Dear Kehilla HaKedoshah Beis Tefillah Yonah Avraham,

שהחיינו וקיימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה!

בשבח והודאה לקל עליון, הממליך מלכים ולו המלוכה מאן מלכי רבנן

 

I am delighted to inform the Kehilla that HaRav Hagaon Rav Avishai David Shli”ta has been chosen by the Kehilla as our new Rav.

 

We thank the Rav for accepting the position.  We got off to a great start in our relationship by meeting the Rav and Rebbetzin through the amazing Probeh process.  With Anava and Yiras Shamayim, the Rav brings to BTYA the Mesorah that he received from his illustrious Rebbeim and an incredible level of Torah depth and scholarship.  My takeaway from getting to know the Rav Shli”ta in the last couple of months is that we are bringing to BTYA a Gadol BaTorah who has an incredible drive to teach us Torah and Yiras Shamayim.  As the Rav said he is a “people person” and looks forward to helping the Kehilla in our needs.

 

I would like to thank Rav and Rebbetzin Yirmiyahu Kaganoff Shli”ta and Rav and Rebbetzin Yehoshua Pfeffer Shli”ta for participating in our Probeh.  We learned much from them and a delegation from our Kehilla has visited them and informed them of the results and gave them the gratitude that we have as a Kehilla for their participation.

 

At this time it is appropriate to remember our Founding Rav HaRav Hagaon Rav Chaim Zev Malinowitz Zatzal.  BTYA would not be what it is today without his incredible dedication and love for our Kehilla.  We all have a piece of him in us and Rav David is committed to continuing BTYA as a shul that the Rav Zatzal would be proud of.  A delegation visited Rebbetzin Malinowitz today to tell her the results of the election.  In a communication with the Rebbetzin last week she wrote to the executive board the following:

“I and my family will always feel a part of the Kehilla and feel so close to so many people there. We are not saying goodbye.  We are just entering a new stage.”

 

Words are not enough to describe the incredible siyata dshmaya that our Kehilla has seen in the last year.  While we suffered the loss of our Rav, Hashem was makdim the refuah to the maka by sending us Rav Binyamin Jacobson Shli”ta.  Rav Jacobson shlita helped us negotiate the turmoil of that period with a great degree of sensitivity and wisdom only to be challenged again to lead us through an unprecedented pandemic and a Probeh process in short order.  All the time while being everyone’s best friend in the kehilla. We are optimistic that Rav Jacobson Shlita will remain heavily involved in BTYA in an expanded capacity, the details to be worked out between Rav David Shlita and Rav Jacobson Shli”ta.

 

BTYA will become an incredible center of Torah scholarship and growth with our spiritual needs tended to by our Morah D’Asra Rav David Shli”ta, together with the many talented and inspiring Rabbonim and teachers that we have been zoche to and will be zoche to in the future under the one roof of BTYA.

 

I would like to thank the leaders of the process that got us to this point, the Search Committee- R’ Simon Baum, R’ Tzvi Gherman and R’ Joel Padowitz; The Probeh team lead by R’Ayton Lefkowitz and R’ Matt Bornstein and the Executive Board Dr. David Blass and HaChaver Aryeh Sonnenberg.  Dr Ari Stern should get very special mention as well.  I also have Hakaros Hatov to R’ Aryeh Sanders, R’ Benjamin Fishman and R’ Matis Sklar for leading the actual vote committee.

There was a 91% turnout in the Kehilla for voting, a number that speaks for itself.

As we move forward into this next phase of our Kehilla’s history, we daven to HKBH for Siyata D’Shmaya in all of our endeavors, together with our new Rav Shli”ta, HoRav Avishai David.

 

David Kallus

President of BTYA