It has been my honor to have been your rabbi for 17 years, and I look forward to being a part of your lives for many years to come. I want to make you aware of an exciting new endeavor in my professional life which will slightly impact my schedule at B’nai Moshe.

I have been invited by the Frankel Jewish Academy to become a full-time member of their Bible Faculty. After careful consideration, and with the approval of the Board of our Synagogue, I have humbly accepted their offer.

I will continue to be the Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Moshe, serving all your spiritual needs. You will notice little, if any change. I will lead Shabbat and Yom Tov services, be actively involved in our school, officiate at your life cycle occasions and help you during personal crises. As is now the case, I will be in the synagogue almost everyday of the week, and always available in an emergency.

There will be some changes.

I will be at the Frankel Jewish Academy during the school year, Monday-Friday, 7:15 a.m. until 3:45 p.m., and therefore unable to attend morning minyanim or Mocha Moment at Barnes and Noble. These are two activities and communities I will miss, and I urge others to take my place and keep their attendances strong.

Though I will not be able to schedule appointments during the hours I am at Frankel, I will be available to officiate at funerals, and to attend to any emergencies for which you might need me.

You can always contact me at the synagogue, and leave me a voice mail, and I will return your call within 24 hours. If the matter is urgent, please use my cell number, which is given at the end of my outgoing message. A great way to communicate with me is through email at rabepach(at)bnaimoshe.org. During school hours, you will reach me faster at my Frankel Jewish Academy address: epachter@frankelja.org.

I am grateful to the Board of Directors, and to the entire congregation, for allowing me to take on this new challenge, and become more actively engaged with the excellent faculty and student body of the Jewish Academy.

Although I have been teaching a class at the Academy for the past five years, this expanded schedule will afford me the opportunity to improve my pedagogic skills. I expect that much of what I teach and learn at the Academy will be shared with you via sermons, teaching and articles.

The path leading me to the Frankel Jewish Academy has been long and interesting. Thirty years ago, I was heading toward a career in Jewish education, until my first encounter with the Jewish Theological Seminary triggered my love for the synagogue pulpit. In my first year of study at JTS, I became skilled and fascinated with Biblical Hebrew.

Fast forward 25 years. In a conversation with Rabbi Eric Grossman, then head of Frankel’s Bible Department, and currently Head of School, I learned there was a need for teachers with knowledge of Biblical Hebrew, and I told him, “I can do that.”

Five years later, I am moving from teaching a single class to becoming a full-time faculty member.

With your understanding, I will now be able to combine two of my passions—day school teaching, my first love, and Congregation B’nai Moshe, my long time love.