Rabbi Adams was born in Chicago. He received a BA in Religious Studies in 1977 from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He then attended Hebrew Union College and spent 4 years in Cincinatti and 1 year in Jerusalem. He received a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters in 1981.

He was ordained in 1982. His rabbinic thesis was a translation and analysis of a Hebrew novel written in the 1880's by Peretz Smolenskin.

He has served congregations in Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin. He also was the director of the Hillel at Kent State University.

Rabbi Adams believes that our religious tradition contains a wealth of wisdom which is often ignored or overlooked. He views his role of rabbi as being a teacher and hopes to share from this wisdom with the congregation in ways that will help enhance their lives.