The community’s rabbi in and beyond the synagogue
July 31, 2024 at 9:39 p.m.
A conference last fall gave Rabbi Ben Goldberg a moment of reflection, thinking about the nature of serving at Congregation KTI and how he experiences a reality many spiritual leaders can’t relate to.
Bringing together rabbis from across the U.S., a seminar to talk specifically about guiding families through the death of loved ones saw a colleague from Florida asking for advice on ensuring a satisfactory shiva. The week-long mourning process typically sees the community’s religious leader visiting the family’s home and conducting a service, which Goldberg said is only complete if 10 Jewish adults are present.
The peer suggested a struggle in safeguarding enough participants in the room. “And it sort of blew my mind,” Goldberg said. “That’s not something I’ve even needed to think about, because here of course people are just there. I don’t even have to ask.”
“You just tell them, and they show up.”
As the solo rabbi at Congregation KTI—the only synagogue in the Town of Rye—Goldberg has come to cherish the tightness of the Rye Brook and Port Chester communities, both in and out of the Jewish sphere. And serving in the area has given him a sense of purpose, finding a corner of the world where he feels he can make a tangible difference.
It’s in part that closeness and intimacy, he said, that’s made him want to continue the work.
Hired by Congregation KTI, his first full-time pulpit, in July 2018 and embraced through installment a year later, Goldberg has now contractually committed to five more years at the synagogue. He signed a new agreement in the spring for a term that began July 1.
It wasn’t a complicated decision to stay, he said. The culture and structure they’ve established, “it’s just working,” he described. “I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve accomplished, and I’d like to continue to do it here.”
“Continuing to engage all the families in our orbit and continuing to find meaningful ways to celebrate Judaism in good times and hard times,” he said. “And we’ve had our fair share of both over the last several years.”
Most rabbis work on contract designating a specific period of time, and five years is a longer agreement than most work under, he explained. But, he continued, he and the synagogue both sought the peace of mind in the promise of stability.
Since starting at Congregation KTI, Goldberg says he’s made strides in revitalizing and fostering education programming for adults and the spectrum of youth, sustained membership through adaptation during the trying days of COVID-19 and took positions on numerous community boards such as the Blind Brook School District’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Village of Rye Brook’s Police Reform committees.
A millennial, he was named one of the “36 under 36” by New York Jewish Week in 2021.
The best ability is availability, Goldberg reflected while chatting about what he’s learned to carry forward after garnering experience over the past six years.
Rabbi Ben Goldberg speaks about the history of slavery and the Jewish people during the Village of Port Chester’s Juneteenth ceremony on June 19. Over the last six years, the rabbi has made efforts to be a community leader both in and out of the synagogue.By Sarah Wolpoff
“That’s something I really try to model and try to be for my community,” he said. “Being available and being present for when people need me, and even when they don’t. To be accessible, open and available, it means a great deal to people.”
And that mindset transcends broadly.
Goldberg is one of a few with feet in both the villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook. He is a Port Chester resident—where the synagogue also sits at 575 King St.—yet the congregation is predominantly comprised of Rye Brook families. And since he arrived, he’s sought efforts to make himself a member of both villages, to gain an intimate understanding of the entire town.
Congregation KTI is over 135 years old—it’s a “fabric of this community,” Goldberg said, and that’s something he aims to sustain. Thus, beyond the walls of the synagogue, he’s made himself a public figure.
“I’ve really enjoyed being part of the broader civic community in Port Chester and Rye Brook,” he said. “I think that’s been really important, as a representative of the synagogue, but also for myself. It’s important to be involved locally as a rabbi in the community.”
“It’s a way for me to meet people and sort of demystify a little bit about Jews, Judaism and synagogues,” he continued. “And I think also from a values commitment, it comes from a place of wanting to be part of our local community and not just internally focused.”
From Pride festivals to Juneteenth commemorations to celebrations like Blind Brook High School’s 50th anniversary event, the rabbi is reliably found at least in the room, if not on the list of speakers. The more the general community sees him, the more in touch they also feel with their Jewish brothers and sisters, he reasons.
With similar rationale, he’s also spent the last six years with a devotion to maintaining interfaith bridges—particularly cherishing connection with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Pastor Jim O’Hanlon.
“I really value the relationship I have with Pastor O’Hanlon and with St. Paul’s,” Goldberg said. “We continue to collaborate in many ways, including joint charitable and education projects.”
At least once a year, he said they invited each other to speak at their respective congregation’s services, and they co-teach a class about the Psalms for members of both their communities. In the fall, they plan to travel to Israel together as part of a Westchester interfaith clergy trip.
“These kinds of encounters help everyone learn about their neighbors and better understand their own traditions,” he said.
A healthy rapport outside of the synagogue helps him understand the community and focus on the work that must go on within.
With around 210 families as members and involved in the early childhood program, Congregation KTI is relatively small—which the rabbi said reaps its fair share of benefits and drawbacks.
The advantages, of course, pertain to the close-knit nature of the Jewish community.
“Something that’s very particular about us is just how local we are, especially compared to other synagogues in Westchester. The vast majority of our membership lives within a 5-mile drive,” he said. “I really enjoy being a part of that and think it’s unique. The benefit is the strong sense of connection people have with each other.”
Rabbinical peers in the region, he said, have also noted how the congregation has an unusual strength in its deep community ties. Over the last six years, he’s witnessed with admiration the lifelong friendships that have flourished for decades. “There’s something really sweet about that,” he said.
The challenges of leading a small congregation align with similar conundrums faced by most religious communities: finding relevance to the next generation.
“People have more choices for how to spend their time, money and how to be Jewish, whether that’s through a synagogue, the internet or more private things that people arrange,” he said, and later added: “There was once a time where it was sort of a societal expectation that at least when your kids are young, you’re part of a synagogue. And that’s no longer quite the same expectation. It’s just not as much a priority as it once was, for some people. For others, it still very much is.”
“It’s an institution that needs to continue to evolve to meet the needs of today’s families,” he continued. “That, I think, is the biggest challenge, and we’re not going to have one magic answer to that.”
However, he does have some thoughts. It starts by building connection to young Jewish families, establishing the synagogue as a conduit to community for them. Ideally, it’s a win-win situation—helping people find community, while helping the institution maintain membership.
Recently, he said they’ve tried hosting playground playdates, “just to get people together to play and be introduced to us and each other.”
“Every so often, people will approach us; younger families who are often new to the area, and they’re all looking for each other. If we can help them find each other, I think that’s an important role we serve in the community,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll continue to be involved in our activities, but also independently they’ll be friends that support each other.”
Since his installment in 2019, Goldberg has spoken about his pull toward the multigenerational impact he can make at Congregation KTI. One day he works with a 2-year-old, the next day a 92-year-old, “and that’s something I love,” he said.
“That means we’re trying to meet the needs of four or five generations simultaneously, and that’s not an easy thing to do,” he laughed. But for the next five years, it’s a culture and methodology he’s committed to evolving.
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