Rabbi Rabinowitz commemoration program

A Congregation in Mourning (Baltimore Jewish Times, March 16, 1984)

Rabbi Philip Rabinowitz was Kesher Israel's second rabbi, leading the shul for 34 years, from 1950 until his most untimely death and tragic murder in 1984. He had "brought the traditions of the disappearing world of the shtetl" to Kesher and was beloved by all who stepped foot in our shul. 

Rabbi Rabinowitz tended to the needs of his congregants—through the lean years of the 1950s and 1960s, when a morning minyan was not close to guaranteed, to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the community just started experiencing a rebirth. A man of extraordinary loving-kindness, humility, and decency, Rabbi Rabinowitz spent his years at Kesher focused on three things: to study and teach Torah, to sustain the daily minyanim, and to watch over the welfare of his community. His home was always open to anyone in need, even strangers, and he helped assure that the community was immeasurably enriched in many ways.

Rabbi Rabinowitz was found in his home on the morning of February 29, 1984 - 26 Adar I 5744. Kesher Israel will be commemorating his 30th yahrzeit during the weekend of February 28-March 2, with a Shabbat remembrance in the morning and a Sunday evening dessert reception.

Join Kesher Israel for a dessert reception as we commemorate and remember the beloved Rabbi Philip Rabinowitz, z"l, 30 years after his untimely death. Rabbi Freundel will give a mini-shiur and Kesher members and alumni will have the opportunity to tell stories of how they remember Rabbi Rabinowitz.