Dear Friends:

This year has been quite a busy one in our Rabbinic Leadership Transition. We have spent the past many months honoring and thanking Rabbi Sussman for his 21 years as our distinguished Senior Rabbi and for his significant accomplishments both within our congregation and the greater community. Concurrently, a Rabbinic Search Committee met for nearly a year and after an exhaustive search recommended Rabbi Benjamin David to succeed Rabbi Sussman. Following the KI Board of Trustees’ overwhelming majority to confirm that recommendation, the transition for Rabbi David to KI began in earnest.

We are well aware that a transition for a new rabbi to understand our complex congregation and for our members to get to know him can take the better part of a year, if not longer. To that end, a Rabbinic Transition Core Committee was named several months ago to create the structure for this important work. The members include:

Karen Sirota, Rabbinic Transition Chair
Jaimie Shmelzer, KI Membership Engagement Director
Andrew Altman
Arlene Holtz
Cantor Amy Levy
Norma Meshkov
Ryan Perlman
Brian Rissinger
Carey Roseman
Janice Schwartz-Donahue

After its initial work, the Core Committee delineated nine key areas to be considered and planned for. That decision led to the Transition Committee expansion to include KI members who would then create opportunities for Rabbi David and our members to get to know each other. Those on the expanded Transition Committee include:

Jody Brookman
Lynore Eisman
Sue Fried
Yoni Greenbaum
Elyse Herman
Evonne Kruger
Karen Langsfeld
Caryl Levin
Sharon Rhodes
Pam Saltzburg
Lise Schwartz
Ellen Segalow
Paulette Sterman-Soroko
Susan Zaslow
Debbie Zlotnick

As a result, the Committee designated five transition areas to KI Executive Director Brian Rissinger to coordinate those administrative aspects. The four program areas and chairs were then named and are as follows:

KI Committees – Arlene Holtz and Carey Roseman
Small Group Welcomes – Jody Brookman
Large Group Welcomes – Pam Saltzburg and Debbie Zlotnick
Religious School Students and Families – Deborah Rosen and Ellen Segalow

Watch your email and e-KI for specifics. The success of this historic rabbinic transition depends on our members’ participation. So come join us in community to share in this new beginning and to offer a warm KI welcome to Rabbi David.

Sincerely,

Janice Schwartz-Donahue, KI President

Karen Sirota, KI Rabbinic Transition Chair

Jaimie Shmelzer, KI Membership Engagement Director