Free Synogogue of Flushing Rabbi and the KKK

Rabbi Michael Weisser, a new addition to the Free Synagogue of Flushing, previously spent many years working in Nebraska and it was there that he reached out to former Ku Klux Klan member Larry Trapp.
Originally from Connecticut, Weisser was influenced by Rabbi Issac Moseson in New Jersey and decided to first become an ordained cantor. He spent four years as a cantor in Memphis and soon started functioning as a rabbi even before he had the official title.
Weisser then worked in Lincoln, Nebraska for 14 years. In the 1990s, he had just moved into a new house with his wife and family when he received a phone call one Sunday morning. Before hanging up, all the caller said was “you will be sorry you ever moved into 5810 Randolph Street, Jew boy.”
A couple of days later a package of hate materials was left at the family’s home.
After confirming that Trapp was behind it, Weisser began calling and leaving messages for him. This continued for about two months until one day Trapp called Weisser and said he wanted to stop what he was doing but didn’t know how.
Not only did Weisser help Trapp, but eventually his family took Trapp into their home when he became ill. Trapp also went on to convert to Judaism.
“It confirmed for me, or reconfirmed for me, that if you reach out with love and compassion and you live that message, if you try to do the best you can, then amazing things can come from it,” Weisser said of the experience. “It’s not just talk; it’s real.”
Weisser decided he had been in one place long enough when he had been in Nebraska for about 13 years. He accepted a three-year appointment in New Zealand and said he had some wonderful experiences there, one of which was being selected to represent New Zealand during a series of interfaith dialogues.
When Weisser came back to the United States, he set up a meditation program. When the Free Synagogue of Flushing began looking for a new rabbi, Rabbi Emeritus Charles Agin, a mentor, teacher and friend of Weisser’s, suggested a few people for the position, including Weisser.
“I got a call out of the blue from the Free Synagogue of Flushing [asking] ‘how would you like to interview with us?’” Weisser said. “I said, ‘sure, why not?’”
Weisser, who now lives in Whitestone, started at the Free Synagogue of Flushing on September 5. He emphasized that the synagogue is welcoming to all people.
“What I’d like to do is to get out the word that this is a very friendly, welcoming, open place, that this synagogue accepts people at face value,” he said.
Also, Weisser said that he will be involved with interfaith activities and will be working with other communities, noting that “we’re all in this world together and our religious traditions overlap more than they diverge.”
The Free Synagogue of Flushing is located at 41-60 Kissena Boulevard. For more information, call 718-961-0030 or visit www.freesynagogue.org.