Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is excited to welcome our new associate rabbi, Dalia Samansky. Born in Los Angeles, Rabbi Samansky is a fourth-generation Angelino. She comes to us from Temple Ahavat Shalom in Northridge, California, where she has run the religious school and youth programming for four years, and Los Angeles’ Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, where she has been a member of the faculty for the past 13 years. She was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2009.
 
As part of her portfolio here, Rabbi Samansky will be overseeing Family Experiences, Pathways the Jewish Values Project, and liaising with Community Connections and the Women’s Organization. Along with our other clergy, she’ll assist with all lifecycle events, help teach our Adult B’nai Mitzvah class and in our Religious School, and participate in Shabbat and holiday services.
 
We sat down with Rabbi Samansky so we could get to know her a little better.

Q: When did you decide you wanted to become a rabbi?

A: With the exception of wanting to be a firefighter at age six, all of the jobs I considered were in the traditional helping professions: I was either going to be a teacher, a social worker, or something along those lines. Somewhere in high school I realized I could do all those things in the place I loved most — the synagogue: I could make my passion into my profession and share Judaism as a rabbi.

Q: What was the “Aha!” moment for you?

A: When I was 17, I traveled to Israel on the NFTY summer trip. Being in Israel really solidified my desire to pursue the rabbinate. From that time on, I never wavered in my decision to become a rabbi.  I am incredibly lucky; I love my job and know that what I do makes our world a little bit better.

Q: Tell us about your family.

A: My husband Jason is an investment consultant and his parents live here in New York. We have two daughters: Naomi, who will be 14 in July and just became a bat mitzvah over Memorial Day weekend, and Tova will turn 11 this month. As a family, we are very excited to be moving to New York City. It’s so nice that my girls will have the opportunity to spend more time with their grandparents!

Q: How do you approach your rabbinate?

A: It’s all about personal relationships. I truly believe we make a difference when people feel valued, seen, and heard. I believe that being a rabbi, at its heart, is being an educator. I’m the daughter of two educators and the daughter-in-law of two educators, so education is in my blood; it runs through my veins. Whether delivering a sermon or working with kindergarteners, it’s about teaching parts of our culture and sharing my passion and love of Judaism.

Q: What most excites you about joining the Stephen Wise community?

A: I’m so excited to be moving to New York City and joining this wonderful community. My values are in line with Stephen Wise’s; I love the synagogue’s deep commitments to both Reform Judaism and Israel, two things I, too, hold dear. I am eager to return to full-time pulpit responsibilities, and I am inspired by the team I will be working with! Did you know that Rabbi Rena Rifkin and I were classmates at HUC?

Rabbi Samansky can’t wait to meet you after she starts on July 1. She hopes you’ll join us for services or stop by Stephen Wise this summer to say hello!

Photo credit: Rich Prugh Photography

Stephen Wise Free Synagogue is proud to announce the establishment of the Marilyn G. and Joseph B. Schwartz Israel Fellowship to pioneer an education and advocacy program aimed at healing the fractured relationship between American liberal Jews and Israel. We are grateful to Marilyn and Joe for their vision and generosity. 

Rabbi Tracy J. Kaplowitz has joined us as our inaugural fellow. She comes to Stephen Wise from JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, which ensures the quality of Jewish life for Jews in the U.S. military and the Veterans Administration. An experienced spiritual leader and educator, she served as a reserve chaplain in the U.S. Air Force and on the professional staff of both the Schechter School of Long Island and the Jewish Education Project. Rabbi Kaplowitz was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and earned her doctorate in the sociology of education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

We sat down with Rabbi Tracy to get to know her a little better.

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: I grew up in Union, New Jersey, where my parents still live. I started at Green Lane Y’s nursery school, then attended Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, and spent my summers at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. My family belonged to the local synagogue, Congregation Beth Shalom, where my dad was president. Before he retired, he was a professor of social psychology at Kean University and he founded their Human Rights Institute. And my mom is a registered dietitian.

Q: What connects you to Israel?

A: My first visit to Israel was before I began first grade. My parents wanted to ensure that I could connect what I was learning about and celebrating in school with firsthand, real-world experience. One cute memory from that trip is how I had my first taste of soda in Israel. To save money on bottled water, my parents had bought these awful metal army canteens that we were lugging all over the place with us. They were rancid. When we climbed Masada, my brother and I decided to protest by refusing to drink. My parents gave in and from that point on we were drinking Kinley Lemon-Lime, Grapefruit, and Grape sodas. In retrospect, that gave my palate a sweet taste for Israel. 

