24
Kenneth Feibush
Year-In-Israel Student/Jerusalem
Growing up close to New York, my temple had a
constant flow of great student cantors from HUC-
JIR,”
recalls Kenneth Feibush.
“
Seeing their lives
influenced my life.”
The Jewish values instilled in him by his parents and
Temple Sholom in Fanwood, NJ, followed him to Rutgers
University, where he was president of the Reform com-
munity at Hillel, and led him to seek a way to combine
his passion for Judaism, academics, and music. Now a
first-year cantorial student in the Year-In-Israel Program,
he says, “I believe this path is one of the best decisions
I’ve made in my life.”
He points to the
Truma
Program as a fulfilling highlight
of his year. With the support of the Community Service
Learning Program, funded by UJA-Federation of New
York’s Soleilim Fund, he and his classmates apply what
they are learning in the classroom by serving community
organizations in Israel that assist victims of terrorism,
underprivileged children, new immigrants, and the elderly.
His project is to work with children at an absorption
center for Ethiopian immigrants in Mevasseret Zion, a
community just outside of Jerusalem.
“
These kids are
one generation removed from Ethiopia and come from
large families with limited resources,”
he describes.
“
They love singing, they love music. But most of their
songs are in Amharic, and they don’t know many Hebrew
religious songs. At Hanukkah, I coordinated a sing-along
and incorporated songs that could engage all different
levels of Hebrew skills.”
Acknowledging that these moments have broadened his
understanding of the diversity within the Jewish people
and strengthened his ability to provide support to others,
spiritually, educationally, and culturally, Feibush con-
cludes, “I will take this experience back with me to the
States.”
“
Cantorial student Kenneth Feibush (center) and classmates Jay O’Brian and Esther Jonas-
Maertin celebrate Hanukkah with Ethiopian immigrant children at Mevasseret Zion, outside
of Jerusalem.
