at odds with the Jewish community, such as Muslims, Asatru, Messianics, NOI, and others. He also has a long track record of building understanding between Jewish movements. He has also advocated for Jewish causes in prison chaplaincy.

B) In what ways has the nominee demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to their work in bridging divides?

Rabbi Kolakowski is an award-winning Chaplain, Historian, and Public Speaker. He leads a diverse team of chaplains, and also is a known social-media influencer. He previously co-hosted a podcast about criminal justice reform and prison work which included several high-profile guests. He is also an advocate for conversion to Judaism, and has travelled the world to help underprivileged communities convert to Judaism. He is also a mental health chaplain who has advocated to help Jewish clients in mental hospitals. He is also a wedding officiant who has performed over 1000 weddings for clients of all religions.

C) How has the nominee's work impacted the Jewish community and beyond?

He has helped to advocate for the religious needs of Jews and people of other faiths in prisons and mental hospitals. This last year, the Jewish residents of one State Mental Hospital in New York State were almost denied access to Passover items at the set time according to Jewish law, and Rabbi Kolakowski advocated for them and successfully helped them to be allowed to have the Passover Seder at the proper halachic time. He has successfully advocated for access to religious items in prison, including items for Rastafarians, Sikhs, Pagans, and other religious groups.