Congregation KINS will celebrate its role as a central place for Torah, Tefillah, chessed and assembly in our community at its Annual Dinner on Sunday, May 19th. The shul’s largest and most important fundraising event of the year takes place at the shul and will honor Lev and Orah Katz, remember Rabbi Barry Robinson, z”l, and pay tribute to Rabbi Dov and Miriam Lerner.
Lev and Orah Katz have been dedicated members and lay leaders at KINS since they moved to Chicago in 2003. Lev served as president of the shul from 2013-2017 and currently serves as Chairman of the Board. Orah Katz served for many years as co-president of the shul’s sisterhood and has worked on numerous other committees and synagogue-related events. Their influence extends beyond their shul and includes a number of community educational institutions: Lev is president of the board at Hillel Torah, while Orah serves on the board of Ida Crown Jewish Academy. Lev is also on the boards of the Associated Talmud Torahs and Camp Moshava, as well as the Neighborhood Development Council of Chicago. Lev and Orah are the proud parents of four children, who attend Ida Crown and Hillel Torah. KINS is proud to honor them and thank them for all that they have done for the shul and greater Chicago Jewish community.
Rabbi Barry Robinson, z”l, who passed away on Rosh Hashana 5779, was a beloved, lifelong member of the Chicago community. He was a fixture at Congregation KINS for many years – teaching various classe
s and shiurim, serving as a ba’al koreh and chazzan, and always greeting everyone with a friendly smile. Rabbi Robinson’s influence as a rebbe at Ida Crown, Daf Yomi maggid shiur at Or Torah, chazzan and baal kriah, combined with his legendary sense of humor, were a vital part of the Chicago Jewish community for decades. His talmidim – of all ages – miss him dearly, and KINS is honored to remember Rabbi Robinson at a special tribute at its annual dinner.
Rabbi Dov Lerner, assistant rabbi of the shul since 2014, and Miriam Lerner, a limudei kodesh teacher at Ida Crown Jewish Academy, will be leaving Chicago this summer as Rabbi Lerner assumes the pulpit at Young Israel of Jamaica Estates in Queens, New York, as well as a resident-scholar position at Yeshiva University’s Strauss Cen
ter for Torah and Western Thought. The Lerners have had a significant impact on KINS members and Ida Crown students through the Torah they have taught and friendships that they have developed. The shul looks forward to thanking them during a special presentation at the dinner.
Congregation KINS is proud of the central role it plays in West Rogers Park and the greater Chicagoland Jewish community. The shul hosts a number of different events and programs throughout the year for many different community organizations, including Jewish youth organizations, schools, and other shuls. The shul is especially proud to serve as the home for the YU Torah Mitizion Kollel ’s night seder, and to partner with the Kollel on many other programs, shiurim and classes throughout the year. The shul is also a central location in the community for chessed opportunities, including chessed weddings, food drives, and similar initiatives. This year, the shul has added a new weekly chessed project, partnering with Karen Nochimowski of the Momma Chef online cooking blog to open “Momma Chef’s Soup Kitchen at Congregation KINS.” The soup kitchen services underprivileged and under-resourced families in our community, providing them a weekly four-course homemade hot dinner, as well as a bagged lunch to go.
Please help support Congregation KINS and join the shul in honoring the Katzes, remembering Rabbi Barry Robinson z”l, and thanking the Lerners on May 19! To place an ad and/or make a reservation for the dinner, please visit www.congkins.org or call the shul office at 773.761.4000. The deadline to place an ad is Friday, May 10th.
