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Three remarkable women reflect on decades of leadership in St. Louis Jewish institutions BY BILL MOTCHAN & ELLEN FUTTERMAN
What will you miss most about working at your jobs? Rosalie Stein: It’s really the relationships with my coworkers. Someone’s always there to talk and to brainstorm with. So that part I’ll miss. And I’ll miss the congregants. Lynn Wittels: I’ll miss the people. I’ll also miss the bubbles that rise up from the early childhood playground. I love that on beautiful days.
PHOTOS: BILL MOTCHAN
As we close out 2023, three women will close out their careers at St. Louis Jewish institutions. Nikki Goldstein, a member of Traditional Congregation, will be leaving the Gladys and Henry Crown Center for Senior Living after 23 years as executive director. Rosalie Stein, a member of Kol Rinah, will retire as executive director of Congregation Shaare Emeth after holding the position for 15 years. And early next year, Lynn Wittels, a member of Congregation B’nai Amoona, will leave her post as CEO and president of the Jewish Community Center, a position she has held for 17 years. In early December, the Jewish Light sat down with Goldstein, Stein and Wittels for a freewheeling roundtable discussion on subjects ranging from what they loved about their jobs to their favorite TV shows.
Rosalie Stein
LYNN Wittels
Nikki Goldstein
Nikki Goldstein: I’ll miss the people. I’m going to have to make friends (laughs). My colleagues — it’s fun to be with them. And really, the board and residents that I know and love.
What do you do to decompress and de-stress after a long workday? NG: I eat. RS: I watch Hallmark movies. Everyone’s happy.
What inspires you all? LW: When I look across the Jewish community, it makes me so proud that we are part of a network of agencies that take See Q&A on page 9
Orthodox rabbinic couple help WashU Hillel ramp up program BY MEGAN RUBENSTEIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
Kyra and Rabbi Shlomo Ashkanazy are the newest additions to Washington University’s thriving Jewish life on campus.w In conjunction with WashU Hillel, they will lead the OU-JLIC (Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus) program, geared toward observant students at the university. Originally from New York and Chicago, the couple met in Israel after they both made aliyah, Shlomo at age 18, and Kyra after attending Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University. When they got married three years ago, they both knew they were passionate about giving back to the Jewish community and, ultimately, they found their way into the OU-JLIC Fellowship. “We were always interested in doing some kind of community work,” Kyra said. “Shlomo also wanted more of an opportunity to use his rabbinical background as there are more opportunities in America,
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so we looked into shlichut (Israeli emissaries) as hopefully a way to do that and make a difference.” After completing the fellowship, Kyra and Shlomo were in the OU-JLIC system as a couple looking to join a campus. OU-JLIC places Orthodox rabbinic couples on almost 30 secular college campuses throughout the United States, Canada and Israel, and WashU had been looking to bring the program to campus for some time. “As the Orthodox undergraduate student population at Washington University has continued to grow, parents sought to bring OU-JLIC to WashU to further support their students and supplement current offerings on campus”, said Jackie Ulin Levey, executive director and CEO of WashU Hillel. “The parents raised the funds, along with a substantial commitment from Michael Staenberg, to cover the couple. In addition, WashU Hillel’s ongoing fundraising and a multiyear grant from Hillel International will support the program’s expenses.” See COUPLE on page 4
Rabbi Shlomo and Kyra Ashkanazy
12/19/23 5:17 PM