Nachum Shifren

Nachum Shifren, born around 1951 and known as the Surfing Rabbi, is an Orthodox Lubavitcher Chassidic rabbi, published author and surfer from southern California. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley, learned to surf as a youth and worked as a lifeguard in Malibu, where his mentor Tommy Zahn instilled a passion for competitive paddleboarding; he has completed the 32 mile Catalina Classic paddleboard race three times. After studying Spanish and German literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduate work at the University of Gottingen, he was ordained as a rabbi in Israel in 1990 and later taught Spanish in Los Angeles. He founded Jewish Surfers International and the Surf and Soul newsletter, leads annual Kosher Surf Camp trips to Costa Rica, and wrote Surfing Rabbi and Surfers Who Don't Surf. The English Wikipedia article also records his public political statements and activism, which drew press coverage and criticism.