Congregation Tiferes Yisroel, affectionately known as Rabbi Goldberger’s shul, invites the Baltimore community to join in our 30th Anniversary Celebration on March 20, 2016, featuring a gala concert by the renowned entertainer Eitan Katz. This year we are proud to honor Dr. Jerry and Elka Rottman and Ken and Chana Birnbaum, longtime members of our kehila, for their outstanding dedication and participation in shul affairs, and for their love for and commitment to the Rabbi and Rebbetzin.
Tiferes Yisroel is a magnet for Jewish outreach in Baltimore, regularly welcoming Jews of all backgrounds to join in the joyous celebration of what it means to be Jewish. Led by Rabbi Menachem Goldberger, Tiferes Yisroel’s unique and warm approach to Judaism has influenced the lives of thousands of Jews since its inception in 1986.
Ken and Chana Birnbaum have been mainstays of the shul since shortly after its founding. They moved their young family to Baltimore from New York in 1988 to find larger living quarters and a saner commute without sacrificing the benefits of a thriving Jewish community. Soon they had found their niche in the two-year-old shul in a garage, just up the hill from their house. To complete the family feeling, they also joined the Goldbergers’ carpool.
Over the years, the Birnbaums have contributed to the life of the shul in many ways. Ken, who served as president of the Cross Country Improvement Association from 2005 to 2010, and was his company’s top insurance salesman for the past decade, thrives on the social life of the shul and has been a key fundraiser for the annual banquet phone-a-thon. Chana, a physician assistant in outpatient neurology at Sinai, has coordinated shiva meals since the pre-internet era and is consistently a first responder in chesed. The Birnbaums enjoy spending time with their grandchildren and with Ken’s parents, who now live in Baltimore as well – a four-generation family! Ken has attended a Gemara shiur at Yesodei haTorah for the past 10 years, and Chana is working on her Hebrew in preparation for the couple’s goal of making aliyah.
Congregation Tiferes Yisroel received a meaningful vote of confidence when Dr. Jerry and Elka Rottman moved from New York to join the shul in 1991. The Rottmans had known the Goldbergers in Denver, where Jerry grew up and the Rottmans lived as a young couple, davening in the home of Rabbi Shlomo Twerski, zt”l. Elka has participated in fundraising activities for the shul over the years, including the challa sale, the Simchas Torah seuda, and the “management team.” She is now co-president of the sisterhood, which raises fun and funds for the shul.
Torah learning is at the core of the Rottmans’ lives. Jerry maintains multiple learning sedarim, including several hours weekly by phone with their son Eliyahu in Israel. Elka attends two of Rabbi Goldberger’s weekly shiurim – Shmuel Aleph and Derech Hashem. The couple feels blessed to be part of such a warm, growing community at Congregation Tiferes Yisroel under the capable and charismatic leadership of Rabbi and Rebbetzin Goldberger.
Best known for his nigun “L’Maancha,” Eitan Katz is beloved for compositions that honor the language of Tanach and tefila through original, soulful melodies, and for the delicate sincerity and passion of his live performances. Growing up in L.A. and Israel as the son of well-known cantor and music teacher Avshalom Katz, he was surrounded by music. Today he plays at weddings and concerts throughout the United States, Israel, and South Africa. He lives with his family and learns in yeshiva in Far Rockaway.
Eitan feels very close to Rabbi Goldberger. “He reached out to me. I love him very much.” What’s more, they share a commitment to spiritually-focused music. “Especially for this generation, which is craving honesty and moments of clarity like nothing else, music needs to be in the toolbox of life. When it’s connected to Torah in a real way – for example, Rabbi Goldberger’s – not only do you get something pleasant to listen to; it becomes part of your whole avoda. It’s a lifelong mission to get there.”
Please join us in honoring the Birnbaums and the Rottmans for their many years of dedicated service to the shul. This event is the single largest source of operating funds for the shul and is a chance for the community to help support the beautifully creative and meaningful work of Rabbi and Rebbetzin Goldberger.
To purchase concert tickets or to place an ad in the commemorative journal, please visit www.tiferesyisroel.org/events; for questions, contact Glenna Ross, 410-358-1687 or banquet@tiferesyisroel.org.
