RABBI KAROL BRING RICH BACKGROUND TO TEMPLE ISRAEL DOVER

Rabbi Larry Karol Agrees to Serve as Temple Israel Dover's Religious Leader:

Rabbi Larry Karol joined Temple Israel on August 1, 2006 to serve as spiritual leader of the congregation.

He has extensive experience in Jewish education and communal activities, innovative worship services, Jewish musical creativity and programming and community and multi-cultural work.

His wife, Rhonda, is an experienced educator of young children who holds a masters degree in Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis University.

Their son, Adam, is a vocal performance major at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Rabbi Karol was born in Kansas City, Missouri, where both of his parents also were born and raised. His father and mother, Joseph and Ruth Karol, were active for 40 years at Congregation B'nai Jehudah in Kansas City, teaching religious school and serving as leaders of Temple auxiliaries. Rabbi Karol attended University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences (with a major in Sociology and a minor in Religious Studies).

He was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1981, and has served congregations in Dayton, Ohio for three years as assistant rabbi and for 22 years as rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, Kansas.

During his years in Topeka, Rabbi Karol made his service to Temple Beth Sholom the main focus of his rabbinate. At Temple Israel, Rabbi Karol has assumed a wide range of responsibilities, including director of education, editor of the Kesher Newsletter, coordinator of music for worship, and other duties in the areas of leadership, learning, pastoral care and spiritual development. He sees himself as a partner with congregants in enhancing Jewish life in the congregation and bringing the best of Judaism and Jewish values to the greater Seacoast community.

In Topeka, his work in schools, on boards, on state commissions and as a major leader in the city's interfaith organization were hallmarks of his service to the community.

He is a member of the Dover Area Religious Leaders Association (DARLA) and the University of New Hampshire Chaplains group. He is serving on the Advisory Board for Spiritual Care at the Strafford County Correctional Facility and on the ethics committee at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. He has also joined the board of the Seacoast United Jewish Appeal.

In the past five years, Karol has become increasingly known for his musical contributions, both as a songwriter and performer. Many of his tunes have emerged from Scripture and have found an audience in Jewish and interfaith settings. He has released two compact disc recordings of original Jewish music, "Two are Better Than One" in 2003 and "A New Beginning" in 2005. Future plans for his music include publishing a songbook and presenting a participatory learning experience featuring his songs entitled, "Treasures of the Jewish Soul: A Musical Journey."

Rabbi Karol believes that "the best way to be a part of the greater community is to add your own abilities and your knowledge and your core beliefs to the societal tapestry." In presenting his perspectives to people of various backgrounds, he has said, "For someone to understand my
viewpoint, I have to present it in a way where people can digest it and consider it and ponder it. I have learned that this is a wise approach."

Rabbi Karol is leading music in the Religious School and teaching the B'nei Mitzvah class Hebrew and traditions related to this important rite of passage. He teaches a Judaism: Roots and Rituals course on Tuesday nights from November through March, leads a "Rabbi's Table" discussion on contemporary issues on selected Sunday mornings, and facilitates a short study session during the monthly Shabbat morning Tefillah and Torah service. Rabbi Karol has instituted a "Teen Talk" session on Sunday afternoons twice a month for students from post-Bar/Bat Mitzvah age through high school.

Rabbi Karol looks forward to involving congregants of all generations with musical talent in a Temple-wide ensemble to present a "Shabbat B'Yachad" (Sabbath Together) service for the congregation which would be participatory for everyone present.