Community

Spirituality

New rabbi at
Young Israel
of Oak Park
will keep focus
on Jewish unity.

Rabbi Reuven Spolter

Leadershi

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer

hen Young Israel of
Oak Park's Rabbi
Steven Weil and his
family moved to
California last August, the congrega-
tion was barraged with so many
resumes from prospective successors
they had to enlist outside help in
sorting through them.
"The resumes just kept coming
out of the woodwork from across the
country," says Ruvi Singal, the syna-
gogue's president.
There was such an influx that they

first filtered them through the
National Council of Young Israe.! and
a consortium composed of Yeshiva
University, the Orthodox Union and
Rabbinical Council of America, all in
New York. They received back only
resumes with criteria that most
matched the congregation's require-
ments.
After months of rex-ielA , and four
rabbis each spending a weekend with
Young Israel congregants, one narn,
came out on top -- Rabbi Reu ✓en
Spolter.
"He's the one I wani- ed," Singal
says. "I was very impressed with
rabbi. He is very enthusiastic, has a

lot of energy, lots of new ideas and
w• have a let of younger families
with kids who liked him a lot."
In town next month to house-
hunt, the rabbi will officially begin
his position ar the 250-member fam
ily Young Israel in June.

About The Rabbi

Rabbi Spolter has been rabbi of the
I25-member family Congregation
Agudas Achim in West Hartford,
Conn.., since 1998.
obiecLive as a pulpit rabbi
(.•!.1riching spiritual life
through a pass i onate excitement for
lev.: ,.sh practice, learning

—

2/9

2001

52

and living.
As one committed to creating
innovative and challenging educa-
tional programs, Rabbi Spolter says,
"One idea that I would love to
implement is targeted classes. No
one class is appropriate for every
member of a shul, but I would like
to initiate classes that appeal to dif-
ferent segments of the community."
A priority for programming will
be to implement a Living Room
Limud, a program of study in peo-
ple's homes. "In this way, we create a
warm atmosphere of community,
but focus it not only in the shul, but
in our homes as well."
Exhibiting a sense of humor, while
still knowing what is important to
affiliation with an Orthodox syna-
gogue, Rabbi Spolter describes him-
self as a baal tefillah (service leader),
occasional baal koreh (Torah reader)
and a frequent cholent (Shabbat
lunchtime stew) chef."
Joseph Greenberg, a past president
of Young Israel of Oak Park, says,
"Our shul does make a once-a-
month Kiddush, but we won't call
on the rabbi to do the cooking."
In addition to synagogue rabbini-
cal experience and training, Rabbi
Spolter is a Judaic studies teacher at
Hebrew High School of New
England in West Hartford, where he
strives "to develop a love for and
knowledge of Torah, the Jewish peo-
ple and the State of Israel in high
school students."
A man of varied interests, he
designed and maintains the Web site
at his Connecticut synagogue and
has participated in several extensive
seminars covering the area of kashrut
(kosher) supervision through the
Orthodox Union in New York.
Rabbi Spolter was ordained from
the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological
Seminary of Yeshiva University in
New York in 1997. He also received
a master's of science degree in sec-
ondary Jewish education from Azrieli
Graduate School of Jewish Education
and a bachelor of arts degree in com-
puter ,cience from Yeshiva College,
both part of Yeshiva University in
New York.
From 1989-91, Rabbi Spolter
studied in Israel at Yeshivat
Shaalavim, meeting several Detroit-