11 May 2012

Dear KI Family,

With mixed emotions, I write to share with you some news for my family and for this community.  It has been a great honor to serve KI as a rabbi for the past two years.  I have loved our open-hearted davenning, learning and conversation, and our shared work of continuing to build this community.  As many of you know, I am a Midwesterner by birth and at heart.  For more than a decade, while learning and living here in Boston, I have been longing for home.  An opportunity emerged this spring to return to my family and to serve as a rabbi the synagogue community that raised me in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Benj, Otto and I will be moving there after the holidays this fall.

As excited as we are about this new chapter in our lives as a family, we will say goodbye to the KI community with heavy hearts that are yet full of gratitude.  The rabbinical school at Hebrew College offered me excellent training, but you are the ones who have truly made me a rabbi.  It has been a tremendous privilege to walk with you in moments of vulnerability and celebration, to learn with you, plumbing the depth and breadth of Jewish tradition, and, most of all, to watch as this community grows, thickening the connections that sustain all of us in life, and blossoms as each of us brings our particular gifts to build and strengthen this community together.

I will look forward to connecting with you in the coming months we’ll spend together, through the summer and the fall holidays.  Please be in touch – I would love to find some time to sit together before we leave.  You can find me now and in the future at rabbiemma@gmail.com.  In many ways, KI is at an exciting and challenging juncture in its history, continuing to be a leader in shaping the future of the Jewish community as the shul charts its course for its second century.   I am sad to miss being a part of the continuing transformation and will look forward to watching from afar as KI continues to grow as a spiritual community and as a core institution of Boston’s urban Jewish community.

On Shabbat morning, I shared this news with the KI community in the d’var Torah, along with some reflections on our work together.  You can read that d’var Torah here.  It continues to be a pleasure to work with this congregation, especially with Rabbis Bill Hamilton and Rachel Silverman, Jason Skolnick and the KI board of trustees, the entire staff, and all of you who give of yourselves to make KI an engaged and powerful community.  May the KI community continue to go from strength to strength

With warmth, love and gratitude,

Rabbi Emma

Rejuvenation and inspiration await as our community spends Shabbat together at Camp Ramah in Palmer, MA, June 15-17. Highlights of our weekend include a Saturday night bonfire (with s’mores!), spirited davening, a softball game, swimming, and a warm, welcoming sense of community.

Applications are available here. Sign-up before April 20th for the regular rate – applications may be submitted after April 20th for an additional $25 fee per person, provided there is space remaining. Don’t be left behind!

Starting in the Fall, KIRS will meet three times a week – Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat mornings. You can read more about that change Next Year FAQs. Applications are due by May 1, with a $250 deposit. All KIRS families need to submit the Family Info, as well as an 2012:13 application for each student. A pricing worksheet can be found Pricing Worksheet. Families requesting financial assistance should speak with Rabbi Rachel (rabbirachel@congki.org).

Shalom,

I am delighted that you are interested in learning more about the prospect of joining me for this summer’s Jerusalem Hartman learning program.  It promises to be a rare opportunity to learn with the world’s best teachers for eight days of transformative learning and engagement from June 27-July 4 2012. 

I am particularly excited about personally sharing such content-rich learning with you in the heart of Jerusalem.  More details about “what to expect” and “costs” are available, while the theme for this summer’s learning will soon be announced.

I will be convening an informational orientation on Monday, January 30 in my study at 7:30 pm.  You can RSVP by contacting Jenny Wolfson in the KI office.  Jenny will also be pleased to answer additional questions about the program.

Looking forward to sharing THIS year in Jerusalem with you!

Rabbi William Hamilton

See Below for Important Program details

Program Cost: $1,700

Airfare Cost: Approximately $1,600 round trip from Boston

Lodging Cost: We have reserved rooms at the Inbal and at the Prima Royale (both close to the Hartman Institute).  Rooms range from the low $300 range/night ($2400 for the duration) for the Inbal and low-to-mid $100 range/night ($950 for the duration) at the Prima Royale.

KI thanks the following individuals who led services and read Torah and Haftarah this past Shabbat: Service leaders Benj Kamm and Rabbi Emma Kippley-Ogman; Torah readers Emily Fishman and Ron Shufrin; and Haftarah reader Bob Schildkraut.

Nitzanim will be led by Hadassah Margolis and Michael Goldstein from 10:45-11:45 am in Novakoff Hall.

