Rabbi Robert Wolkoff leads prayers during his March 2 installation at Congregation B’nai Tikvah. With him are, from left, Rabbi Henry Balser, a longtime friend of Wolkoff; congregation president Ruth Anne Koenick; and Jeff Schwartz of the rabbinic installation committee.
March 18, 2008
Rabbi Robert Wolkoff said he has found one of the loves of his life as religious leader of Congregation B’nai Tikvah.
Wolkoff, who started at the North Brunswick Conservative synagogue on Aug. 13, was installed at its rabbi on March 2 during an evening marked by song, praise, good food, and celebration.
During the ceremony, Wolkoff spoke of the many loves of his life — his wife, children, teachers, rabbis, and religion — and the congregation.
“Judaism for me was never this burden or obligation,” said Wolkoff.
He recalled the relatives who first instilled his love of Judaism, including a grandmother who would pretend she didn’t hear a visitor come into her house unless she heard coins bring dropped into her many pushkas, and an uncle who as a soldier during World War II “robbed the army blind” in order to assist a Belgian-Jewish community that had lost everything.
The rabbi also lauded those who instructed him. “I loved my teachers,” said Wolkoff. “I had unbelievably good teachers.”
Wolkoff succeeds Rabbi Michael Goldstein, who served for one year as interim rabbi following Rabbi David Eligberg’s 11-year stint as religious leader.
Wolkoff, a Scranton, Pa., native, previously served at Temple B’nai Shalom in Benton Harbor, Mich., from 1979 to ’81, then had a brief tenure in New Jersey, serving for two years at Marlboro Jewish Center. He led the 1,000-family Jewish community of Gothenburg, Sweden, for 10 years and most recently was at Congregation Agudath Achim in Savannah, Ga.
“This is a historic event in the life cycle of our synagogue,” said congregation president Ruth Anne Koenick.
Adrienne Ross, a member of the rabbinic installation committee, said she learned B’nai Tikvah had found its rabbi last summer while she was in Winnipeg, Canada, for her father’s funeral.
She found herself sitting with the rabbi, Henry Balser, who surprised Ross by saying, “I hear you’ve interviewed my good friend Robert Wolkoff.”
When Ross told him how much the committee had liked him, Balser advised, “Don’t let him slip away.”
Balser, now with Temple Beth Shalom in Boca Raton, Fla., came to B’nai Tikvah to take part in the installation of his old friend. The two met in September 1973 on the first day they arrived at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and were assigned dorm rooms across the hall from one another.
Balser said he had received some of his best ideas from his friend, including having the family of a bar or bat mitzva child take on the obligation of one mitzva, such as lighting Shabbat candles, as part of the experience.
Balser also said Wolkoff was kind, thoughtful in his decision-making, had “a passion for the Jewish people,” and was nurturing to his community, Torah, and tradition.
“I pray you recognize the treasure you have,” said Balser. “My prayer is that the covenant between this synagogue and Rabbi Wolkoff will be long and enduring.”
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