Friday
7:00 – Pre-service reception
7:20 – Candle-lighting
7:30 – Services (also available online on Facebook and at kamii.org) featuring Rabbi Max Weiss and Dr. Andrew Rehfeld
9:00 – Oneg (dessert bar)
Saturday
9:00 – Torah Study with Dr. Rehfeld
10:15 – Services (also available online on Facebook and at kamii.org)
12:15 – Lunch
1:00 – Study session with Dr. Rehfeld
Join us for a special weekend celebrating the installation of our new rabbi. This modern ritual, marking the beginning of a rabbi’s tenure with a new congregation, will be honored with a blessing and teaching by Rabbi Max Weiss of Oak Park Temple, Rabbi Kirzane’s trusted mentor and friend. Rabbi Weiss will share reflections on six years of collaboration with Rabbi Kirzane, bringing wisdom, grace, and love to this moment of transition.
We are also excited to welcome Dr. Andrew Rehfeld, president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, as our scholar-in-residence. Dr. Rehfeld, a former songleader and board member at KAM Isaiah Israel, will offer engaging and inspiring teachings throughout the weekend. Rabbi Kirzane serves on the HUC Board of Governors and counts Dr. Rehfeld as an advisor and a friend, not to mention an inspiring scholar.
And, of course, the food will be a highlight! Expect indulgent treats at Friday night’s oneg, including an ice cream bar, and a delicious lunch on Saturday. Plus, there will be a signature cocktail—can you guess the rabbi's favorite?
Attendance at all events throughout the weekend is free of charge and open to the public. Your RSVP helps us prepare enough food.
To make a donation to Rabbi Kirzane’s discretionary fund in honor of this event, please follow this link.
To support the costs for this event with a general donation, please join us as a sponsor (at the RSVP) or make a contribution at this link.
Biographies of our honored guests
Max Weiss is the rabbi of Oak Park Temple B'nai Abraham Zion in Oak Park, IL, where he has served since 2009. Ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1997, he has served congregations in Wynnewood, PA and Hoffman Estates, IL. Rabbi Weiss serves on the boards of The Leaders Network, a West Side collaborative of faith and community leaders, as well as the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Israel’s oldest and largest independent nonprofit environmental organization. He has also served as a vice president of Oak Park's Community of Congregations, a rabbinic advisor to the Chicago Jewish Community Relations Council, and a member of OSRUI’s clergy and educator advisory committee where he has volunteered for two weeks every summer for 20 years. Rabbi Weiss pioneered the effort to bring an associate rabbi to Oak Park Temple, where he and Rabbi Kirzane worked together for six years. He remains a trusted advisor and a dear friend.
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., is the 10th President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Appointed in April of 2019, Rehfeld’s career has bridged the academic and Jewish professional worlds as a tenured faculty member in Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis (2001-2019) and as President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis (2012-2019). Among the most cited theorists of political representation, Rehfeld’s primary research explores how democratic institutions (like voting, districting, and qualifications-for-office) can support decent and just societies. The author of The Concept of Constituency (Cambridge University Press, 2005), and a contributor to the Cambridge Companion to the United States Constitution (2018) his work has appeared in prominent journals including the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, and the Journal of Political Philosophy. A graduate student at the University of Chicago in the 1990s, Dr. Rehfeld served on the board of KAM Isaiah Israel from 1994-2001, and led the Confirmation class program, advised the youth group, and was a songleader in our religious school as well. Since 2022, Rabbi Kirzane has served on his leadership team as a member of HUC-JIR's Board of Governors.