Meet Rabbi Joseph
Dear Friends,
It has been a long time since I have introduced myself to a new congregation and community, but here we go--after 36 years in the full time congregational rabbinate, 21 years at my final full time congregation in Gainesville, Florida, and one year of complete retirement.
While I needed and enjoyed that year off, I'm coming back because I missed the devotion that comes with being a rabbi, devotion to the members and friends of a congregation, devotion to learning their stories and sharing their joys and sorrows, devotion to learning and teaching Judaism with others who care deeply about leading a Jewish life.
I don't think I could have found a better congregation community to "come back" to than Kerhonkson Synagogue and Ulster County, both places with a deep history of Jewish life and a long tradition of accepting and adapting with Jewish newcomers, from farmers to resort owners and workers to beatniks to hippies to those leaving New York City during the pandemic, and many, many others whom I don't know about yet.
But there is a funny thing about personal stories at the High Holiday season--stories can change. Teshuvah, tefillah, and gimilut hasadim, repentance, prayer, and charity, allow us to revise our past and create a future that could not have been foreseen otherwise. So while I am eager to learn your personal and family and community histories, I am even more eager to partner with you in building a wonderful future for all of us.
Thank you, and Le Shanah Tovah,
Rabbi Michael Joseph
Cell: 352-562-9723
