Kane Street Synagogue Celebrates its 168th Anniversary
Every year in June, we join together to mark another year in the life of our beloved synagogue, while honoring a member of the Kane Street community whose leadership has moved our congregation forward. We are happy to announce that this year, our honorees for the 168th Anniversary of the Congregation of Kane Street Synagogue are The Hesed Community.
We encourage you to participate in our Annual Commemorative Journal, which serves both as a permanent and historical record of our Congregation—copies are archived at the Brooklyn Historical Society—but also as an opportunity to celebrate our community: our simchas, successes, celebrations, sad losses, of course to honor our honoree the Hesed Community; please read about them below.
This year, we honor Kane Street’s Hesed Community, which is coordinated by Ellen Shaw and Elizabeth Cleek.
Kane Street’s commitment to hesed, often translated as “lovingkindness,” reflects our values of being a warm, welcoming community that is responsive to one another. Under the leadership of co-coordinators Elizabeth Cleek and Ellen Shaw, the Hesed Community arranges meals for families dealing with crises, visits to members who are recovering from illness, and helps with other outreach to members in need. Elizabeth and Ellen gently correct anyone who says “Hesed Committee” because hesed is not a committee — it is a community to which everyone at Kane Street belongs. The Hesed Community stands on the shoulders of Ann Powell, Julia Hirsch, and many other members who led its predecessor, the Mensch Squad, and engaged in acts of lovingkindness for our community for many years.
Elizabeth and Ellen are both long standing members of Kane Street Synagogue, having joined in 2005 and 1997, respectively. Elizabeth, who works as the Chief Operating Officer of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, was inspired to become involved in the Hesed Community through the year of community Pirkei Avot study. “I was meeting warm and interesting people who were new to me,” says Elizabeth, “and I started seeing examples of times when members weren’t sure how to access support from one another.”
Ellen, a pediatric nurse practitioner for the Complex Care Program at Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian and former NICU nurse practitioner at Maimonides, was inspired to coordinate hesed activities when she herself became the recipient of the community’s caring. “I was recovering from COVID,” says Ellen, “and people from Kane Street brought me soup.” Ellen helped coordinate the Living Shabbat program at Kane Street Synagogue for several years with Charlene Visconti and Ann Powell.
Together, Elizabeth and Ellen are continuing to strengthen and grow the Hesed Community.
Click here to place your Journal ad now to celebrate and honor the work of the Hesed Community!
168th Anniversary Celebration
~ Purchase your tickets now ~
kanestreet.org/anniversary-rsvp
Tuesday evening, June 18 at 7:00pm
We will be recognizing the Hesed Community at the celebration.
We’re excited for the opportunity to gather together as a community.