Our Honorees
Joel and Miriam found a home at CSAIR that spoke to their divergent backgrounds. Yeshiva-educated, Joel grew up in a Modern Orthodox family in Washington Heights connected to the local Jewish community. Miriam also grew up in Washington Heights, and her family’s connection to Judaism was primarily cultural, with shul attendance reserved for High Holidays. They both were drawn by CSAIR’s warmth, evident when the Havurah offered to make a minyan after Miriam’s father passed away, and when food showed up on their doorstep after their oldest, Ari, was born. Two decades later, they have left an imprint that will last for decades longer.Miriam served on the Education Board and the Social Action Committee; chaired the search committee that brought us Mason Voit, Director of Education and Family Life; co-chaired (along with Joel, Susan Schwartz and Mitch Posilkin) the Gala honoring Rabbi Katz and Shoshi Talesnick; and worked on the Child Protection Committee. She organized the interfaith Seder, developed a partnership with the Creston Avenue Baptist Church, and started regular Israeli folk dance evenings. She also chaired the most recent Capital Campaign. This turned into more than just a fundraising task for Miriam. She developed several new relationships, including a special one with Bette Baum, helping her to envision the new Baum library, creating a space worthy of Bette’s husband’s collection with an eye toward the needs of our expanding and evolving congregation.
Like Miriam, Joel contributed to CSAIR’s physical structure by serving on the Design Committee for both building renovations. At the same time, Joel focused on the congregation’s spiritual core. He organized the first Torathon, an evening of classes and workshops open to the community. He was passionate about finding a way to reinvigorate Friday nights, leading to the now popular Lechu Neranena program. He was also intent on providing an easy way to sustain Jewish learning and continuity through the Passport to Jewish Education initiative. This program encompasses a host of scholarship opportunities for the children of CSAIR members to defray the cost of formal and experiential Jewish education.
Both Joel and Miriam are CSAIR treasures, extending the warmth and energy that first embraced them to all who enter our doors.
One thing was clear on that fateful day six months ago when Jean and Larry moved out of Riverdale after making their life here. They might be leaving Riverdale, but they were not going to leave CSAIR. Our shul had become a constant in their lives and would remain so for a long time.
Larry hails from Virginia and Jean grew up in Riverdale and was the first to become a Bat Mitzvah at HIR. After spending time in Manhattan, Jean returned to Riverdale in 2000. Jean and Larry met in 2005 and Larry moved to Riverdale in 2006. Jean celebrated her daughters’ Bnot Mitzvot at CSAIR. Jean was comforted through Jean’s mother’s passing by attending minyan regularly at CSAIR with Larry. Jean and Larry watched proudly as their niece became the first child born to a gay couple to be named in our synagogue. Sharing this important moment with the community solidified their admiration for Rabbi Katz who, in their words, “has it all”: business skills, liturgical skills, and people skills.
If CSAIR and Rabbi Katz have it all, they owe a lot to Jean and Larry, who have worked quietly and humbly to make CSAIR a stronger place. Jean, a partner in a management consulting firm and Larry, an attorney, are consummate problem solvers, who dedicate their work and their donations to improving CSAIR through overcoming any obstacles that arise. Not enough space? Larry worked with the architect to help plan and envision the new Betty Baum Library. Need a few more good people? He served on search committees and helps select the synagogue’s Gladstein Fellows. Need a 10th on Friday morning? Larry is there.
Jean and Larry support both the Rabbi’s Fund and the Cantor’s Fund in appreciation of the critical role both play in the community, recognizing the importance of providing resources and flexibility to address urgent needs. This commitment is grounded in Jean and Larry’s collective experiences from London to Scranton, when their family found Jewish communities, anchored by rabbis who welcomed them for holidays and made important connections. Jean and Larry see in Rabbi Katz and Cantor Stevens this same spirit of warmth and welcoming, and it has helped them feel at home here.
A father of three, Robert Killip often experiences CSAIR through the eyes of his children. That is why it felt natural for him to accept the challenge of leading the Young Family Children’s Program. For two years he planned weekly Shabbat and annual High Holiday services for CSAIR's large and growing under five set and their families. Robert's leadership role in YCFP helped offer parents a meaningful way to connect with one another, while their children participated in spirited services filled with prayer, song, stories, and dancing. Through Robert's commitment to the success of YCFP, so many young CSAIR families have felt welcome in shul and integral members of our synagogue community. Robert grew up in Atlanta, where he and his family attended a Reform synagogue. He attended Jewish day school in Atlanta where he met his future wife, Avi, in high school. Fast forward to five years ago when, after graduating with a JD and an MBA from Boston University, Robert settled in Riverdale with now Rabbi Avi Killip and their 6 month old. Looking for an observant and committed egalitarian community, the young family found a home at CSAIR. Here they have celebrated two more life cycle events—one naming and one bris--with our congregation. Now all three children, Judah, Dasi, and Gabe, call CSAIR “our shul.” The Killip family has indeed become part of the CSAIR family and Robert's leadership role in YCFP has helped make the shul even more welcoming to young children and their parents.