There are many new rabbis joining pulpits this year at congregations around the Chicago metropolitan area. JUF News caught up with each of them to find out what their hopes are for the year ahead…

Rabbi Donald Rossoff, Interim Rabbi; Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston

My biggest hope for this New Year is to plug into the exceptional energy of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation community and its commitment to Jewish learning and social justice and to journey with them through this exciting time of transitioning and visioning for the future. I am looking forward to a year of service, friendship, learning, and personal and professional growth.

Rabbi Ryan Daniels, Assistant Rabbi; North Shore Congregation Israel, Glencoe

I look forward to continued opportunities to meet and learn with members of this community. I am humbled by the opportunity to develop a rabbinate where cultivating lasting relationships is a central part of my daily work.

Rabbi Ilana Baden, Associate Rabbi; Temple Chai, Long Grove, IL Senior

As I anticipate Rosh Hashanah 5776, one of my greatest professional aspirations is also a personal goal: to form genuine relationships within the congregation. As a rabbi, I have always appreciated the honor of getting to know people through learning opportunities, pastoral sessions, life cycle moments, worship experiences, and program involvement. Being able to connect with families and individuals-at sacred occasions as well as day-to-day interactions-not only fulfills me professionally, but also spiritually. I feel incredibly blessed to join the Temple Chai family and to be part of the larger Chicago area Jewish community.

Rabbi Ari Averbach, Assistant Rabbi; Beth Shalom in Northbrook, Northbrook

I look forward to continuing Beth Shalom’s holy work of making the synagogue feel like a family. Together we will be reaching out to every individual and getting to know them on a personal level, especially our younger members. My family and I are lucky enough to be at a shul that values Torah, tradition, and lifelong learning, creating a truly sacred community.

Rabbi Amanda Greene, Assistant Rabbi; Chicago Sinai Congregation, Chicago

My biggest hope for the coming year is to build meaningful relationships-with congregants, with the Chicago Jewish community, with the wider Chicago community. It’s a lofty hope, but through taking the time to hear each individual’s story, my hope is for this year to be one of learning through listening.

Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein, Interim Rabbi; Moriah Congregation, Deerfield

My professional goal is to bring the members of my congregation closer to God through the joy of being a Jew and through the excitement of studying Torah.

Rabbi Brandon Bernstein, Campus Rabbi; Northwestern University Hillel

I hope to help my students at Northwestern Hillel successfully heed both the still, small voice ( kol d’mama daka ) urging them to become the best possible versions of themselves and the sound of the great shofar ( shofar gadol ) calling them to act righteously in an unjust world. God willing, I’ll be able to model what it means to strike a balance between work life and home life, self-care, and tending to the needs of others, concrete realities and spiritual aspirations. Piece of cake, right?

Rabbi Jeremy Weisblatt, Assistant Rabbi; Temple Sholom of Chicago, Chicago

As I begin my time here in Chicago at Temple Sholom, my hope is that I can look back a year from now and know that I have helped to build relationships that brought people closer to one another, strengthened people’s engagement with our traditions and texts, and helped to create moments of meaning in their lives. Through these things, I pray that it will help me to fulfill Temple Sholom’s mission of being a sacred community that embraces, inspires and matters.

Rabbi Ari Margolis; Congregation Or Shalom, Vernon Hills

I am excited to get to know those in my new congregational family and learn all about our hopes, dreams, and needs. I pray that I will catalyze meaningful connections with one another, with our Jewish heritage and tradition, and with the world around us. I hope to help those who attend any function with our Or Shalom community to return home with inspiration, friendship and a smile.

Rabbi Adir Glick; West Suburban Temple Har Zion, River Forest

My biggest hope for my career in the New Year is to serve my community and Am Yisrael with love, dedication, and sincerity. To inspire my congregants to deeper Jewish commitment and greater closeness to each other and the Divine.

~Compiled by Jessica Hochberg