Rabbi Moshe Grussgott joined K.I. as senior rabbi on August 1, 2018.

He was previously senior rabbi of Congregation Ramath Orah in New York City from 2011-2018, where he had previously served as associate rabbi from 2007-2011. Rabbi Grussgott served as a chaplain and captain in the US Army Reserve from 2007-2013, pastoring and counseling troops at various army bases across America, including posts in South Carolina, New Jersey, and New York.

He is also a trained hospital chaplain, and served as a chaplain at Mount Sinai Hospital and at NYU Langone, both in New York City.

Rabbi Grussgott was trained for 8 years at Yeshiva University, where he earned his BA (Psychology) at Yeshiva College and his MA (Medieval Jewish History) at YU's Bernard Revel Graduate Program of Jewish Studies. After completing his first three years of rabbinic training at YU's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, he took time off to train as a US Army chaplain, and then completed his ordination through the Ayshel Avraham Rabbinical Seminary in Monsey, New York.

Rabbi Grussgott was the rabbi and senior educator of the Achva West summer traveling program for teens in the summers of 2008, 2009 and 2012; he then became the rabbi and senior educator of the Aryeh Adventures summer traveling program, whose aim is for special needs and mainstream teens to integrate and learn from each other, from 2013-2015.

Rabbi Grussgott married his beloved wife Becca in 2015, and they have three boys and a daughter, Ari, Ezra, Manny, and Goldie.

Cantor Aron Hayoun joined K.I as our hazan in April, 2022. Additionally, he teaches the congregation’s bat and bar mitzvah students.

Cantor Hayoun came to Overland Park after holding the position of chief cantor at La Grande Synagogue de la Victoire in Paris, France, since 2009.

Previously, Cantor Hayoun served as cantor at Beth Emeth Congregation, Toronto, Canada; chief cantor of The Grand Synagogue of Metz, Metz, France; and chief cantor of The Synagogue of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.

Along with his career as a cantor, Hayoun has performed in more than 50 cantorial concerts, taught Talmud and Torah, and was a cantorial music instructor.

Cantor Hayoun studied at the Cantorial School of the Grand Synagogue of Jerusalem.

Rabbi Herbert Mandl is a native of Baltimore, MD and graduated in 1965 cum laude A.B. in German and Semitics from Johns Hopkins University.

In 1969 Rabbi Mandl received his Master’s Degree in Hebrew Literature and was ordained as a Rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He was the recipient of the Joseph Zubow Award in Jewish Law. He received his Orthodox smicha ordination from Rabbi Aryeh Leib Spitz.

In 1981 Rabbi Mandl received a Ph.D. magna cum laude in Medieval Philosophy and Law from the University of Montreal where his dissertation was on the Jewish Matrimonial Law in comparison to the Christian laws of the time.

Rabbi Mandl received his Doctor of Divinity degree in 1994 from JTS. He has served as rabbi of congregations and served in academic positions in Edmonton and Montreal, Canada. He served as Senior Rabbi of Kehilath Israel since 1977 and became Rabbi Emeritus in 2012. He has served on many commissions, boards and committees in the Jewish, civic and community. In his continuing academic pursuits, he was honored by the Vatican by allowing him to do research in the Vatican Library in 2013.

Rabbi Moshe Grussgott joined K.I. as senior rabbi on August 1, 2018.

He was previously senior rabbi of Congregation Ramath Orah in New York City from 2011-2018, where he had previously served as associate rabbi from 2007-2011. Rabbi Grussgott served as a chaplain and captain in the US Army Reserve from 2007-2013, pastoring and counseling troops at various army bases across America, including posts in South Carolina, New Jersey, and New York.

He is also a trained hospital chaplain, and served as a chaplain at Mount Sinai Hospital and at NYU Langone, both in New York City.

Rabbi Grussgott was trained for 8 years at Yeshiva University, where he earned his BA (Psychology) at Yeshiva College and his MA (Medieval Jewish History) at YU's Bernard Revel Graduate Program of Jewish Studies. After completing his first three years of rabbinic training at YU's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, he took time off to train as a US Army chaplain, and then completed his ordination through the Ayshel Avraham Rabbinical Seminary in Monsey, New York.

Rabbi Grussgott was the rabbi and senior educator of the Achva West summer traveling program for teens in the summers of 2008, 2009 and 2012; he then became the rabbi and senior educator of the Aryeh Adventures summer traveling program, whose aim is for special needs and mainstream teens to integrate and learn from each other, from 2013-2015.

Rabbi Grussgott married his beloved wife Becca in 2015, and they have three boys and a daughter, Ari, Ezra, Manny, and Goldie.