I managed to return to Israel in fifth grade and then every year between ninth grade and my first year in college, including for a semester in Israel during my senior year of high school, and then again for my junior year of college. I also went back for my third year of rabbinical school, along with the Melton Senior Educators Program at Hebrew University. Midway through that year, I was invited to stay for a Ph.D. at Hebrew U., and my one-year stay turned into three years.

What connects me to Israel is a shared history with the People of Israel, going back to the time of our forefather Abraham. From that shared history comes a shared language, shared holidays, shared values, and some shared culture. And my passion for Zionism allows me to have a love affair with Israel of today. I’m amazed by the accomplishments of a country that is younger than my parents. I love the rebirth of the Hebrew language — and to hear it spoken from the mouths of immigrants from throughout the world. I have witnessed persecuted Jews find a home in Israel when no one else opened doors to them. While I see Israel’s flaws and failings, I am consistently inspired by and supportive of the activists who ensure that bad policies will not be unchallenged.

Q: Why is Israel education so critical, especially in these times?

A: There are so many people out there who will educate our youth about Israel. Yet, they often do so with a bias demonizing Israel. It is important that we ensure that Israel education comes from reliable sources.

It’s impossible to go to college today without encountering Israel Apartheid Week. We do a tremendous disservice to our youth by sending them off to college without an understanding of Israel’s history and its role as a democracy in the Middle East. I don’t believe that our youth have an obligation to counter events like Israel Apartheid Week, but I do believe they need to have a foundational understanding of Israel — and ideally to have been to the country themselves — so that their Zionism and connection to Judaism aren’t shaken.

Q: What excites you most about joining the Stephen Wise community?

A: I’ve known Stephen Wise Free Synagogue for a long time. I used to volunteer at the homeless shelter starting in 1994, when I was a student at Barnard and JTS. But Stephen Wise was a very different place in the 90s.

Today’s SWFS is a dynamic and engaged community. The professional and lay leadership are outstanding and visionary. As a community, Stephen Wise reflects the very best of the Upper West Side: a commitment to liberalism, a passion for intellectualism and culture, and a vision for a better world.

Q: What does your new role entail?

A: This is a brand-new position, so my role will develop and change as I dig into the work. Broadly speaking, I hope to help further establish Stephen Wise Free Synagogue as a beacon for Jewish peoplehood and Zionism, while combatting antisemitism and anti-Zionism.

By developing curricula, I’ll help our community — and liberal Jews everywhere — learn the language that enables them to align their liberal values with their Jewish values and support of Israel. And through advocacy and outreach, I’ll work to ensure that the next generation of leaders recognize that their support of Israel is an essential responsibility.

Rabbi Kaplowitz entered her new role today, May 16. She looks forward to meeting many of you tomorrow at our Spring Benefit celebration! But if you can’t make it tomorrow, come to services soon or drop by the synagogue!

NEW YORK — Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi at Manhattan’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue (SWFS), will be leading a humanitarian mission April 24–28 to the Poland-Ukraine border that will include the delivery of critical supplies, funds and a coordinated effort aimed at providing emotional support to Ukrainian refugees.

“For weeks, we have sat at home and watched the Russian military mauling millions of innocent civilians in an unprovoked, unjustified, unconscionable, unrestrained, merciless and savage invasion, and I confess that I am inexpressibly frustrated by simply watching,” Rabbi Hirsch told his congregation in a recent sermon. “I want us to be messengers of mercy, coworkers of kindness, consolation and comfort, representing and expressing the best of Jewish tradition.” 

“I want you to leave New York for five days and bring duffle bags of supplies, money and most important of all, your warmth, your compassion, your humanity to Ukrainians who have lost everything,” Rabbi Hirsch said. “Jews have a special obligation to protect the weak. We are a refugee people. We know what it feels like to be uprooted.”

In addition to providing support on the ground, collaborating with humanitarian aid workers and visiting field hospitals, the group of some 25 SWFS members will meet with Israeli emissaries working to resettle Ukrainian Jews in Israel, receive briefings from diplomats and subject-matter experts in Warsaw, and hold discussions with Jewish community leaders centered around gaining a better understanding of the political, social, economic and military challenges.

