Gratitude and Farewell to the Rabinovich Family
This Shabbat our community will bid farewell to the Rabinovich Family. Over the past three years Elishav and Ma’ayan led our community in deepening our connection to one another, to Torah and Mitzvot, to Israel, and to the Holy One. During these very difficult and challenging times in Israel, our connection to Israel through Ma’ayan and Elishav resonates even more deeply. As they begin their new journey in Israel, we pray that the Holy One bless the work of their hands, bestowing peace upon Israel and all of its inhabitants.

Welcoming Our New Shlichim, Director of Education and Community Engagement, 
and Bnot Sherut
 Pirkei Avot aptly teaches: “It is not for you to complete the task, but neither are you free to stand aside from it.” With that in mind, we are pleased to share with you information about critical additions to the educational and pastoral leadership of our community.

In early August our community will welcome Ayelet and Itay Hashay together with their three children. Both Ayelet and Itay will teach at OHDS (stay tuned for an announcement from OHDS later this summer) while Ayelet will also serve as a Youth Educator at CBI, taking on some of the Shabbat youth responsibilities carried out by Ma’ayan. Ayelet and Itay will also regularly host youth in our community for Shabbat meals and special programs, building on the critical accomplishments of Elishav and Ma’ayan. At this time we are especially grateful to OHDS for our continued work together. 

Ayelet holds a teaching degree in both music and Jewish studies. She has previously served as a Bat Ami in Toulouse, France, and has led children’s choirs in several schools in Israel. Both Ayelet and Itay grew up in the Yemenite community, and they very much look forward to sharing some of their customs with our CBI Family. The Hashays are also expecting a child in the coming months (be’shaah tovah) and we very much look forward to embracing them and supporting them at that time.

In mid-August our community will welcome Maharat Victoria Sutton together with her husband, Adam Brelow. Victoria, who visited our community over Shavuot, recently completed her studies at Yeshivat Maharat and will be serving CBI on a full time basis as our Director ofEducation and Community Engagement. During her visit to CBI, we were particularly impressed by her passion for teaching Torah and Halakah, her vast knowledge of Tanach and rabbinic sources, as well as by her warm demeanor and natural people skills. Over the last two years, Victoria served as the intern for synagogue education at Ohav Sholom, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Merrick, NY, where she was deeply loved by the community and was thoughtfully mentored by the shul’s rabbi.

In her capacity as Director of Education and Community Engagement at CBI, Maharat Victoria will teach adult education classes, direct and supervise our Shabbat youth education program, work closely with our Community Building Team in helping to foster closer relationships between members of our CBI Family, and as importantly, help support the pastoral and programmatic work of our rabbi. We are particularly grateful to Zelda Stern, an important philanthropic leader in the Modern Orthodoxy community, for her generous support of this position over the next two years.  

Finally, in late August we will also welcome two new Bnot Sherut. At this time, we feel especially indebted to the Sudikoff family for their generous hospitality this past year as well as for this upcoming year. Please stay tuned for an official announcement from both OHDS and CBI later this summer.

The expansion of our educational and pastoral leadership is indicative of the growth we envision for ourselves as individuals and as a community. It is ultimately an invitation to each one of us, and all of us together, to engage more deeply in Torah learning, in Torah living, and in building our community and our relationships with one another. We hope that each one of us will play a role in welcoming these new leaders and educators into our community to help support our combined success.

Finally, we wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude to our outgoing CBI board for their diligent work on this critical matter. We were particularly blessed to work closely with Paul Albert, Mark Schickman, Steve Silberblatt, and Joelle Yzquierdo during this hiring process. We remain grateful to the Tauber Fund for their continued generous support of our community and the work and vision of the rabbi.

Most importantly, we are grateful to you, the CBI Family, for your deep dedication, generous investment, and vibrant engagement. May the Holy One continue to bless the work of our hands.

With prayers for peace in Israel,
 
Irene Resnikoff, President
Lois Marcus, Outgoing President    
Yonatan Cohen, Rabbi