Rabbi Moshe Grussgott joined K.I. as senior rabbi on August 1, 2018.

He was previously senior rabbi of Congregation Ramath Orah in New York City from 2011-2018, where he had previously served as associate rabbi from 2007-2011. Rabbi Grussgott served as a chaplain and captain in the US Army Reserve from 2007-2013, pastoring and counseling troops at various army bases across America, including posts in South Carolina, New Jersey, and New York.

He is also a trained hospital chaplain, and served as a chaplain at Mount Sinai Hospital and at NYU Langone, both in New York City.

Rabbi Grussgott was trained for 8 years at Yeshiva University, where he earned his BA (Psychology) at Yeshiva College and his MA (Medieval Jewish History) at YU's Bernard Revel Graduate Program of Jewish Studies. After completing his first three years of rabbinic training at YU's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, he took time off to train as a US Army chaplain, and then completed his ordination through the Ayshel Avraham Rabbinical Seminary in Monsey, New York.

Rabbi Grussgott was the rabbi and senior educator of the Achva West summer traveling program for teens in the summers of 2008, 2009 and 2012; he then became the rabbi and senior educator of the Aryeh Adventures summer traveling program, whose aim is for special needs and mainstream teens to integrate and learn from each other, from 2013-2015.

Rabbi Grussgott married his beloved wife Becca in 2015, and they have three boys and a daughter, Ari, Ezra, Manny, and Goldie.

Rabbi Moshe Grussgott joined K.I. as senior rabbi on August 1, 2018.

He was previously senior rabbi of Congregation Ramath Orah in New York City from 2011-2018, where he had previously served as associate rabbi from 2007-2011. Rabbi Grussgott served as a chaplain and captain in the US Army Reserve from 2007-2013, pastoring and counseling troops at various army bases across America, including posts in South Carolina, New Jersey, and New York.

He is also a trained hospital chaplain, and served as a chaplain at Mount Sinai Hospital and at NYU Langone, both in New York City.

Rabbi Grussgott was trained for 8 years at Yeshiva University, where he earned his BA (Psychology) at Yeshiva College and his MA (Medieval Jewish History) at YU's Bernard Revel Graduate Program of Jewish Studies. After completing his first three years of rabbinic training at YU's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, he took time off to train as a US Army chaplain, and then completed his ordination through the Ayshel Avraham Rabbinical Seminary in Monsey, New York.

Rabbi Grussgott was the rabbi and senior educator of the Achva West summer traveling program for teens in the summers of 2008, 2009 and 2012; he then became the rabbi and senior educator of the Aryeh Adventures summer traveling program, whose aim is for special needs and mainstream teens to integrate and learn from each other, from 2013-2015.

Rabbi Grussgott married his beloved wife Becca in 2015, and they have three boys and a daughter, Ari, Ezra, Manny, and Goldie.

Rabbi Moshe Grussgott joined K.I. as senior rabbi on August 1, 2018.

He was previously senior rabbi of Congregation Ramath Orah in New York City from 2011-2018, where he had previously served as associate rabbi from 2007-2011. Rabbi Grussgott served as a chaplain and captain in the US Army Reserve from 2007-2013, pastoring and counseling troops at various army bases across America, including posts in South Carolina, New Jersey, and New York.

He is also a trained hospital chaplain, and served as a chaplain at Mount Sinai Hospital and at NYU Langone, both in New York City.

Rabbi Grussgott was trained for 8 years at Yeshiva University, where he earned his BA (Psychology) at Yeshiva College and his MA (Medieval Jewish History) at YU's Bernard Revel Graduate Program of Jewish Studies. After completing his first three years of rabbinic training at YU's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, he took time off to train as a US Army chaplain, and then completed his ordination through the Ayshel Avraham Rabbinical Seminary in Monsey, New York.

Rabbi Grussgott was the rabbi and senior educator of the Achva West summer traveling program for teens in the summers of 2008, 2009 and 2012; he then became the rabbi and senior educator of the Aryeh Adventures summer traveling program, whose aim is for special needs and mainstream teens to integrate and learn from each other, from 2013-2015.

Rabbi Grussgott married his beloved wife Becca in 2015, and they have three boys and a daughter, Ari, Ezra, Manny, and Goldie.

Joseph discovered K.I. not long after coming to the United States as a foreign student.  He felt very comfortable with K.I. as it resembled, in many ways, the synagogue he grew up in.  He feels he matured spiritually at K.I. where he made long lasting friendships.

He fondly remembers the bonds he shared with some of K.I.’s late members and the inspiration continues with current members.

