As Keren Yeshua marks two years of quiet yet transformative work, its founder, Rabbi Chaim Kaminker, sat down with Pam Ennis, a seasoned nonprofit consultant with deep expertise in the Jewish day school and communal nonprofit world, to reflect on the personal and communal forces from which Keren Yeshua was born.
Pam brings a nuanced understanding of the challenges families and institutions face—making her a natural interlocutor for a conversation about access, inclusion, and sustaining Jewish education
Pam E.: Your passion for Jewish education—and more specifically for helping families overcome barriers to accessing it for their children—comes through clearly in every conversation. Where does that passion come from, and what led you to dedicate your life to this work?
Rabbi K: First and foremost, from the teachings of the Rebbe, who believed deeply that we share a communal privilege and responsibility to provide a Jewish education for all our precious children.
But my personal passion grew out of a much more painful place—when my son, Shua, A”H, became critically ill. Being in the hospital with a seriously ill child strips life down to its essentials. Nothing else matters. It’s just your child, your family, and the people holding you up when you can barely stand.
Pam E.: Can you say more about how the community supported you during that time?
Rabbi K.: The way the Jewish community shows up—especially in moments of illness, crisis, and loss—is overwhelming. During our hospital journey, organizations like Chai Lifeline and Bikur Cholim, along with countless individuals, many of whom were strangers, supported us in ways both large and small: flowers before Shabbat, Tehillim groups, daily messages asking, “What can we do today?”
What stayed with me most was the shared humanity and a strong sense that no one should feel alone at their hardest moments. This idea has become central to everything I do.
Pam E.: Given that drive to help others, why Jewish education specifically?
Rabbi K.: After Shua passed, I looked for a way to give back, and eventually that quest led me to meeting extraordinary heads of school—people sacrificing endlessly for their students—and families trying to transition their children from public school into Jewish schools. I saw how life-changing that could be.
But I also noticed something missing. While many organizations help families enter the Jewish school system, almost none focus on families already inside it—those whose children are at risk of falling out.
Pam E.: Families who are already “in,” but struggling.
Rabbi K.: Exactly. At an educators’ conference, I heard principals talk about how schools build entire communities—how opening a school can transform a city. Then someone asked a question that never left me: What about frum children who can’t find their place? Families not trying to get in—but desperately trying to stay?
When life unravels— a child falling through the cracks due to educational or emotional disabilities, or a family struggling through illness, loss, or financial crisis—these families often have nowhere to turn. Who helps their children? Who helps them remain connected?
Pam E.: And that question became the mission of Keren Yeshua.
Rabbi K.: Yes. The idea is simple, but the work is complex: Walking alongside families whose children are at risk of failing out of our yeshiva system — whether for financial, educational, social, and/or behavioral reasons.
Pam E.: What does that look like in practice?
Rabbi K.: Every case is different.
A girl who had already left the system sat with me and, at the end of our conversation, said, “Thank you for listening.” That became her first step back toward a Yeshiva high school.
Two sisters in Crown Heights—one already back in school, the other receiving tutoring we help fund so she can return with confidence next year.
A single father recovering from a stroke.
A ger tzedek struggling financially but fiercely committed to providing a Jewish education for his children.
A mother is facing a medical crisis while fighting to keep her child in school.
A family overwhelmed by a child with special needs—until we worked with the yeshiva and a local donor to bring their child back.
Sometimes the intervention is financial or mediating between the school and the parent. Sometimes it’s tutoring; sometimes it’s simply reminding parents they’re not failing—and they’re not alone. Often, it’s all of the above.
Pam E.: Measuring success in this work must be challenging.
Rabbi K.: There’s no neat metric. But when a six-year-old begs to return to school because he senses his mother’s anxiety, that tells you everything. No parent should feel devastated because their child feels unwanted. Families in crisis deserve to be embraced, not pushed away.
Pam E.: Two years in, what keeps you going?
Rabbi K.: Our success keeps me going. Seeing the impact we have on vulnerable families and children is what keeps me going.
In just two years, more than 60 families have reached out for help—and we know that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Every case is unique, and I’m prepared to go above and beyond for each one, because that’s how people showed up for us.
Pam E.: What can the community do to help?
Rabbi K.: Join me in this vital work by supporting Keren Yeshua. With two years of experience behind us, I can say with confidence that this is an investment you can be proud of—one that keeps children in yeshiva and helps families remain connected to the Jewish community.
Join Our Barriers to Breakthroughs Crowdfunding Campaign!
March 16-18, 2026
Goal: $300,000. Every donation matched
Donate at: Charidy.com/KerenYeshua2026
To learn more about how you can join our campaign efforts, contact Rabbi Chaim Kaminker at [email protected]
