Rabbi Nachum Shifren is a native of Southern California, where he
received his primary and secondary education. A consummate athlete, he
became a competitive swimmer, runner and triathalete, and competed in the
Los Angeles Triathlon. He was a Los Angeles County Lifeguard for 10 years
and received a commendation from the City of Los Angeles for lifesaving
water rescue.While attending Pierce College in 1973, at the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, he visited Israel and became a Kibbutz volunteer. In 1977 he emigrated to Israel, where he served in the Israeli Defense Forces, and completed two years of Army service. He studied and received a degree in Combat Fitness Training at Machon Wingate in Netanya.
Rabbi Shifren received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Santa Barbara in both Spanish and German Literature. He did his graduate studies in the U.S. and in West Germany at the University of Goettingen. Rabbi Shifren is a language teacher, and is fluent in Spanish, German, Biblical and modern Hebrew, and Yiddish.
Rabbi Shifren's Torah studies include learning at Toras Chayim Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and Harayon HaYehudi. He continued his studies at Yeshivat Tomchei Tmimim in Kfar Chabad, Israel, where he received his Rabbinical Ordination.
He has appeared on college campuses, as a guest on radio and TV talk/news shows and has been featured in print media, including The Los Angeles Times, The Jewish Journal, the Jerusalem Post in Israel and Surfer magazine, as well as Le Figaro in France and other international media. He has also been featured on ABC's Good Morning America, Phil Donohue and other television programs. He is the director of Jewish Surfers International and publisher of "Surf & Soul" newsletter.
In 1995, Rabbi Shifren and his wife, Rivkah and 3 children made aliyah to Israel. He is still actively involved in physical fitness, aquatics and water safety. He continues to publish, lecture and teach - and is affectionately known as "The Surfing Rabbi".