Kol Nidrei Address by Chairman of the Board Mark First
Mark First, Chairman of the Board
September 24, 2023 ~ 10 Tishrei 5784
Park Avenue Synagogue announces the appointment of Rabbi Charles E. Savenor as Director of Congregational Education. Rabbi Savenor will be responsible for all aspects of religious and cultural educational programming for our congregation, succeeding Rabbi Neil Zuckerman. He will lead our outstanding team of dynamic and experienced educational leaders at PAS, helping to strengthen the integration and collaborative synergy of our lifelong learning programming from Young Family Education and the Early Childhood Center, through the Congregational School, Rabbi Judah Nadich High School, and Adult Education, including Travel Education. He will maintain our standards of educational excellence, pursue targeted additional growth, and work in partnership with the lay leadership of our Arms, Music Center, Day School Committee, and others.
Rabbi Savenor is a distinguished leader of the Conservative Movement and highly accomplished innovator in Jewish education. He is a skilled creator and senior administrator of programs that have had a significant impact on the Conservative Movement’s synagogues and the leadership development of its lay and clergy leaders.
Rabbi Savenor comes to PAS from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), where he served as the Director of Kehilla (Congregational) Development (2011 to present) and as Executive Director of its Metropolitan New York District (2008-2011). He was an international resource for 620 affiliated Conservative synagogues in the areas of leadership, organizational development, strategic planning, communications, volunteer engagement, curriculum, youth programming, and enrichment. In addition to organizing conferences, workshops and webinars throughout North America, he served as the lead program developer for United Synagogue’s recent Centennial Celebration, which was the Conservative Movement’s largest gathering in years. An expert in travel education, he directed “Family Israel Experience” journeys to Israel.
Prior to USCJ, Rabbi Savenor was the Associate Dean and Director of Admissions at the Jewish Theological Seminary (2001-2008). He developed new outreach and marketing initiatives for the Rabbinical School, engaged donors in the creation of student fellowships, taught professional development seminars, partnered with faculty on curriculum development, and organized student missions to Germany and Israel. Previously, Rabbi Savenor was Associate Rabbi at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago (1996-2001), where he served as the lead clergyperson for the young adult community, engaging them and young families in collaboration with the local JCC. He designed award-winning programming for high school youth and for a year directed the Religious School, where he was responsible for curriculum development, strategic planning, and hiring and training faculty. In addition to his pulpit and life cycle responsibilities, he supervised staff, including the Youth Director and Educational Director, taught extensively across generations, developed the “College Connection” initiative, oversaw travel education, and directed the “Jews By Choice” program.
Rabbi Savenor graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A., summa cum laude, in History/Near Eastern and Judaic Studies (1991), having spent his junior year studying at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was ordained at JTS in 1996 with a concentration in Education. He further developed his expertise in this area with a Masters of Education at Columbia University, Teachers College in 2008.
Rabbi Savenor currently serves on the National Rabbinic Cabinet of United Jewish Communities and Brandeis University’s Alumni Admissions Council. In the past, he has served on the Executive Committee of the Rabbinic Counsel of Israel Bonds, the National Board of Advisors of American Jewish World Service, and the Rabbinic Advisory Committee of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs in Chicago. He was Education Chair of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, and served on the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation for Jewish Education in Chicago. He was International President of United Synagogue Youth (1987), and received USY’s International Alumnus of the Year Award (2012).
A prolific writer, Rabbi Savenor’s articles on parenting and fatherhood can be found at FamilyInOrbit.com, a blog on topics that impact modern families. He and his wife, Julie Walpert, are the parents of two young boys, Joseph and Benjamin.
We greatly appreciate the collaboration between our lay leaders and professional staff during this search process. In addition to Rabbi Cosgrove, Rabbi Zuckerman and Beryl Chernov, we extend a special thanks to members of the DCE Search Committee who have been working together on this search since late January: Darcy Dalton, Eddie Fisher, Lauren Klein, Howard Rubin, and Amy Steiner. Whether it was writing an updated job description, reaching out to Jewish communal professionals, or meeting with qualified candidates, they approached this search thoughtfully and diligently with the goal of finding an educational leader and manager who would take our lifelong learning efforts from strength to greater strength. We all believe that we have found that in Rabbi Savenor.
We look forward to Rabbi Savenor joining PAS on July 16 and to benefiting from his passionate commitment to advance our vibrant learning community as a model of educational creativity, innovation, and excellence. And we know that Rabbi Savenor is looking forward to meeting you!
Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, Senior Rabbi
Art Penn, Chairman
Jean Bloch Rosensaft, Officer, Adult Education
Natalie W. Barth, Officer, Youth Education