On Friday, June 21, Rabbi Harvey Abramowitz will officially be installed as the new rabbi of Temple Or Elohim in Jericho. New members of the executive board and all new board of trustee members will also be installed on Friday.

Rabbi Abramowitz was the associate rabbi at Khillath Shalom Synagogue in Cold Spring Harbor working with Rabbi Arthur Schwartz, with whom he still remains close. Rabbi Schwartz permitted Abramowitz to substitute at Khillath Shalom Synagogue.

During a conversation with Temple Or Elohim's Cantor Abbe Sher, she mentioned to Abramowitz that the temple's rabbi was going to be retiring within the next year. She asked Abramowitz if he would consider taking a full-time pulpit. The timing was perfect as Abramowitz was considering this option himself.

"I decided this was what I wanted to really do, this is what I do well and this is what people respond to," said Rabbi Abramowitz who lives in Huntington with his family. "When this opportunity came up, I applied and went through the in-depth process that takes place. It is a unique relationship - I am employed by the congregation, but I am not per se an employee. It is a gray area, but people need to feel comfortable with me."

This Friday, Rabbi Abramowitz will be installed making the position official. Marvin Antosofsky is retiring after 25 years of service as Rabbi at Temple Or Elohim.

Since May, Rabbi Abramowitz has been working with Rabbi Antosofsky to learn the traditions and rituals at the temple so they have an orderly transition for the new Rabbi and the 450 families who belong to the temple.

"Rabbi Marvin Antosofsky has been a paragon of virtue, kindness and gentility and helping me understand the rites and rituals as they are performed here so we can have a nice transition," said Rabbi Abramowitz. "This has been a warm and welcoming community from the first time that I was here. My wife and I feel very comfortable and relaxed here. People have been very nice and helpful."

Abramowitz explains that change is unavoidable when someone takes a new post, but he has spent the last two months "learning how to dance."

"A very sage rabbi told me that everything he needed to learn, he learned from his wife 30 years ago when she taught him to dance - you only need to remember three things - listen to the music, be very aware of your partner and lead gently. When you think about it, it is sage advice," he said.

Rabbi Abramowitz hopes to build on the strong foundation that Temple Or Elohim presently has. "We have a terrific school, wonderful principal, great cantor and active and aware congregants, all the elements to bake the most wonderful cake. It is combining them in different ways to make different types of wonderful things," said Abramowitz.

Abramowitz has been discussing new programs and also revisiting new programs that may have been lost in time and talking about them with Rabbi Antosofsky.

One major goal of Rabbi Abramowitz is to create opportunities of involvement for the young people so the temple can be part of their lives after their bar and bat mitzvah. "We have students who recognize that bar mitzvah is the end of the beginning and they want to continue their growth within the Jewish community - enhancing their own knowledge, participating more in prayers and activities. I am very excited about working with the kids in the school," said Abramowitz. The first month I was here I spent every afternoon with the kids in the school. We have terrific caring teachers. If my daughter were of the correct age, I would want her to go through our school. When I hear the children speak, they like learning, they like our Hebrew School and they like their teachers. I see pride in the faces of these young people. It is a joy to see kids loving learning."

Abramowitz knows he can't take the place of Rabbi Antosofsky and that he set a very high standard at the temple. "He set a very high benchmark and is a tough act to follow," said Rabbi Abramowitz. "He is beloved and deservedly so. I hope to be able to carry on and earn the same kind of affection and respect that he has earned."

Abramowitz looks forward to working with Cantor Sher and everyone at the temple. "It is a warm and caring community," said Rabbi Abramowitz. "They opened up the circle and made room for my wife and me and fit us in. Everyone here is so terrific."