About Us

The Rabbinical Association

The Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City includes Orthodox, Conservative and Reform rabbis and serves as the rabbinic voice in and for the Jewish community and the larger Greater Kansas City community. It guides the community in making religious decisions for community events, supports the rabbis in their personal and professional growth and develops and nourishes collegial relationships within the Association. The Kansas City metropolitan area, Jewish and non-Jewish, is extremely fortunate to have this long standing Association of good will and united action.

The Rabbinical Association was incorporated June 17, 2002. The Association existed as an unincorporated, entirely voluntary, sometimes very loose knit group for about 25 years. The first regular gatherings date to the mid 1970’s. Over the years, the Rabbis in Greater Kansas City have established a pattern of community-wide collaboration and have been called upon to provide information, guidance, and leadership on both Jewish and interfaith issues. Today, the rabbis meet monthly, functioning as a board of directors, dealing with issues brought to them by the community and issues and programs of their own initiative.

Mission

The overall purpose and mission of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City is to maximize the diverse vitality of Jewish religious life in Greater Kansas City and to maximize the full-functioning of key religious institutions. The rabbis do this by

Providing leadership and guidance to Jewish agencies and organizations
Leading and supporting educational activities
Overseeing, supporting and filling in certain gaps in social services, largely within the Jewish community
Providing a unified voice to both the Jewish community and other faith communities in the area.

Vision

The vision of the Rabbinical Association is a vital religious Jewish community in Greater Kansas City, with strong communal institutions, with well informed and religiously principled practices, in which the Rabbinical Association can speak with authority of the rabbinate in a unified voice.

Program Goals

To further the professional and personal development of the rabbis in the association
To provide support for the full functioning of religious institutions
To provide guidance and stewardship for community religious life
To provide support for congregational life

Community Leadership and Guidance

The Rabbinical Association provides a structured and formal way in which rabbis in the Greater Kansas City area can meet, discuss, collaborate and respond to community issues and needs. Through the Rabbinical Association, the rabbis are able to support, model and strengthen the Jewish religious practices listed below in a way that is collaborative and respects diversity.

VAAD HA-KASHRUTH, and issues of observance and respect for dietary practices
both at Jewish institutions and at public events in which Jews participate
MIKVAH, laws and practices relating to family purity
CHEVRA KADISHA, traditions relating to death and burials
GITTIN, laws and traditions relating to husband-wife relations and divorce

Community Education

Rabbis are teachers. It is important that they see to their own continuous growth in knowledge and that they are deeply involved in promoting the religious education of both the Jewish community and the non-Jewish community about Judaism. The Rabbinical Association provides an excellent vehicle for collaborative educational activities which is of great benefit to both the Jewish and non-Jewish community as an alternative to fragmented or conflicted practices. The Rabbinical Association has been a supporter, and in some cases, initiator of community education programs:

Current and Past Programs Sponsored by the Rabbinical Association:

Community-Wide Course for Conversion to Judaism Candidates
Community-wide Selichot Observance
Community-wide Tikkun Leyl Shavuot, an all night study program
Community-wide Second night of Passover Seder
A Day of Discovery: Explore the Joy of Learning in Kansas City
Jewish Community Center Kabbalat Shabbat, for older adults
Issues of Our Day Forums
Medical Ethics Series
Community-Wide Prayer service and Rally for Israel
Memorial Service that marked one year Anniversary of September 11th in 2002
Community-wide Prayer Service on Eve of War in Iraq, March 2003

Current and Past Programs Supported by the Rabbinical Association:

Yom HaShoah Holocaust remembrance events and services
Yom HaAtzmaut Celebration
Programs dealing with inter-faith issues, e.g. “Genesis” and “Times and Seasons”
Programs for interfaith couples
Programs dealing with current political or social issues, as conflict in the Middle East, civil rights, etc.
Jewish Community Center Kabbalat Shabbat for older adults
Jewish Book Fair
Jewish Arts Festival
JCRB/AJC Israel Rally, May 2002
CAJE – Central Agency for Jewish Education
Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy
Hillel – University based Jewish program

Inter-Religious and Inter-Faith Relations

There is great interest and curiosity in the country currently about different world faiths and about the relationship of religious organizations and institutions to civil society and community development. Organizations that were once exclusively Christian may now focus on their Judeo-Christian tradition, or may have become an interfaith organization, open to believers of all faiths. There has always been a need for representative Jewish religious leaders in metropolitan activities and the Rabbinical Association has been a logical place for people to turn with inquiries or requests for rabbinic participation in community affairs. The Rabbinical Association is called upon to participate in interfaith, inter-religious and community betterment activities.

Gathering, Prayer Service for Peace in Jerusalem
Jerusalem Gathering, mission to Israel
Communal Prayer Services and observances [following the September 11, 2001 disaster]
Mayor’s Prayer Breakfasts
Ministerial Alliances
Support of Civil Rights