The Community Kollel of Kansas City has hired Rabbi Aron Rubin as its new part-time rabbi. He succeeds Rabbi Shaya Katz, who left Kansas City in June after almost three years with the Kollel. Rabbi Rubin will not only work for the Kollel, but he also will teach in the Matmidim program at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and spend some time as a rabbinic intern at BIAV. He started “learning the lay of the land” earlier this week, according to Kollel Board President Jerry Bernard.
“He really is in a split role,” Bernard explained. “It’s a good thing for the community. HBHA gets a quality teacher and we get a quality rabbi for the Kollel.”
Rabbi Rubin hails from Australia and moved here last week with his wife, Leia, and son, Eitan. Leia Rubin is a native of St. Louis, and she is pursuing a career in occupational therapy, Bernard said.
The young rabbi was ordained by the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University (YU) in 2018 and earned a certificate in mental health counseling from RIETS and YU’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology in June. He also studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shvut, Israel.
One of the things that attracted the Rubin family to the Kansas City Jewish community was the “great things” they had heard from friends who had previously served here.
“We were told that it is a small, friendly and tight-knit community and that the different denominations work together in a way that is unique,” he wrote in an email to The Chronicle. “We also liked the fact that it was in the Midwest and thought that we would fit in well, given that we both originate from places with a similar culture.”
He was attracted to the Kollel position because it “seemed like a great opportunity to deliver classes to different audiences, which I enjoy doing. It also seemed like a good opportunity to be involved in communal programming.”
Rabbi Rubin also said he and his wife were excited to be joining the Kansas City Jewish community.
“We both look forward to teaching Torah in different capacities and to meeting and connecting with people in the community.”
The Kollel, according to its mission statement, strives to engage Jews with Judaism and with each other. It brings people together from all backgrounds through the learning of their common values and shared tradition. Through formal classes and study sessions, informal discussions and meetings, programs and events, the Kollel seeks to bring “the beauty and wisdom of all Jewish learning and living to the Greater Kansas City community.”
This will be the first time the Kollel has employed a part-time rabbi instead of a full-time rabbi or rabbis. Bernard said the organization was still determining how this new model would work. One thing he knows for sure is that the Kollel will continue to offer learning opportunities for the entire Jewish community.
Bernard said the Kollel hoped to continue to focus on programs that meet two criteria:
• Programs that participants like and want more of
• Programs that serve groups currently unserved or underserved in the community
For example, Bernard said in the past the Kollel had done some outreach to young professionals. However, he explained the Kollel’s board believed other organizations were already serving young professionals and the “Kollel isn’t adding much value” to that population.
“The areas where we believe we can add value is with seniors,” he said. “We’re not talking about only seniors at Village Shalom, but seniors that are living in independent living communities across the area, such as Tallgrass and Town Village.”
Last year, according to Bernard, the Kollel provided some holiday programs for seniors. Not only did those facilities request additional programs, but other facilities requested programs as well.
“We didn’t really have the capability to (add more programs),” Bernard said. “We hope Rabbi Rubin will focus on that and we’ll call that program Senior Scholars.”
The Kollel also plans to continue its Ahoovim program for adults with special needs.
“Right now, Sasone addresses developmentally disabled youth through high school, but after high school there really isn’t a group that addresses that need with Jewish content other than Ahoovim,” he explained.
Bernard believes Kansas City, and the Kollel, will be a good place for Rabbi Rubin to begin his professional career as he works toward his ultimate goal of becoming a pulpit rabbi.
“A Kollel rabbi here can develop a lot of skills,” Bernard explained, “and the experiences they have serve them well in what lies ahead.”