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A Few Clouds Bellmore Jewish Center to install new rabbi
Congregants say that Rabbi Dahlia Bernstein has led meaningful, accessible and inspiring prayer services since she began her tenure at the Bellmore Jewish Center on Aug. 1.
On Oct. 6, she will officially become the center’s spiritual leader when she is formally installed as the new rabbi.
In addition to leading services, Bernstein has been meeting with congregants in their homes and impressing them with “her engaging, warm and welcoming style,” officials said.
An installation committee, chaired by past presidents Richard Skolnik and Ira Levy, worked throughout the summer to create a program that they said would reflect how dedicated the community is to her success in leading the congregation to the next level of engagement with their love of Torah, the state of Israel and their commitment to Jewish living.
The program will begin with an opening blessing by Rabbi Morris Bernstein, Dahlia’s father. Her mentors from the Orangetown Jewish Center, Rabbi Craig Scheff and Rabbi Paula Mack Drill, will install her. Bernstein worked with the pair while she served as a rabbinic and education intern at their synagogue in Orangeburg, N.Y.
Committee members explained that the congregants would then convey the holiness of the union between the rabbi and the community by signing and reading a specially written Ketubah, or religious document of a union or marriage of mutual vows, between Bernstein and the Bellmore Jewish Center. They noted that the document would be displayed in the synagogue as a reminder of their shared goals and commitment.
Other dignitaries have been invited to speak at the ceremony, recognizing the festiveness of the occasion. Hebrew, English and Yiddish music for the ceremony will be provided by Tizmoret, a Queens College a capella group.
The ceremony will begin at 9:45 a.m. at the center, at 2550 Centre Ave. A brunch reception will follow the installation. Organizers said that, to join the tribute, community members should call the Bellmore Jewish Center at (516) 781-3072 for more information.
