I had a very hard time understanding what people were saying to me. But, my husband had his heart set on being a shul rav, so I knew we had to start somewhere. I soon became acclimated. The unbelievable Southern hospitality shown to us made us feel like we were part of everyone’s families.”
The new synagogue had a mechitzah that was cemented to the sanctuary floor, and the first mikvah in Arkansas. Rabbi Kilimnick notes that when he visited the North, people would inevitably ask him “There are Jews in Arkansas?” Essentially, the answer was Jews, yes; shomer Shabbos, no. But being one of the few shomer Shabbos couples in the entire state did not deter the Kilimnicks. As the only Orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Kilimnick’s duties were abundant: in charge of the Hebrew School, preparing boys for their Bar Mitzvahs; leading the congregation in services; creating a Friday night choir; and of course, counseling couples and families. He also initiated the first Soviet Jewry rally in Arkansas, which was very well received by the local press. But the only way to insure the survival of Judaism in the
synagogue was through their youth, and Rabbi Kilimnick and Nechie knew NCSY would be the key. The regional director of the newly emerging Southern Region was Rabbi Boruch Taub, a close friend of Rabbi Kilimnick. Not sure if the idea would fly with the shul’s teens, Rabbi Kilimnick took four of them to an NCSY Shabbaton in Birmingham, Alabama. What a shock! Surrounded by 300 NCSYers, one of the Little Rock girls asked breathlessly, “Rabbi, are they all Jewish?” Those teenagers were so invigorated by that NCSY experience, they encouraged their friends to join; and Rabbi Kilimnick’s Tzur Yisroel (Rock of Israel) NCSY chapter was born. It went on to win many awards over the years, including Chapter of the Year, and had quite a few members inducted into the Ben Zakkai Honor Society. Tzur Yisroel did a phenomenal job hosting the Southern Regional Conventions in 1971 and 1976. But the core of the Kilimnick’s work, the focus of their love and attention, was each individual NCSYer. They feel that their crowning achievement was being able to send some of the NCSY boys away to yeshivah and the girls to either Touro or Stern College.
When a new synagogue building was dedicated (in the suburbs, closer to its congregants) in 1976, among the many dignitaries who spoke were Rabbi Weinberg, and Harold Jacobs, then president of the OU. On one wall of the social hall were the NCSY awards proudly displayed for all to see. The synagogue also had a state-of-the-art kosher kitchen, a mechitzah that was cemented to the sanctuary floor, and the first mikvah in Arkansas. Once the shul (and the Kilimnicks) moved, their work really began. Their doors were thrown wide open to the community − and especially to their beloved NCSYers. Nechie never knew how many guests she would be having for Shabbos lunch, so she always made sure to have a huge chulent. The teenagers usually stayed all Shabbos (and babysat, so the hard-working couple could nap!) There was often an impromptu melaveh malkah with Rabbi Kilimnick singing his own original songs or popular Shlomo Carlebach tunes. “We really didn’t have to go out of town for a Shabbaton,” jokes the rabbi, “we had a Shabbaton every single Shabbos in our home!”
Above, the Kilimnicks shortly after their arrival in Little Rock. At left, a more recent photo.
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Summer 2015 | Reunion Magazine