Mini Minyan will be led by Isaac Yaeger from 10:45-11:45 am in Landers Hall. Isaac is hoping to become a permanent member of KI’s Youth Service Leadership Team. Please stop by and meet him.

Junior Congregation will be led by Jennifer Rudin and Beth Cohen from 10:45 -11:45 am in the Rabb Chapel. Beth is hoping to become a permanent member of KI’s Youth Service Leadership Team. Please stop by and meet her.

The congregation is invited to sanctify Shabbat with Kiddush in the Rabbi Louis Epstein Auditorium. Kiddush is sponsored by Ed and Erin Solovey on the birth of their daughter.

Rabbi Hamilton’s class, The Book That Changed My Life, will meet on Shabbat at 3:00 pm in the Rabb Chapel. The suggested reading this week is Chapters 13 of God In Search Of Man. This week’s class is titled “The Stirring.”

1. Daily Minyan: KI’s daily minyan, 7 am and 7 pm in the Rabb Chapel, is a vibrant moment of communal gathering and prayer.  Our minyan needs all of us to sustain it for the moments when we need it. If you’re willing to step up and BE COUNTED, to attend daily minyan on a regular basis, please click here.
2. KI Baby Meals: This program brings meals to families with new babies.  To opt-in to this group or for more information, please click here.
3. KI Helping Hands:  This group uses a system called Lotsa Helping Hands to systematize the way that requests for meals, errands, and other help are processed, publicized, and fulfilled. To join this group to stay updated on how to help your fellow congregants, please click here. Questions?  Email Emily.
4. KIRS: This email goes out on Thursdays, and is geared towards families with children ages 5-12.  It includes information about each religious school class, as well as other news for families with elementary aged children. To opt-in to this group, please click here.
5. KICKS:  This weekly email goes out on Wednesdays and is geared toward people who want to know about Friday night services and related activities.  To opt-in to this group, please click here.
6. Little Hands Playgroup: This weekly email goes out on Sundays and is geared towards families with children 0-5.  To opt-in to this group, please click here.
7. Young adults (20s and 30s): This email goes out only when something comes up for this age group.  It is not a weekly newsletter.  To opt-in to this group, please click here.
8. Young Families Shabbat Dinner Exchange Program: To opt-in to this group or for more information, please click here.  Dinners take place once a month, with three different families each month. We “match” the families and provide contact details. You connect and together decide on the date, whether the dinner will be hosted or potluck-style, and any other details.

It has been a great year for learning Ivrit at KIRS! While your children have made significant progress in writing, reading and vocabulary, it is important that over the summer they keep up the Hebrew they learned. As you know, 4 months is a long time to go without practicing a new skill.  This summer, KI is introducing a “Pizza and Practice” program.  Your children will have the opportunity to review their Hebrew skills with KIRS educators.

You can enroll your children now for any one or more of the sessions. We will meet on June 21, July 12, July 26, August 9, and August 23.

The cost for this program is $15 per student per session; $25 for two students from the same family. Please register and pay by June 8 by emailing Paula.

7:36 pm

KI COMMUNITY KABBALAT SHABBAT (KICKS)
6 pm

SHABBAT MORNING SERVICE
8:45 am

SHABBAT MINCHA / SEUDAH SHLISHIT / MA’ARIV
7:09 pm

HAVDALLAH
8:38 pm

WEEKDAY SHACHARIT SERVICE SCHEDULE
Sunday 8 am
Monday-Friday  7 am

WEEKDAY MA’ARIV
Sunday: 7 pm at 100 Centre St
Monday-Thursday:  7 pm

Shabbat Shekalim

CANDLE LIGHTING
5:06pm

FRIDAY MINCHA
5:11pm

KI COMMUNITY KABBALAT SHABBAT (KICKS)
5:15pm

SHABBAT MORNING SERVICE
8:45am

SHABBAT MINCHA / SEUDAH SHLISHIT / MA’ARIV
4:41pm

HAVDALLAH
6:02pm

WEEKDAY SHACHARIT SERVICE SCHEDULE

Sunday 8:00am
Monday – Wed 7:00am

Thurs-Fri   6:45am

WEEKDAY MA’ARIV
Sunday 7:00pm at 100 Centre St.
Monday – Thursday 7:00pm

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24th
Mincha at 5:15pm
KICKS at 5:15pm