Joseph Potasnik

Joseph Potasnik (born December 15, 1946) is a rabbi and radio show host. He currently serves as the executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis.

Biography and education

Raised in Lynn, Massachusetts, Potasnik is the only child of two Holocaust survivors. His Jewish parents, mother Anne, and father Herman, who met after World War II and have both died, very rarely spoke to him about the loss of their families and their own grief. Potasnik believes this was to shelter him from the ordeal.

Potasnik graduated from Yeshiva University in 1972 and continued on to receive a master's degree from Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, a division of YU. He then obtained a law degree from Brooklyn Law School.

Potasnik officiated at the wedding of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Potasnik is divorced. He has one son.

Career

Potasnik is the rabbi emeritus at Congregation Mt. Sinai in Brooklyn Heights, New York.

In December 2019, he published his book based on the one-minute sermons he gives on 1010-WINS in New York. It's called Just Give Me a Minute, published by The Wordsmithy, LLC (www.justgivemeaminute.net).

Together with Rev. AR Bernard, Potasnik co-hosts The Rev and The Rabbi on WABC Talk Radio 77 in New York since 2018. Previously he co-hosted Religion on the Line show since its inception in 1982. He is the religious commentator for 1010-WINS radio.

He serves as FDNY and Fraternal Order of Police chaplains. Beginning from the first days after September 11, Potasnik has continued to serve as a counselor to many of the surviving family members of firefighters and other first respondents who were killed that day.In October 2025, the FDNY promoted Potasnik to be its Chief Chaplain.

In response to a post by New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani on October 7, 2026, the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks, which was perceived as downplaying Jewish grief by focusing on the impact on Palestinians in Gaza, Potasnik said that there were would always be appropriate opportunities to address different opinions, but that "This is a day of mourning for us. Just give us that day."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bio: Rabbi Joseph Potasnik Archived 2010-12-30 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 The Brooklyn Paper Checkin' in with Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, June 9, 2007
  3. 1 2 The Published Reporter Understanding The Nature Of Evil That Long Preceded 9/11; Famed Rabbi’s Tale Of Fighting Hatred Through Interfaith Dialogue, January 31, 2020
  4. ↑ "77 WABC Radio New York - Religion on the Line". Archived from the original on December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  5. ↑ https://www.nyc.gov/site/fdny/news/Y1027/fdny-promotes-fire-operations-members-chief-chaplain-ceremony-staten-island
  6. ↑ Stack, Liam. "Mamdani Draws Anger With Oct. 7 Statement Focused on Palestinians After calling the anniversary of the attacks on Israel 'profoundly painful,' Mayor Zohran Mamdani denounced Israel’s military action in Gaza, prompting criticism from some Jewish leaders.", The New York Times, October 7, 2026. Accessed October 7, 2026. "Mayor Zohran Mamdani ignited intense anger from Jewish groups on Wednesday when he issued a statement marking the third anniversary of the deadly Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that focused largely on the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza."
  7. ↑ Tuchman, Lindsay. "Mayor Mamdani booed at Union Square vigil marking 3 years since Oct. 7", ABC News, October 7, 2026. Accessed October 7, 2026. "Meanwhile, the mayor drew additional criticism after releasing an Oct. 7 statement earlier Wednesday. In the statement, he described the anniversary as 'profoundly painful.'... The post prompted backlash from Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, marking the latest development in the mayor's complex and often tense relationship with New York's Jewish population.... 'This is a day of mourning for us. Just give us that day. We can have all the other discussions, debates, on different days. But don't do it today," Rabbi Joe Potasnik said."