Latest Schmooze and News

Rabbi Scott Shafrin to Visit Adath Israel

Rabbi Scott Shafrin

by Mitch Cohen
Adath Israel will welcome Senior Rabbi candidate Rabbi Scott Shafrin on the weekend of January 4th. Adath is planning several opportunities for congregants to meet and observe Rabbi Shafrin, including a Friday evening service on January 3rd and a Shabbat morning service with a discussion and lunch on Saturday, January 4th. 

From his photo, I couldn't help but think I saw a resemblance to Rabbi Smolkin! Rabbi Shafrin comes to us from St. Louis where he is the Executive Director for JCRC (the Jewish Community Relations Council).

According to the St. Louis Jewish Light website, Rabbi Shafrin plans to move to Cincinnati with his wife Rabbi Jessica Shafrin who was appointed Director of Mission at the Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati. Check out the full article here.

Before working at JCRC, Rabbi Shafrin served as Associate Rabbi and Director of Religious School for seven years at the St. Louis Conservative synagogue Kol Rinah. Check out President Hamilton Lempert's announcement emailed on 12/17 with more about Rabbi Shafrin's background here.

We created a page with resources about Rabbi Shafrin, including his resume, past sermons, and videos of one of his online classes.  We will keep this page updated with the latest schedule of events as they are made available. Click Here for Rabbi Shafrin's Resource Page

Ohio Tax Credit for Donations - Rockwern's Lions Scholarship Fund

In 2021, Ohio established a tax credit for donating to an eligible scholarship granting organization (SGO). Ohio offers a tax credit of up to $750 for individuals and up to $1,500 for married couples filing jointly. 

Rockwern Academy announced that they can now accept donations that qualify for the special Ohio tax credit through an organization called OAIS, which stands for the Ohio Association of Independent Schools. Rockwern explains, "When you make a donation through the OAIS SGO directed to Rockwern Academy, you will receive a tax credit."  Donations can be made before April 15, 2025.  Check out their link with all of the details:  
CLICK HERE

Recycling Event a Success

Our Green Team and Shomrei Olam held their 4th annual "Let there be a new light for Chanukah" recycling event on Sunday morning, December 8th. The community drove through the Adath parking lot and dropped off their spent batteries and light bulbs. 

Last year, they collected over two hundred pounds of items that were saved from landfills.  We are waiting for this year's numbers, but from the photos, it looks like they either met or exceeded last year's collections.  Start saving up for next year now! Keep a box at home to put in your spent batteries as you use them. We keep a box at the synagogue for batteries that the synagogue uses throughout the year. Also, the synagogue switched to rechargeable batteries for the microphones on the bimah and in the chapel to reduce the number of batteries that we use.

Oak Tree Donation

A beautiful new Shumard oak tree has been donated to Adath Israel through Adath Israel Green Team's partnership with the Beech Acres / Taking Root 175th anniversary fundraiser whose goal is to increase the native tree canopy in the Cincinnati area. Our new tree is located along Galbraith Road, set in a bit on the property to give the tree room to grow and flourish. Evelyn Wagner said, "Thank you to donor, Randal Bloch! We are grateful for your generosity and appreciate the shade, food source, and habitat this new tree will provide!"  Click here to view the new tree planting.

Next on December 22

Look for our next Kol Kehilah coming in the mail during Chanukah.
Preview our advertisers who have specials for Chanukah

We love bringing traditional and unique flavors through Café Alma! This year we will be offering Powdered sugar and jelly, Nutella and cream, and Lemon matcha sufganiyot!

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