By Jacob B., 6th Grade Student, Krieger Schechter Day School of Chizuk Amuno Congregation
Chizuk Amuno Congregation, serving the Baltimore area for 147 years, has hired its eighth senior rabbi, Rabbi Joshua Gruenberg. Currently a rabbi at Beth El Congregation in Yardley, Pa., Rabbi Gruenberg will begin his new position in July.
Rabbi Gruenberg grew up in Westchester County, New York, and attended Solomon Schechter Day School as a child. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Binghamton University, State University of New York. He then went on to study at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and he was ordained as a rabbi in 2002. Rabbi Gruenberg started working as a rabbi at Beth El during the summer of 2011. Rabbi Gruenberg and his wife, Elissa, have two children, a son Samuel who is is almost 13 years old and a daughter Kayla who is 11 years old.
Chizuk Amuno Congregation initiated the search for a new senior rabbi in January 2017 after Rabbi Ronald Shulman, the shul’s seventh senior rabbi, moved to California. Rabbi Deborah Wechsler is serving as Chizuk Amuno’s interim senior rabbi until July.
The search committee underwent a methodical and deliberate process in its quest for a new senior rabbi. According to Jason Blavatt, president of Chizuk Amuno, after a job description was generated, it was posted online and applications were submitted electronically. After reviewing resumes, the search committee selected several rabbis to interview via video and then invited Rabbi Gruenberg to an on-site visit to give the rabbi transition committee the opportunity to meet him personally.
In early February, Rabbi Gruenberg visited Chizuk Amuno, and gained insight about the congregation. “Rabbi Gruenberg’s passion to connect with people and his intellect resonated with me and our Chizuk Amuno community,” Blavatt said.
According to Blavatt, the committee ultimately selected Rabbi Gruenberg because he had great answers to interview questions including those related to his Shabbat practices and views on music, and he brought new ideas to Chizuk’s Jewish community.
Chizuk Amuno has many goals for its new senior rabbi. Blavatt indicated that synagogue leaders want Rabbi Gruenberg to unite all four of the shul’s educational divisions (Krieger Schechter Day School, Rosenbloom Religious School, Goldsmith Early Childhood Center, and the Stulman Center for Adult Learning). The synagogue leadership also wants him to learn about the history of Chizuk Amuno.
Glenn Easton, executive director of Chizuk Amuno Congregation, agreed with Blavatt. “We want him to make Chizuk Amuno greater than the sum of its parts, and it is important to bring the different areas of education closer together,” Easton said. With so many different schools in one building, it is important for Rabbi Gruenberg to advance education in all of Chizuk Amuno’s schools and to help connect all of the individual schools.
Rabbi Gruenberg’s experiences at Camp Ramah in the Poconos each summer have shaped his view on the importance of education. “Because I have been at Camp Ramah, as a camper and as a counselor, so much of the way I have learned to teach has come from camp.” The rabbi says he teaches everyone to be “active and connected and feel a part of what is going on.” His summer camp work experience will help to ease his transition to Chizuk Amuno because he knows some KSDS families whose children also attend that camp.
Rabbi Gruenberg is extremely excited to assume his new position. “Chizuk Amuno has a great reputation, and it is a synagogue that people want to be part of and connected with. I have a once in a lifetime opportunity by having the privilege to be the senior rabbi of the congregation,” he noted.
Also, Rabbi Gruenberg expressed excitement about coming to Baltimore. “Baltimore has a tremendous history as an important city in our country, and to be able to live in a Jewish community where my family can balance and synthesize our Jewish and American identities is a gift,” he noted.
In just a few shorts weeks, Chizuk Amuno’s leadership and membership are eager to welcome their new leader.
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