Congregation B’nai Israel Welcomes its New Rabbi
Congregation B’nai Israel, CBI is excited to share that it has concluded its search process and Rabbi Adam Greenwald has agreed to become the next spiritual leader of CBI succeeding Rabbi Spitz and the interim leader, Rabbi Goldstein. Rabbi Greenwald will begin his new role and exciting journey in July of this year.
Rabbi Greenwald is a committed and dedicated religious leader, hardworking, insightful, and eager to work with the staff and lay leadership to set the foundation for the next chapter of the great CBI community. His “hamish warmth,” humility, commitment to Jewish inclusion and strong teaching skills, along with his 12-year relationship to the community, make him an ideal choice to lead the congregation.
CBI congratulates Rabbi Greenwald for a great process and warmly welcome him, Anne and Gracie to the community.
From the outset, the congregation embarked on an extensive search process spanning two (2) years, two (2) committees and conversations with many congregants to find a full-time successor to Rabbi Spitz. The process was thoughtful, thorough, and as transparent as possible while respecting the privacy of the applicants. CBI made its congregants’ voices a priority in the process, culminating in surveys on both the finalists that between the two, generated approximately 300 responses for the search committee to take into consideration. Throughout the process, CBI corresponded and communicated with its members and those efforts paid great dividends. In this hyper-competitive environment with too few rabbis chasing too many openings, CBI showed very well and was fortunate to have 12 applicants for the role and yielded three finalists, two of which met the congregation for in-person long weekends.
The search committee would like to thank everyone for their inputs and participation, their welcoming warmth during the pandemic and just showing up in numbers – it made a significant difference in the quality of the process (noticed by the applicants and especially felt by the finalists) and in the quality of a great outcome.
At this time, the Board would like to say thank you again to the search committee who conducted themselves with great care, integrity, and energy on behalf of the congregation. A special thank you goes out to the following individuals
Mike Vishny (Chair of the Committee), Sheri Bilewitz, Brigitte Frankel, Jacob Green, Arie Katz, Joey Tendler, Mika Daniels, Marc Goldin, Michelle Greenberg, Bob Sklar and Diana Velazquez.
Their commitment and contributions in this environment were unprecedented.
CBI would also like to thank Rabbi Ben Goldstein for his guiding during this time and the strength and stability he has maintained during this phase of the pandemic after Rabbi Spitz’s retirement. CBI will have time to thank Rabbi Ben more formally as summer approaches, but wanted to acknowledge his contributions to the community now as well.
CBI now moves to a next phase as a community where it will be planning the onboarding of Rabbi Greenwald and create chances for its members to meet and get to know him better. It will be organizing welcome opportunities leading into the high holiday season. CBI is thankful for its wonderful community that welcomes Rabbi and his family with great warmth and open arms.
Watchdog group encourages Senate approval of renowned Holocaust historian
In response to the recent recommendation by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of renowned Holocaust historian Dr. Deborah Lipstadt as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, watchdog group StopAntisemitism released the following statement:
“Following the NYPD’s recent announcement of antisemitism rising 400% month-over-month we applaud the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for recommending Dr. Lipstadt for this vital position. Now more than ever we need a government official in this crucial position and Dr. Lipstadt is our country’s foremost expert to combat the fight against antisemitism. We look forward to swift and bipartisan confirmation because antisemitism must never be politicized.”
About StopAntisemitism:
StopAntisemitism is a grassroots watchdog organization dedicated to exposing groups and individuals that espouse incitement towards the Jewish people and State and engage in antisemitic behaviors. Founded by Liora Rez in 2018, StopAntisemitism was born in response to increasing antisemitic violence and sentiment across the United States. To learn more, visit: www.StopAntisemitism.org.
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