Council Member Dinowitz moves to spread invocation and praises Rabbi Exter
Eric Dinowitz thanks Rabbi Exter, describes his leadership at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, and moves for unanimous consent to spread the invocation in full upon the record.
Thank you, Rabbi Ekster.
I will now ask Councilmember Eric Dinowitz to spread the invocation on the record.
Thank you, Mr.
Majority Leader.
Rabbi Stephen Ekster serves as Senior Rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, the BITE, a large Orthodox synagogue in the Bronx known for inclusivity,
and welcome and community building for people of all backgrounds.
And it is very easy for anyone in a large group, a large congregation, to get lost, maybe not feel at home.
But when the senior rabbi of the institution greets everyone with a warm embrace,
both figurative and literal.
It means that everyone has a home in the Bite, and it is one of the most, and he is leading one of the most incredible congregations, I think, in our entire city.
It is felt in the air every time I go to services there, every time I bring my
children there.
His ordination is from Yeshivat Chovavei Torah, rabbinical school.
He's a Bronx resident for 23 years.
He's proud to call himself a New Yorker, and I am proud to call him a constituent, a constituent that I call on often to guide me
in Jewish matters, both large and small, even the tiny.
of rabbinical questions, I know I can call on him on any time.
And I want to even thank him today for teaching us all a new term, sacred chutzpah, something I'd never heard.
And I make a motion for unanimous consent to spread the invocation in full upon the record.