It was at K.I. that he met his wife at a social event.  Both of his children celebrated their bar and bat mitzvah at K.I.

Joseph is a medical technologist, professionally.  He’s been a member of the board since 2013 and also serves as a gabbai.

Ari is a native of the New York/New Jersey area. His home has been Kansas City since 1991. He and his wife have three children.

Ari is manager of a local automotive shop.

He notes that Kehilath Israel Synagogue is a central part of his entire family – home to all of the family’s past simchas and surely all of the future ones.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed eget turpis neque. Proin ornare neque diam, sit amet semper massa cursus in. Integer vitae varius nisi, vel laoreet odio. Mauris rhoncus congue turpis, ut varius metus sollicitudin eget. Maecenas posuere commodo nulla id euismod. Sed vel hendrerit orci, vitae egestas ligula. Nulla ornare eu lacus non semper. Mauris molestie metus erat, eget feugiat augue dapibus id. Fusce semper convallis semper. Sed sit amet nisl magna.

Etiam vulputate ligula id lorem tempor, in pretium orci elementum. Nulla porttitor ut ante sit amet faucibus. Integer aliquet, sem a tempus venenatis, mi eros semper sapien, et scelerisque justo massa at est. Praesent pretium risus quam, condimentum pellentesque eros vehicula sed. Integer mattis est justo, sed sollicitudin dui cursus in. Maecenas pretium, purus nec placerat faucibus, enim est vehicula enim, quis consequat lacus elit a quam. Praesent mollis metus quis ante posuere, sit amet pharetra sapien efficitur.

Nulla scelerisque dui ut diam dictum molestie. Duis scelerisque augue ut risus viverra, nec venenatis dolor ornare. Sed sed leo sapien. Duis malesuada ut nunc sit amet aliquet. Nunc finibus sed lectus a dapibus. Cras ornare aliquet tellus laoreet imperdiet. Curabitur aliquam pellentesque feugiat. Aenean vitae imperdiet risus. Quisque in diam lacinia, rhoncus mauris a, cursus risus. Aenean feugiat sem malesuada nisi finibus, ornare mollis mauris mattis. Nulla eu purus varius, gravida orci at, dapibus erat. Sed quis nibh hendrerit, egestas nibh quis, malesuada nisl. Fusce tristique aliquet libero, et fermentum mi venenatis eget. Praesent at ligula vestibulum, rutrum neque in, interdum tortor. Curabitur vehicula faucibus eros, ac euismod massa venenatis ut.

I joined K.I. in the summer of 1985 when Jay and I moved to Kansas City for his job at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Lara was born in February 1986 and was the first girl named at the then new building on Conser.  We have belonged to K.I. ever since. Raising both of our children here. They both had their bar/bat mitzvahs here.  And Lara and Zak’s wedding was officiated by both Rabbi Mandl and Rabbi Shron.

For several years I taught fifth grade in the religious school under the auspices of Shelley Rissien.  I also volunteered  for the family and children’s programs when my children were growing up.

We have found a home and family at K.I. When our children were young, we made long-term friendships with many of the other then young parents, and we are still friends today.

I joined the board in 2010 and have been on ever since, just recently becoming Vice President of Governance.

In 1950, Sam and his parents arrived in Kansas City from a Displaced Persons Camp in Ragensburg, Germany. Initially they joined another synagogue, but became members of Kehilath Israel Synagogue when it was time for Sam to go to Hebrew School. The Devinkis could not afford Hebrew School and the bus fee to get Sam to their original synagogue, but K.I. told his parents not to worry – the synagogue would make sure he could attend Hebrew School and take the bus. The family could pay whatever they could afford. That was the beginning of Sam’s sixty plus year journey with Kehilath Israel Synagogue.

Sam was asked to join the Board of Directors shortly after he graduated from law school. He became president in 1985 when the synagogue moved into the current building on Conser. Sam served a two year term. His son was the first bar mitzvah in the new building in September, 1985. Coincidentally, Sam was the first bar mitzvah when the previous sanctuary at 800 E. Meyer opened in June of 1959. Sam served a second term as president in 2010. He is the most proud of his participation in the Grand Givers program which he began in 1977, and which has raised four million dollars for Kehilath Israel Synagogue. Sam was honored by the Board of Directors and the congregation with the title of “Honorary President For Life” in 2012.

Frank joined K.I. with his wife, Tracy, and their four young children in 2019.

Sitting on the Board of Directors since 2020, Frank has focused on young members and their families.

Frank grew up in Overland Park, graduated from the University of Kansas and UMKC School of Law, and works as an attorney.