Meet the Hellers

Rabbi Avi Heller
Rabbi Avi and his wife Shira will be JLIC campus educators at BU this year. Rabbi Heller also acts as Rabbi and co-rav hamachshir for Kosher dining at BU Hillel and as a university chaplain for BU.

Rabbi Heller grew up in Denver, Colorado where he first developed his love of Torah, family, and football. He went on to study at BU, and graduated 11 years ago (UNI ‘97) with a BA in Political Science and International Relations. After graduating, he worked for a year in the Hillel International Center in Washington D.C., where he had the opportunity to visit Hillels all over the country. BU Hillel has remained his favorite.

During his years of learning, Rabbi Heller was fortunate to spend four years studying in the holy city of Jerusalem. He received his Rabbinic ordination and a Masters in Bible from Yeshiva University and has also studied in Sha’alvim (’91-’92) and Yeshivat Har Etzion (‘94’95).

Prior to coming to Boston, Rabbi Heller was the Director of the Community Kollel in Boca Raton, Florida.  In this job, he was deeply involved in providing education and inspiration to Jews of all ages and backgrounds. He also was the rabbi and spiritual leader of a new (and rapidly growing) synagogue in West Boca.

Rabbi Heller is married to Shira, his college sweetheart (CAS ‘98), and they have three wonderful children, Nadav Simcha (BU class of ‘23), Rinat Miryam (BU class of ‘26) and Uriel Moshe (class of ’29). They are all happy to be back in Boston, but are unsure of whether or not they will ever become Red Sox or Patriot fans.  Rabbi Heller remains a passionate Denver Broncos fan and enjoys Torah study, long-distance running, music, and crossword puzzles, among other things. 

Shira Heller
Shira Heller grew up in Queens, New York where she developed her love of Jewish communal life in BBYO. She majored in Religion and minored in Hebrew at BU (CAS ’98). During her Boston University years, she also met her husband, Rabbi Avi Heller (UNI ’97). Since college, Shira has worked for Hillel at Baruch College, studied and worked in Israel, and spent the last few years teaching middle school English in South Florida. Shira lives in Brookline with Rabbi Heller and her three children.