Rabbi Hirsch added: “Such a mission at such a historic time can lead to commitment — both physically and financially – on a much deeper level as there is a tangible emotional connection to the events unfolding that all of us are bearing witness to.”

SWFS is also ensuring that those who are not able to participate on the ground can contribute supplies and provide donations.

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About Stephen Wise Free Synagogue: A vibrant Reform congregation on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue has served as a catalyst for progressive Jewish thought, committed social action in the local community and beyond, and support for Israel for more than 110 years. Visit swfs.org.

About Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch: Rabbi Hirsch is the senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, where he has led a dramatic revival in Jewish life. Since his arrival in 2004 the synagogue has grown rapidly and has tripled its membership. He has introduced dramatic changes in worship, ritual, and education, attracting a new generation of Jews from throughout the New York region. Read more about Rabbi Hirsch and follow him on Twitter.

“I was struck by the sheer enormity of the lynching memorial,” recalls Hadley Levenson. “I had understood the brutal legacy of lynching in America, but seeing it represented in such a stark way really shook me.”

“It was hard — and uncomfortable — to be confronted with the scale of lynchings throughout the 20th century,” agrees Luke Kosner.

Hadley and Luke were part of a group of 19 eighth and ninth graders who traveled to Alabama as a part of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and Temple Israel’s civil rights journey in February.

“The trip really spoke to who we are as Jews and where our teens are right now,” says Rabbi Rena Rifkin, who leads our Religious School as director of youth education. “Social justice is at the core of everything we stand for at Stephen Wise — and we loved the idea of partnering with another synagogue.” Rabbi Shira Gluck, who traveled with the teens, explains: “We wanted our teens to learn about civil rights through a Jewish lens.”

The weary-eyed group departed for New York’s LaGuardia airport at 4:45 a.m. on the morning of Friday, Feb. 18, and touched down in Atlanta just before lunchtime. In Atlanta, the students boarded a bus and started the 150-mile journey southwest on I-85 into the heart Alabama, where the highway ends in Montgomery.

The group welcomed Shabbat at the Reform Temple Beth Or and spent the next day exploring the city and learning about the evolution of racial oppression. In Selma, they met with activist Joanne Bland, who at age 13 witnessed Bloody Sunday — when civil rights marchers were brutally beaten as they tried to make the 54-mile trek to Montgomery — firsthand. “Walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge” — named for a Confederate general and Klu Klux Klan grand dragon — “with a protester who had been there and with your rabbi sends a really powerful message,” says Rabbi Gluck.

They turned north toward Tennessee and pressed another hundred miles onward to further challenge their preconceived notions and learn about southern Jewish life then and now. “Birmingham is such a vibrant city with a rich past. Being there made me realize that Alabama is much more than the rural place I had imagined,” Luke admits. And he’d never really thought about these historical events from a Jewish perspective. “The trip showed me the importance of rabbis to the civil rights movement.”

And Hadley found it eye-opening to visit local synagogues, like Birmingham’s Temple Beth-El, “where the congregations are much smaller than Stephen Wise’s. “It reminded me of the connectivity of the Jewish community across the world.”

“Our teens also grappled with the idea that in American in the 1960s, Jews were not considered white — and that the Black and Jewish experiences are intersectional,” Rabbi Gluck recounts.

Back in Atlanta, the students learned about the lynching of Leo Frank — a Jew — and visited the historic neighborhood where Martin Luther King Jr. was born and now lies at rest. Emblazoned on the steps of the reflecting pool next to King’s tomb are the words: “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

“When Dr. King said that, he was quoting Amos!” Rabbi Gluck says. “I took the opportunity to teach our teens about how prophetic Judaism and the pursuit of justice are connected. The justice and righteousness we were fighting for in the 50s and 60s is the same justice and righteousness we’ve always sought to advance.”

As the trip reached its end, the students realized how they’d bonded with each other along the way. “I made new friends and re-connected with kids I had met a long time ago,” says Luke. And Hadley “forged amazing friendships with fellow teens whom I would never get the chance to meet normally.”

“This is how we can teach and create Jewish life in the real world,” says Rabbi Rifkin. “It’s really important to build community outside the walls of our synagogue.”