Rabbi Larry Karol and his wife, Rhonda, moved to Overland Park in June, 2021. He retired from his position at Temple Beth-El in Las Cruces, NM on June 30, 2020, becoming Rabbi Emeritus of the congregation upon his retirement.
Rabbi Karol was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. His family was active for many years at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, where he was Bar Mitzvah and Confirmed and where he was active in the Temple Youth Group.
Rabbi Karol graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 1976, and was ordained as a rabbi at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1981. He received an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from HUC-JIR in 2006.
He served at Temple Israel in Dayton, Ohio (assistant rabbi in 1981-1984); Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, Kansas (1984-2006); Temple Israel of Dover, New Hampshire (2006-2011); and Temple Beth-El in Las Cruces, New Mexico (2011-2020). During his congregational rabbinate, Rabbi Karol focused on Jewish education, innovative worship, interreligious and multicultural programs, and Jewish musical creativity. He has written often for the local press, including a monthly column for a weekly newspaper in Las Cruces. He released three albums of original Jewish music in 2003, 2005 and 2014.
His wife, Rhonda, is an experienced educator of young children who holds a masters degree in Jewish Communal Service from Brandeis University. She has taught classes in Religious School for over 40 years and worked in early childhood education in a variety of community settings.
Their son, Adam, serves as a consultant for Jewish organizations and congregations in website and communications design and development. Adam is married to Rabbi Juliana Schnur Karol, who serves as associate rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City. They live with their two children in Manhattan.
Rabbi Larry Karol
Rablpkarol@gmail.com