Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner

Last updated

Beth Israel Abraham Voliner
Religion
Affiliation Orthodox Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Synagogue
Leadership
  • Rabbi Mark Glass
  • Rabbi Aron Rubin (Assistant)
StatusActive
Location
Location9900 Antioch Road, Overland Park, Kansas City Metropolitan Area, Kansas 66212
CountryUnited States
USA Kansas relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Kansas
Geographic coordinates 38°56′58″N94°41′12″W / 38.949535°N 94.686586°W / 38.949535; -94.686586
Architecture
Date established1894 (as Tefereth Israel)
Completed
  • 1905 (Admiral Boulevard)
  • 1959 (83rd and Holmes)
  • 1987 (Overland Park,)
  • 1994 (Antioch Road)
Website
biav.org
[1]

Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner, abbreviated as BIAV, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located 9900 Antioch Road, in Overland Park, in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area of Kansas, in the United States.

Contents

Formally established as Tefereth Israel in Kansas City, Missouri in 1894, by 1960 it had moved several times, and merged with three other congregations, taking on its current name. Responding to demographic shifts in Kansas City's Orthodox community, it opened a branch in Overland Park in 1987, and in 1994 it moved to its current location at 9900 Antioch Road. [2] [3]

Morey Schwartz was the congregation's rabbi from 1991 to 2000, [4] Ari Perl served from 2000 through 2003, [5] [6] and David S. Fine served from 2003 through 2008. [7] As of 2008 Beth Israel Abraham Voliner was the only Orthodox synagogue in Kansas City. [7] As of 2010 it was the only Orthodox synagogue in the State of Kansas, [2] and the rabbi was Daniel Rockoff. [1] Rabbi Mark Glass has served as senior rabbi since August 2020. [1]

History

19th and 20th centuries

Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner (also Congregation Beth Israel Abraham & Voliner or Congregation Beth Israel Abraham and Voliner or BIAV) was established in Kansas City, Missouri as the Tefereth Israel (or Tiferes Israel [8] ) (Hebrew for "Splendor of Israel") Congregation in 1894. It grew out of a prayer group called Etz Chaim (Hebrew for "Tree of Life"), which began gathering for minyan s (prayer quorums) in 1890. In 1905, it moved to a building at Admiral Boulevard and Tracy, and later merged with Beth Abraham and Beth Hamedrash Hagadol congregations. [2] [3] In 1918, the rabbi was S.M. Bayarksy. [8] The congregation moved to a building at 83rd and Holmes in 1959, and in 1960 merged with Voliner Anshei Sefard, when it took on its current name. [2] [3]

As Kansas City's Orthodox community moved from Missouri to Kansas, Beth Israel Abraham Voliner followed. In 1987 it opened a branch in Overland Park, and in 1994 it moved to its current location there at 9900 Antioch Road, the former Overland Park Baptist Temple. The move attracted younger families, "and more Bar and Bat Mitzvahs were held in 1999 than in the entire previous decade." [2]

Morey Schwartz served as the congregation's rabbi from 1991 until 2000, when he and his family moved to Israel. [4] In the summer of 1997 he set up Kansas City's first kollel , a post-graduate institute for advanced studies of the Talmud and of rabbinic literature for Jewish men; it closed in 2005 due to a lack of funds. [9]

21st century

Schwartz was succeeded by Ari Perl, who served until 2003. Perl had received his semicha (rabbinic ordination) from Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, and had previously served as Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood, New Jersey. While serving as rabbi of Beth Israel Abraham Voliner, Perl also served as a legal decisor for the kosher supervision body, eruv , ritual bath, and burial society. [5] [6]

David S. Fine served as rabbi from 2003 until mid-2008, when he moved to Israel. [7] During this period he also served on the executive board of the Rabbinical Council of America, a member of the Chicago Rabbinical Council, [10] and was Midwest Regional President of Amcha - The Coalition for Jewish Concerns. [11]

Fine brought the Synaplex national synagogue revitalization program to Beth Israel Abraham Voliner in 2005; out of 100 congregations that initially adopted the program, only two, including Beth Israel Abraham Voliner, were Orthodox. [12] In 2007 the synagogue won a $20,000 grant from the Orthodox Union to help the congregation's outreach programs aimed at "young families, singles, and other unaffiliated Jews". [13] Beth Israel Abraham Voliner's proposal was "based on four prongs, or suppositions: the lack of Jewish knowledge among the unaffiliated; the loneliness of young mothers after childbirth; lack of time to become involved by busy professionals; and need for lay leadership training." [14]

Daniel Rockoff became Beth Israel Abraham Voliner's rabbi in September 2008. [7] A native of Newton, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Maimonides School, he received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. [1] Prior to serving at Beth Israel Abraham Voliner, Rockoff was the assistant rabbi at Congregation Ahawas Achim B'nai Jacob and David in West Orange, New Jersey. [7]

As of 2008 Beth Israel Abraham Voliner was only Orthodox synagogue in Kansas City. [7] As of 2010 it was the only Orthodox synagogue in the State of Kansas. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshiva</span> Jewish educational institution for Torah study

A yeshiva or jeshibah is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha, while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The studying is usually done through daily shiurim as well as in study pairs called chavrusas. Chavrusa-style learning is one of the unique features of the yeshiva.

The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). It is the main professional rabbinical association within Modern Orthodox in the United States. Many rabbis of the RCA are graduates of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University or otherwise identify with Modern Orthodox Judaism.

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agudath Israel Etz Ahayem</span> Orthodox synagogue

Agudath Israel Etz Ahayem, transliterated from Hebrew to mean the Congregation of Israel Tree of Life, is a Conservative Jewish synagogue located at 3525 Cloverdale Road in Montgomery, Alabama, in the United States.

