Since you last heard from me, I’m very excited to report to you that we have hired a new Assistant Rabbi. Rabbi Noah Arnow will be joining the storied Beth El klei kodesh on August 1st. During this hiring process, we interviewed over 15 candidates, and we had five meet with us on-site. All of these candidates were excellent in their own way, but I believe at the conclusion of this lengthy process, we found the right person for Beth El.

Rabbi Arnow’s background is very interesting. After he graduated from Brown University, he worked on the New York City Mayoral campaign of Mark Green. After that, he was Chief of Staff of New York City Councilmember, Eric Gioia. Then, luckily for us, he decided to pursue becoming a rabbi, enrolling in the JTS. During his time at JTS, he has held various internships, including at Rutgers Hillel, as well as at congregations in the Bronx and Upstate New York. He and his wife, Tammy, and their two children, Caleb (2 ½) and Hallel (seven months), will be joining out community this summer. For those of you who have met Rabbi Arnow, you know how engaging and enthusiastic he is. We are extremely fortunate to have “landed” him, and please join me in welcoming the Arnow’s to the Greater Cherry Hill metropolitan area.

In other news, during our May Board of Trustees meeting, we passed our budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Despite a very challenging economic environment, we have been able to limit the dues increase to 2%, while maintaining maintenance and security fees at a flat level. I can’t thank enough our Treasurer, Karen Schlessel, and her Budget Committee for their hard work and dedication in getting us to this point.

It has been a terrific year at Beth El, and I am very excited for next year as well. I want to wish you an excellent summer.

Kol tuv,

B’Shalom,

Edward S. Hochberg
President