Life and Legacy
Talmud, Ta’anis 23a
Kesher Legacy Society
Please remember Kesher Israel Congregation with a gift in your will, trust, retirement account or life insurance policy.
This initiative is a great vehicle to consider when exploring bequests and planned gifts to KI. Please Join Us and Sign your Letter of Intent. Gail Burcat, Barry Gordon, Dan Grabenstein, and Norman Gras are happy to share more information about this important project. If you have designated Kesher Israel Congregation as a beneficiary in your will, please let Norman Gras (or anyone else on the committee) know so your name can be added to KI’s Life and Legacy honor roll.
KI sincerely thanks the following members who have signed letters of intent in support of KI’s Life & Legacy Project:
(Highlighted names correspond to the people that formalized their support)
Cheryl & Norman Gras
At Kesher Israel we have all been the beneficiaries of generous donations that support the daily operations of our Synagogue. These donors had the foresight to leave a legacy to keep our Shul with financial vitality. Providing for the sustainability of our community by participating in the Life and Legacy program will enhance the future of Jewish Harrisburg.
Dan and Gloria Grabenstein
While Gloria and I have not been members if KI for multiple decades, we have been members long enough to realize how important KI is to the Harrisburg Community. And with that realization we are aware that we needed to do something to insure it’s future viability. With that in mind we decided to make KI a beneficiary in our wills. This enabled us to be able to provide for not only our family needs, but also our spiritual family as well. We are convinced that doing this was one of the best decisions we have made in recent years.
Dr. Vince Berger
As a member of Kesher Israel (KI), and as the current KI president, I have been, and continue to be, interested in, and concerned about, the future of KI and the Harrisburg Jewish Community. While I support KI and the Jewish Community with my time and effort and with occasional donations, the Life and Legacy Program has given me a way to help that never occurred to me before. I have now been able to add KI to my will so that KI and the larger community can have my support even after I am not longer physically present. I personally, and as KI president, believe the program has, and will continue to be, a valuable asset to the Jewish community. Thanks for the opportunity!
Reuben Rosenberg
My family has been a part of the Kesher Israel family since the early 1950’s. This shul is where my grandparents were married. My father and his brothers grew up at KI, having their bar mitzvahs there, and continuing to support the synagogue through service, contributions, and attending services. When I was born, my parents brought me to services as frequently as I could tolerate (without disrupting others’ prayers), and–as there was no eruv–this was via longer and longer walks each week. In the years leading up to my bar mitzvah, I spent my summers learning with the KI Summer Kollel, fostering a great love of delving into our religious texts. I now attend services on an almost-daily basis, assist with functions, as possible, and try to come up with ideas to better benefit the Kehila.
By designating Kesher Israel as a beneficiary in my will, I am able to ensure that the great services provided to me, which have made me who I am today, will be available in the future to mold the next generation(s) in the path of halachic Judaism.
