Search Process FAQs Why are we conducting a search for our next Senior Rabbi? After 22 years of distinguished service to the members of KI, our Senior Rabbi Lance Sussman is officially retiring from the KI pulpit on June 30, 2022. His last Shabbat on the pulpit will be June...
KI RABBINIC SEARCH COMMITTEE Search Committee Co-chairs Janice Schwartz-Donahue has been a member of KI for nearly 40 years although her family’s connection to KI reaches back to the 1920s. She taught 5th grade in Philadelphia for 39 years and was an active KI Sisterhood member, serving as Sisterhood Co-President...
August 16, 2021 Rabbinic Search – Congregation Survey Report Dear Congregants: We would like to thank those of you in our congregation who took the time to fill out the Rabbinic Search Congregation Survey. The information gleaned will help to inform the Search Committee’s work as we move through this...
July 14, 2021 Dear Congregants: As we begin our search for KI’s next Rabbi, we are creating opportunities for our members to be part of this sacred journey. At this onset, we have created a survey for members to complete so that we can identify those attributes and issues that...
July 12, 2021 Rabbinic Search Committee Begins Its Work Dear KI Members, In Pirkei Avot, the Sayings of the Founders, we are told, “Make for yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend.” Indeed, that has been true as we have been blessed for the past 21 years by the...
When and where are we worshipping? During July and August 2021, Friday Evening Services at 6:00 p.m. We were blessed with good weather for our opening Summer Shabbat Services in our “Tent of Meeting” on June 18th and 25th but on July 2nd the threat of thunderstorms led us inside...
Dear Congregants, In my January President’s Blog, I wrote about the Jewish values that were guiding our congregation throughout the pandemic. I continue to feel that it is of utmost importance that we be guided by the values of Pikuah Nefesh (Safeguarding Life) and Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh Bazeh (We...
Dear Keneseth Israel Community, In Rabbi Sussman’s letter, he shared news of his decision to step down from his position as KI’s Senior Rabbi and begin the next phase of his life. As with any significant change, I imagine that you may greet this news with a broad range of...
In the past, our Spring Celebration included dinner, dancing, music and entertainment. Call it a Gala, a Celebration, a Fundraiser, a Casino Night, or a Dinner Dance; it is KI’s tradition to plan an Annual Spring Event. Last year’s event honoring our current and past KI presidents was abruptly cancelled...
After a year of celebrating Jewish holidays in our homes, we are finally getting ready to march out of Egypt and leave those pesky plague/plagues behind. After a year of virtual celebrations, many of us have been immunized, and we are ready to step outside our homes and begin gathering...
