‘A standout fit for the role’
Following a two-year search, Central Shule Chabad has announced its new rabbinical team.
Central Shule Chabad has announced Rabbi and Rebbetzin Shmuel and Rivki Karnowsky as its new rabbinical team following a two-year search.
The pair, who are currently at Elwood Shule, will commence in their new roles on September 12, just in time for the High Holy Days.
“The rabbinical search committee and shule committee were unanimous in their decision to appoint Shmuel and Rivki, following an extensive local and international selection process,” the Central Shule board said this week.
“Evident throughout the selection process was Shmuel and Rivki’s shared passion for Yiddishkeit, warmth and ability to connect and inspire.
“This is a huge milestone for our community and the culmination of a search that started over two years ago. Despite disruption from COVID, the rabbinical search committee has persisted in its efforts to identify and appoint the next leadership team that will help reinvigorate our community and grow our community’s spirit and potential.”
Also welcoming their five children, the board said the couple are “a standout fit for the role”.
“Many of you will know of the fantastic work that Shmuel and Rivki have done in their current positions at Elwood Shule, where Shmuel has been the senior rabbi since 2015 and outreach rabbi before that since 2008. Shmuel and Rivki describe their appointment as ‘coming home to Central’, with Shmuel having served as the Central Shule youth director in 2004.”
Rabbi Karnowsky also serves as a chaplain for Victoria Police and is a committee member of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria. He is passionate and outspoken about mental health and wellbeing. Rebbetzin Karnowsky is a teacher at Yeshivah College. Her role at Central will particularly focus on women’s programs, bat mitzvah, families and marriage classes.
“They have identified ‘getting to know the Central community’ as intrinsic to their future success and so, supported by an enthusiastic committee to be formed for this specific purpose, Central members can expect positive engagement,” the board said.
“We again acknowledge the contribution of [previous spiritual leader] Rabbi [Yitzhok] Riesenberg to the establishment and growth of Central Shule since its inception.
“Rabbi Riesenberg will now assume the position of founding Rabbi Emeritus of the shule.”
In a farewell letter to Elwood congregants, Rabbi Karnowsky said, “While we are very excited about our new position and the opportunities it presents, we are saddened to farewell Elwood Shule – a shule that has been so much a part of our lives, and that of our family’s, for almost 15 years.”
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