Spring has Sprung at Or Atid as we anticipate the arrival of Rabbi Sherry Grinsteiner!
The last few months have been eventful at Or Atid. Rabbi Hal Schevitz announced he would be leaving Congregation Or Atid after 6 years. We wish him the best as he and his lovely family return to Indianapolis for their next adventure.
We began our Rabbi search at the beginning of 2022 and are excited to announce that Rabbi Sherry Grinsteiner will be joining us in July. Rabbi Grinsteiner was raised in an Orthodox moshav in Israel and for the past 18 years has made her spiritual home at Hebrew Educational Alliance (HEA), a conservative synagogue in Denver.
A quote from Rabbi Sherry’s resume: “I am well versed and love traditional liturgy and worship and also attracted to the spirit of the Renewal movement. When the opportunity came to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a Rabbi, I decided to obtain my ordination through Aleph, the Jewish Renewal Ordination Program.”
Rabbi Grinsteiner most recently served as Rabbi/Director of Lifelong Learning at HEA and has held the positions of Education Director and Rabbinic Intern, and Ritual Director there as well. Before her two-year internship she taught children and adults at other synagogues, schools, and camps since 1994. She also served in the IDF as First Lieutenant and Commanding Officer of a special unit of 200 Teacher-Soldiers tasked with delivering education to disadvantaged youth throughout northern Israel.
We are excited to welcome Rabbi Sherry Grinsteiner and her husband, Leo, to Richmond, and to the Congregation Or Atid family.
Our first Seder Match was a success! We had 3 families looking for a place at a Seder table, and two families opened up their homes. Everyone had a lovely time and friendships were built.
Congratulations to Erin Samuels for being awarded the 2022 Arenstein Family Excellence in Youth Service Award from the Weinstein JCC. Erin grew up at Or Atid and attended the Helen and Sam Kornblau Religious School. Erin has been involved and led many teen groups in the Richmond Jewish community and has been in BBYO for many years. As chapter president of the JSU (Jewish Student Union) Erin helped lead discussions on serious and common issues such as antisemitism and how to combat it in school. She will receive the award on May 22 at the JCC’s Annual Meeting.
Congregation Or Atid will be holding its Annual Meeting on May 22, at 10 a.m. Our current President, Lynn Landesman, will be stepping down as President and the Board of Governors has approved Leslie Archer to complete the last year of Lynn’s second term of President. We will be voting on new members of the Executive Committee and well as new members of the Board of Governors.
For more information about Congregation Or Atid, call (804) 740-4747 or visit www.oratid.org.
