Rabbi Raphael Nemetsky grew up in Borough Park, New York, and attended Hasidic elementary schools. For high school and post high school instruction, he attended the Rabbinical Seminary of America in Queens and its satellite campuses in Rochester, New York, and New Haven, Connecticut. He also spent a year and a half in Israel, receiving his B.A. in Talmudic Arts and Rabbinical Ordination. He then received his M.A. in Elementary Education from Adelphi University.

Rabbi Nemetsky’s twenty-five years in Jewish Education have taken him from teaching in Binghamton, New York, to positions as a principal in Monticello, New York; Hollywood, Florida; and Indianapolis, Indiana. He is currently completing his third year at the United Hebrew Institute in Kingston. He is active in the Jewish community, particularly with children. In the past, he was the volunteer Youth Services Coordinator for the local synagogue and co-coordinated its Teen services.

In addition to his career in Jewish Education, he has also served as a chaplain for the New York State Department of Corrections. His hobbies include biking, woodworking, and gardening. He has five children ages 15 to 25 and he is now a proud grandfather.

With his long career as an educator, Rabbi Nemetsky sees the function of a synagogue as a conduit to continued learning. Besides short sermons, he teaches each evening at services, on Shabbat afternoon, and maintains other classes in the community. He also prepares the children for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah.