עליה ALIYAH A Congregation’s Rabbinic Search Guide Written by Rabbi Elliot Schoenberg Revised by Rabbi Elliot Schoenberg and Emily Hendel © The Rabbinical Assembly 2018/5779 Preface You are embarking on a challenging process which will hopefully bring great benefit to your congregational community and provide a source of great satisfaction for your search committee. This guide is intended to make the process as efficient and anxiety-free as possible. Each situation is unique, yet there is something to learn from collective experience in helping congregations find their rabbi. This guide reflects the accumulated advice gleaned from both laity and rabbis who have gone through the process of looking for a rabbi. By the early Middle Ages, the most common term for a synagogue was kehillah kedosha “a sacred community.” The search committee’s task of finding a rabbi may appear to be secular or mundane. But the term kehillah kedosha reminds us that the task before us may be the ultimate religious purpose, to secure a spiritual leader to guide us on the path to becoming a sacred community. It says in Genesis 28:16: “Surely, the Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it.” Judaism teaches that we can find holiness in the mundane tasks of the world. By agreeing to serve on a rabbinic search committee, you are doing God’s work. Searching for a rabbi is not another business task for the synagogue, it can be a path to make God’s presence felt in our lives. If you follow these guidelines, based on the experience of many others, not only will you be successful in finding a rabbi, but you will feel that you have carried out a mitzvah. As you begin this religious task it is appropriate to recite the Sheheheyanu blessing: ברוך אתה ה אלקינו מלך העולם שהחֹינו וקימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה Praised are You, Adonai our God, who rules the universe, granting us life, sustaining us and enabling us to reach this holy occasion. How might you make this is a sacred journey? 1) Study a text together. Begin every search committee meeting with a d’var Torah by a member of the committee. 2) Do a mitzvah together. Do an act of gemilut hesed as a committee. For example, your synagogue may be one organization that takes turns providing services at a homeless shelter. Let the search committee volunteer as a unit to represent the community. 3) Wear a kippah at all meetings and when discussing your plans and reviewing resumes. 4) