A beloved rabbi who traveled to Richland each year to help members of Congregation Beth Sholom celebrate the High Holidays has died in Israel after a battle with cancer.

Rabbi Joseph Lukinsky, 78, will be buried in Israel, according to an e-mail from his wife, Betty. The rabbi's guest book is available at Legacy.com.

Lukinsky was a professor emeritus of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and made annual trips to the Richland synagogue -- which doesn't have its own full-time rabbi -- for more than 15 years.

"He stayed so connected to us. Even though he was here for just 12 days a year, he knew everybody's name, he would e-mail us personally," said Sara Barron, immediate past president of Beth Sholom.

Lukinsky was well-known in the Tri-Cities beyond the synagogue. He always stayed in the same hotel and walked to the Richland Public Library, spending hours jotting notes and studying. He also talked to community groups and helped with interfaith events.

Lukinsky had planned to be the rabbi of a congregation but instead wound up in academics after serving as a chaplain in the Army. But he tried during his long career to visit small synagogues -- such as Beth Sholom on Thayer Drive -- to help with the observation of holy times.

Lukinsky kept coming to Richland even after he and Betty moved to Israel a few years ago.

The rabbi was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer after his trip to Richland last fall. He died Friday.

When Lukinsky first started coming to the Tri-Cities, Betty often stayed behind because of other commitments. But when she walked off the plane for her first visit, she immediately recognized different members of Beth Sholom because the rabbi had talked about them so much, Barron said.

"He was so special to us," she said. "... It will be a very tough year this year."

The High Holidays start in mid-September. A student rabbi will come to Beth Sholom for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and a visiting rabbi will come for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Members of Beth Sholom will miss Lukinsky greatly, Barron said.

"He was a very gentle, kind man. He made a connection with everybody he met," she said.

Lukinsky's family is sitting shiva -- a mourning ritual in the Jewish tradition -- in Israel and Chicago.

For more information about Lukinsky, e-mail info@richland.uscjhost.net.

-- Sara Schilling: 509-582-1402; sschilling@tricityherald.com.