Kol Nidrei Address by Chairman of the Board Marc Becker
Shanah tovah!
Rabbi Ethan Witkovsky will join Park Avenue Synagogue’s clergy as Assistant Rabbi, beginning on July 1, 2014. The Assistant Rabbi Search Committee recommended Rabbi Witkovsky to the Board after a long and thoughtful search process, and the Board approved the appointment.
Rabbi Witkovsky was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in May. He grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and went to Ramah Camps as a camper, a group leader and a member of the educational staff. He attended Oberlin College, where he majored in Classics and Jewish Studies, and then studied at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem before beginning his rabbinic program. Rabbi Witkovsky has worked in various rabbinic roles at Pelham Jewish Center, Pelham, New York; Congregation Shir Chadash, New Orleans, Louisiana; and Temple Israel Center, White Plains, New York. He has served as a guest teacher and Rabbi-in-Residence at many institutions. Rabbi Witkovsky is married to Erin Beser, who is the Director of Family Education at Temple Israel Center in White Plains.
Park Avenue Synagogue is thrilled to have someone with Rabbi Witkovsky’s background and intellect will be rounding out the rabbinic team. Rabbi Cosgrove and Rabbi Zuckerman have spent many hours with Rabbi Witkovsky, and they wholeheartedly endorsed the Search Committee’s recommendation.
The process leading to Rabbi Witkovsky's appointment began in January. An Assistant Rabbi Search Committee was charged with finding an about-to-be or recently ordained rabbi who has a gifted intellect, relevant experience and a proven track record of relating to young people. Committee members were Paul Corwin (chair), Nadine Habousha Cohen, Jason Dolinsky, Mark First, Eddie Fischer, Lizzy Markus, Jimmy Rosenfield, Suzette Rubinstein, Steven Wasserman and Meryl Wiener. The committee tirelessly reviewed resumes, interviewed applicants and narrowed the field by having callback interviews with the finalists, all of whom were fifth-year students or recent graduates of two Conservative seminaries, the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies.
Because the Assistant Rabbi’s job description includes enhancing our outreach to and programming for teens, college students and young adults, the committee included representatives of those groups in the search process. We invited almost 80 young adults who grew up in our community to attend informal dinners to hear the finalists speak and ask them questions. More than 40 individuals attended at least one finalist dinner, and some participated in two or three of the dinners. Participants completed surveys afterwards, and their reactions and comments were included in the decision-making process. We are especially excited that our teens and young adults were overwhelmingly positive about Rabbi Witkovsky. We look forward to his outreach towards and engagement of these demographic groups.
We hope that you will come to the synagogue over the summer and meet Rabbi Witkovsky at Kabbalat Shabbat or Shabbat morning services, and summer learning or “fun” events. Look here on pasyn.org and read the summer issue of the Bulletin for other opportunities to meet Rabbi Witkovsky. To “meet” him now, click here to hear and watch his JTS senior sermon on YouTube. We hope that you will come to welcome and embrace him as your rabbi.
Arthur Penn, Chairman
Paul M. Corwin, President and Chair
Rabbinic Search Committee