Rabbi Kamins’ 20 years … and counting

CHANTAL ABITBOL

WHEN Emanuel Synagogue’s senior rabbi Jeffrey Kamins turned up to lead the congregation on Simchat Torah, he had no idea what members had in store for him.

After months of secret meetings and covert mail-outs, more than 500 congregants and friends converged at the shul to transform the service into a This is Your Life-style event, marking Rabbi Kamins’ 20 years of service to the shul.

Inside the shul’s foyer, the walls were lined with photos of the rabbi through the years. All the images had been sent by those personally touched by the rabbi’s actions in some way.

The tributes also poured in.

Emanuel School principal Dr Bruce Carter said Rabbi Kamins was “one of the most effective spiritual leaders of school students”.

“[He] is universally loved by our students,” he said. “It’s not just the time he finds to contribute to the school, but [it’s] also the quality of his input.”

Messages from dignitaries were also read out.

Premier Nathan Rees called Rabbi Kamins “an innovator dedicated to enhancing education and ritual”.

Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell wrote that Rabbi Kamins was acknowledged “as one of the most outstanding leaders of the Jewish community for the past two decades” and that his work “fosters understanding, allowing us to live in harmony and progress together”.

The evening culminated with surprise guest appearances from the rabbi’s sister Loni Kamins and mother Lorraine Michaels, who had flown in from Los Angeles for the occasion.

“It was a very moving evening filled with surprises,” Rabbi Kamins told The AJN. “I was extraordinarily touched by the generosity and love from the congregation and those who made the evening so special.”

After receiving his rabbinical ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in the US, Rabbi Kamins arrived at Emanuel as assistant rabbi in 1989. He later became associate rabbi in 1992 and was appointed senior rabbi in 1999.