Funeral Details

Rabbi Carl Wolkin, 77, who loved his community and was beloved in return, died peacefully and painlessly in his sleep on February 28th, 2024. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 27th, 1946, to Paul and Rebecca Wolkin, he was a true son of Syracuse, New York, where he grew up and stayed connected throughout his life. A rabbi in the Conservative Judaism movement, he served as a pulpit rabbi for more than 40 years, first as Rabbi Mordecai Waxman’s assistant at Temple Israel in Great Neck, New York, spending the rest of his distinguished career as the senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom in Northbrook, Illinois. After retiring in 2015, he found a unique joy in serving as an interim rabbi, first at St. Albans Masorti Synagogue in England, and at Temple Adath Jeshurun in Syracuse, his childhood community. His last job was teaching at the Weinberg Community for Senior Living, something he loved with all his heart. Rabbi Wolkin attended Columbia University in New York and was a witness to history as a resident assistant in Carman Hall during the 1968 protests. He was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1973, learning from movement luminaries like Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Rabbi Louis Finkelstein. A lifelong devotee of the Camp Ramah movement, he met his beloved spouse Judy Wolkin at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires in 1966. To call Judy the love of his life would be a colossal understatement. Carl and Judy were best friends and co-pilots on the romantic adventure of a lifetime, sharing everything for more than 55 years of marriage. They loved each other “with all my hearts and parts,” as they were known to say to each other. Congregants at both Temple Israel and Beth Shalom remember the smile they would see on Carl’s face when Judy would enter the sanctuary. It’s a smile that the many who loved him are unlikely to soon forget. Rabbi Wolkin was involved in many organizations locally and beyond, including Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, Solomon Schechter Jewish Day School, Jewish United Fund, Masorti Olami, and the Chicago Board of Rabbis. He loved his Beth Shalom community, as well as the wider Jewish community in Chicago. He carried a special fondness for the Shalom Hartman Institute, which he credits with reigniting his deep love for Torah as a member of their first class of Rabbinic Fellows. He loved reading, running, reflecting, meditating, learning and teaching Torah, showing up and caring for as many people as humanly possible, and rewatching every episode of Law & Order with Judy. And there are few things he was prouder of than his sons Joshua and David, who found their own ways to follow in his footsteps through service to others and acts of Tikkun Olam. We will miss the way he remembered everyone’s name, his British-inflected humor, his impeccable gift for organization, the near-constant twinkle in his eye, the mustache he refused to shave off, and the way he always managed to fall asleep sitting up on the couch. But more than anything, we will miss his compassion, his kindness, his vulnerability, his wisdom, and his unending commitment to caring for the people around him. Carl is survived by his wife Judy Wolkin, his brothers Jay and Milton Zelermyer, his older son Joshua and his wife Aurelia Vasquez, and younger son David and his wife Keeli Sorensen, in addition to a list of friends and found family too long to name. The family would like to extend their deepest gratitude to Carl’s caregivers John, Hans, and Jeff, whose constant presence and boundless compassion made it possible to navigate this difficult chapter of our lives. The funeral will be held at Congregation Beth Shalom at 3433 Walters in Northbrook on Sunday, March 3rd, at 2:00PM, followed by a graveside service at Shalom Memorial Park in Arlington Heights. Donations in Rabbi Wolkin’s memory can be made to the Carl and Judy Wolkin Innovations in Education Fund at Congregation Beth Shalom, Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, and Solomon Schechter Jewish Day School in Northbrook. May Rabbi Wolkin’s living memory be a blessing to everyone who knew and loved him. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals – Buffalo Grove Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com