President's Welcome
11 Elul 5774
6 September 2014
Shabbat Shalom. It is wonderful for all of us to be together for such a meaningful Shabbat, one that marks such an important transition for Congregation Rodfei Zedek. Welcome to everyone who is here today, and especially to Rabbi Minkus’ family.
I want to begin by thanking Rabbi Elliot Gertel for his 25 years of devotion to Rodfei Zedek, and also Rabbi Larry Edwards for his dedication during his year as Rabbi‑in-Residence. The congregation is truly grateful to both of you.
In its guide for rabbinic search committees, the Rabbinical Assembly emphasizes that the search for a rabbi is a sacred task, one in which a small group of volunteers works to identify a rabbi who will be a partner in the growth and development of a sacred community. Our dedicated and thoughtful Rabbinic Search Committee fully understood the sacred and serious nature of its work. I want to recognize and thank the members of the committee: Jim Gimpel, chair; Halina Brukner, Margo Criscoula, Stephanie Friedman, Lisa Kohn, Dan Libenson, Steven Loevy, Lou Philipson, and Jeff Ruby. The congregation thanks all of you.
After Rabbi Minkus agreed to become our rabbi, one of the first things I did was send him a copy of Rodfei Zedek, The First Hundred Years. Why did I do that? Well, not just because we had three copies at home, and I thought we could get by with two. I sent it because I wanted Rabbi Minkus to know the story of our community. Founded in 1874 by Eastern European Jews living in the Canaryville neighborhood, Rodfei Zedek began its journey toward Hyde Park in 1906 when the congregation moved to a building on 48th Street between Michigan and Wabash. Three rabbis came and went during those early years; little is know about them, and they seemed to have had a minor impact on the development of the congregation.
Since 1919, however, Rodfei Zedek has had three highly influential and impactful rabbis. In fact, with the exception of a few transitional years here and there, there have been only three rabbis at Rodfei Zedek since 1919—that’s three rabbis over the last 95 years. Of course, there is not time now to review their many accomplishments—and I do recommend you read Rodfei Zedek, The First Hundred Years to learn more; it is more interesting than you might think! This morning I will make just a couple of comments about Rabbi Minkus’ three predecessors. Interestingly, the tenure of each one is associated with a specific building, which I think is a marker for the different phases of Rodei Zedek’s development—but don’t take my observation to mean I am suggesting any new building projects!
The first is Rabbi Benjamin Daskal, who led the congregation from 1919‑1942. During his tenure, Rodfei transitioned from being Orthodox to Conservative, grew in numbers, moved from 48th Street to a new building at 54th and Greenwood, and then survived the Depression.
In 1943, Rabbi Ralph Simon came to the congregation, serving as rabbi until 1987. It’s really not possible to summarize over 40 years in a few sentences, but suffice it to say that these decades were a period of tremendous change in Hyde Park and other South Side communities. Over the years, Rodfei reached out to the synagogues further south, and then absorbed their members as the other Conservative congregations shrank. Rodfei had enough congregants to fill the large sanctuary and building erected on this site in the 1950s, with several hundred children attending the religious school. The Akiba-Schechter Day School was formed during this period, as well.
However, by the time of Rabbi Simon’s retirement, demographics had changed again, and the congregation was much smaller. After a transitional year with Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, Rabbi Elliot Gertel arrived in 1988. Recognizing the community could not support and no longer needed such a large building, he helped lead the effort to tear down the 1950s structure, and rebuild on the same site the modern facility in which we sit right now. He strongly supported egalitarian prayer and the synaplex model that characterizes Rodfei today, a model that has led to rejuvenation and innovation. Rabbi Gertel retired in 2013, and today we mark the beginning of a new and exciting phase in the history of Rodfei Zedek.
I will close by reading a passage from Rodfei Zedek, The First Hundred Years:
His willingness to serve was a real stroke of good fortune for the congregation. He was a loving and humane man, gentle and compassionate, and his personality sparkled with flashes of dry, homespun wit. Little more than a youth himself, he had real empathy with the congregation’s young people… More important, he was a creative innovator and forward-looking spiritual leader…
This is the author’s description of Rabbi Benjamin Daskal, who was only 25 years old when he became the rabbi of Rodfei Zedek in 1919. Nearly 100 years later, we again look to a young, yet wise; innovative, yet traditional; knowledgeable and thoughtful; kind and compassionate leader and partner as we embark on our journey into the future. Rabbi Minkus, Congregation Rodfei Zedek welcomes you as our Rabbi.
I will now introduce Rabbi Benay Lappe, the special rabbinic mentor Rabbi Minkus has chosen to speak today. She is a Senior Fellow of the Institute for the Next Jewish Future, as well as Director of Jewish Education for jU. An award-winning educator specializing in the radical methods of legal change recorded in the Talmud, Rabbi Lappe also serves as the Executive Director and Rosh Yeshiva of Svara, a traditionally radical yeshiva based in Chicago; is Professor of Talmud at the Hebrew Seminary, in Skokie, Illinois; and is an educator and consultant for Keshet in Boston. She holds a BA in Italian Literature and an MA in Teaching from the University of Illinois, an MA in Hebrew Letters from the University of Judaism, and an MA in Rabbinic Literature and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She has taught at institutions and programs throughout the Jewish world. She is also the proud aunt of Rabbi Minkus!
Diane Altkorn, M.D.
President
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