Rabbi Leonard A. Matanky

Congregation K.I.N.S. of West Rogers Park & Dean, Ida Crown Jewish Academy, Chicago, IL

Mar 17, 2014

Rabbi Leonard Matanky has been the spiritual leader of congregation K.I.N.S. of West Rogers Park for the past twenty years. During his tenure, the synagogue has experienced a significant revival and is now one of the leading Orthodox synagogues in the Midwest.

In 1981 Rabbi Matanky received Smicha and a Masters degree in Religious Education from the Hebrew Theological College in Skokee, Illinois. A year later he completed a Masters degree in Educational Administration from Loyola University. In 1989 he received a PhD from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at New York University.

In addition to his responsibilities at K.I.N.S, Rabbi Matanky is also the Dean of Ida Crown Jewish Academy, the largest modern Orthodox high school in the midwest.

Rabbi Matanky is the past president of the Chicago Rabbinical Council, and currently serves on the boards of the Religious Zionists of Chicago and Camp Moshava. He is also co-Chairman of the Rabbinic Action Committee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

Rabbi Matanky has lectured across the United States, Israel and Europe, and is the author of numerous educational articles, including chapters in “The Ultimate Jewish Teachers’ Handbook” and “What We Know About Jewish Education.”

Rabbi Matanky is married to Margaret (Novick), and is the father of seven children, Yaakov, z”l, Chani (Yehuda) Isenberg, Raanana (Reuven) Stein, Shoshana (Benjamin) Neikrug, Yitzchak (Aviva), Avi and Elisheva, and the proud grandfather of eleven.