40 Under 40: Rabbi Hillel Konigsburg

Growing up in a Rabbinic household, Rabbi Konigsburg was “one of those rabbinical kids who swore they never would become a rabbi.”

But through a BA in sociology and Jewish history, he became fascinated in what turns people on and off from different religions and eventually interested in Jewish education. He felt at that time like a rabbinic degree would help with it, and had an internship which showed him a different model of what the rabbinate could be like, so he followed in his father’s footsteps and got a master’s in Jewish education at JTS.

This soon led to a Rabbinic opportunity in Atlanta, with Congregation B’nai Torah in 2016, where he is currently also Director of Lifelong Learning.

“The opportunity to be at a flagship conservative synagogue. Atlanta was a great place to start a family. We loved that B’nai Torah was a thriving community. We loved that the community fit the religious expectations of how we wanted to bring up our children. They were looking for an assistant rabbi, and I felt like I had a lot to offer to the community.”

A familiar face to many in the Jewish Atlanta community, he’s an AJC ACCESS Board Member, part of the Hunger Walk/Run Allocations Committee for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, a member of JF&CS’ Maos Chitim Committee, and was a Rabbi in Residence for camp Ramah Darom.

But his much of his greatest passion comes, perhaps surprising that younger version of himself, as a synagogue rabbi.

“The most rewarding experiences that come to mind is when somebody comes who really wants to become a service leader or really wants to learn how to read Torah or chant the Haftorah, or sometimes it’s an even more abstract kind of skill.

“Being able to work with them, hear them, encourage them, when they are able to look back […] when you’re able to help someone get over the initial hurdle of ‘you can do this, it’s accessible, it’s there’ – those have been the most rewarding moments.”

Konigsburg is married to his college sweetheart (who he originally met in 1st grade), and the two, along with their two kids, are staples of the B’nai Torah community.