Zedek left for Cincinnati, Chicago after making his mark at B’nai Jehudah
Guess who’s coming to dinner? It’s Rabbi Michael Zedek! Coming not just for dinner, but also for family, to renew old friendships, to teach and to enjoy his retirement by settling into a place that has always been near and dear to him.
Zedek and his wife Karen are moving back to Kansas City from Chicago where they have lived for nearly 17 years.
“It’s a little bit easier to maintain one’s life structure in the wonderful communities that make up the greater Kansas City area,” he said.
While the Zedeks love Chicago, the rabbi said family plays a big part in the move. Karen’s sister and brother and their families live here.
Zedek was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, an only child, and he grew up thinking every Jew was from New York or New Jersey. Upon entering the seminary, he was stunned to meet people from elsewhere whose families had been in the United States for several generations.
He did his undergraduate work at Hamilton College in upstate New York and some graduate work in Great Britain, then entered the seminary in Cincinnati and Jerusalem, and spent his “shaping years” in Kansas City.
He built what he considers the most important work of his life in the Kansas City community. Fresh out of the Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Zedek started at B’nai Jehudah as assistant rabbi. Just two years later he became the youngest senior rabbi in the United States to head a congregation, which grew to more than 1,900 families after he was hired.
“Kansas City still owns both of our hearts in a distinct way, not the least of which is that I really sort of grew up there, by which I mean the earliest part of my almost 46 years as a rabbi, the first 26, were at B’nai Jehudah and the larger Jewish and general communities of Kansas City,” said Zedek. “The network of friendships and relationships that were part of my maturation are still part of me in a very substantive way.”
He has maintained a weekly connection to Kansas City every Sunday morning via KCMO radio with a show he’s been doing for 20-something years called “Religion on the Line,” and “occasional requests to participate in weddings and alas funerals of people with whom I still have an important context of heart.”
When he left B’nai Jehudah in 2000, he became the chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. Then in 2004 began his 12-year tenure as senior rabbi at Emanuel Congregation in Chicago.
Zedek is rabbi emeritus of both B’nai Jehudah and Emanuel.
“I may be the only rabbi who is rabbi emeritus twice,” he said. “So I’ve retired several times. The late Cantor Paul Silbersher used to say ‘retired means to get tired again.’”
Zedek apparently never gets tired, nor completely retires. He doesn’t play golf, so he’s been doing some writing and currently has a manuscript with a book agent.
“I hope it will see the light of day sometime — I’m quite confident it will never be made into a motion picture,” he joked.
For the last several years, he has conducted High Holiday services in Bangkok, Thailand, for a small Jewish community. This year it had to be done virtually, and, because of the 12-hour time difference, he was giving the Rosh Hashanah evening service at 7 a.m. his time in Chicago. Two years ago he spent a whole summer in Florence, Italy, as the rabbi-in-residence for a liberal congregation there.
Zedek said this time he’s only interested in part-time commitments. “Here’s the phrase I’ve come up with that I’m really kind of proud of: I’m more than willing to have something that’s a full-time engagement of my passions, but it must be only a part-time engagement of my time.”
He already has, however, several things lined up for Kansas City.
“Some people were very generous in the desire to make it possible for me to have a meaningful role to play and there’s an opportunity for me to do some teaching,” he said. One role will be serving as the rabbi-in-residence at the St. Paul School of Theology.
He might also continue his international work through the World Union for Progressive Judaism, which is non-Orthodox Judaism outside of North America. There are congregations all over the world where he would like to teach for the World Union. He has been to South Africa several times, Hong Kong, the former Yugoslavia and many other places.
“It’s been both a wonderful personal experience and a joyful one for rabbis,” he said. “Rabbis have lots of stuff they wish to share, but they’re all on virtual or hold right now.”
Zedek said once he has settled into a routine, he has grandchildren to see, and of course his daughters and their husbands.
The Zedeks’ older daughter, son-in-law and two oldest grandchildren reside in Pittsburgh; the younger daughter, her husband and the two youngest grandchildren are in Los Angeles.
He and Karen also want to do some fun traveling — return to places in the world they haven’t yet had an opportunity to really see.
For now, the Zedeks are looking forward to the opportunities they have ahead of them in Kansas City.
“What gets in the way at the moment is we need to sell our condo in Chicago and that’s not easy in the current environment for urban core living; we live downtown,” said Zedek. “I fully anticipate, whatever the case may be, with only one home under our belt we’ll be there before the summer is over.”