Herbert S. Goldstein was a prominent American rabbi and Jewish leader. He was the only person to have been elected president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the Rabbinical Council of America, and the Synagogue Council of America. Globally, he fought for the survival and transplantation of European Jewry as an activist in the Vaad Hatzalah and the Agudath Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshivat Har Etzion</span> Hesder Yeshiva located in Israel

Yeshivat Har Etzion, commonly known in English as "Gush" and in Hebrew as "Yeshivat HaGush", is a hesder yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, in Gush Etzion. It is considered one of the leading institutions of advanced Torah study in the world and with a student body of roughly 480, it is one of the largest hesder yeshivot in the West Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid (Milwaukee)</span> United States historic place

Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 6880 North Green Bay Road in Glendale, a suburb north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Malden, Massachusetts)</span> Orthodox synagogue

Congregation Beth Israel, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 10 Dexter Street in Malden, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was founded in 1904 by Jewish immigrants from Lithuania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Asheville, North Carolina)</span> Synagogue in Asheville, North Carolina, United States

Congregation Beth Israel is an independent, traditional egalitarian Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 229 Murdock Avenue in Asheville, North Carolina, in the United States. Founded in 1899 as Bikur Cholim, it was an Orthodox breakaway from Asheville's existing synagogue. It hired its first full-time rabbi in 1909, opened a religious school in 1911, and acquired its first building, which burnt down in 1916, in 1913.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (New Orleans)</span> Synagogue in New Orleans, United States

Congregation Beth Israel is a Modern Orthodox synagogue located at 4004 West Esplanade Avenue, Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Jews</span> Ethnic and religious group in Australia

Australian Jews, or Jewish Australians, are Jews who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia. In the 2021 census there were 99,956 people who identified Judaism as their religious affiliation and 29,113 Australians who identified as Jewish by ancestry, an increase from 97,355 and 25,716, respectively, from the 2016 census. The actual number is almost certainly higher, because being a Jew is not just about being religious, but the census data is based on religious affiliation, so secular Jews often feel it would be inaccurate to answer with "Judaism". Also, since the question is optional, many practising Holocaust survivors and Haredi Jews are believed to prefer not to disclose their religion in the census. By comparison, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz estimated a Jewish-Australian population of 120,000–150,000, while other estimates based on the death rate in the community estimate the size of the community as 250,000, which would make them 1% of the population. Based on the census data, Jewish citizens make up about 0.4% of the Australian population. The Jewish community of Australia is composed mostly of Ashkenazi Jews, though there are Jews in Australia from many other traditions and levels of religious observance and participation in the Jewish community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Center (Manhattan)</span> Orthodox synagogue and Modern Orthodox congregation, in New York City

The Jewish Center is a Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 131 West 86th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City, New York, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah</span> Modern Orthodox synagogue in Potomac, Maryland, US

Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah is a Modern Orthodox synagogue on Seven Locks Road in Potomac, Maryland, in the United States. The largest Orthodox synagogue in the Washington metropolitan area, it is led by Rabbi Nissan Antine.

Ilan Daniel Feldman is an American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, public speaker and author. Since 1991 he has been the senior rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Jacob of Atlanta, Georgia, succeeding his father, Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Feldman, who founded and led the congregation for 39 years. Over the past 20 years Feldman has built on his father's work, bringing a community kollel to the city and nurturing the growth of Atlanta as one of the leading centers for Orthodox Jewish life in America. He is also a founding board member of the Association for Jewish Outreach Programs (AJOP).

Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah Congregation of Olney, commonly known as OSTT, is an Orthodox synagogue located at 18320 Georgia Avenue, in Olney, Maryland, in the United States.

Shaarey Tphiloh is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 400 Deering Avenue, in Portland, Maine, in the United States. The congregation claims it is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in Portland. The name of the synagogue literally means "Gates of Prayer" in Hebrew.

Congregation Kol Ami is a synagogue located in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The synagogue serves both Reform and Conservative congregations that are respectively affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hirsch (rabbi)</span> American rabbi

David Hirsch is an American rabbi. He serves as rosh yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University in New York City. He is the spiritual leader and rav of Kehillas Bais Yosef in Passaic, New Jersey.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Clergy". Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner. n.d. Retrieved November 19, 2019.[ self-published source? ]
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "History and Mission". Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner. n.d.[ self-published source? ]
  3. 1 2 3 Wiley, Dr. George (June 3, 2004). "Beth Israel Abraham & Voliner". Center Profile. The Pluralism Project at Harvard University . Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Morey Schwartz". Journal for the Study of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewry: 104. Summer 2008. Archived from the original on June 29, 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Rabbi Ari Perl". Rabbinical Council of America. March 22, 2006. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Our Rabbi". Congregation Shaare Tefilla of Dallas Texas. n.d. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lipoff, Beth (September 26, 2008). "New year, new rabbi for Congregation BIAV". The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle.
  8. 1 2 "Directories" (PDF). American Jewish Year Book . Jewish Publication Society. p. 412.
  9. ↑ Bayer, Barbara (July 6, 2007). "Kollel making a comeback". The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle.
  10. ↑ "Rabbi David S. Fine". Rabbinical Council of America. October 13, 2005. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Amcha Staff". Amcha. n.d. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  12. ↑ Fishkoff, Sue (September 16, 2006). "Extreme Shul Makeover" (PDF). Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Archived from the original (PDF) on August 20, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Orthodox shuls get outreach grants". Jewish Telegraphic Agency . March 30, 2007.
  14. ↑ "OU Awards Grants of Up To $20,000 to Three Synagogues for Outreach Proposals". OU News. Orthodox Union. March 30, 2007. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.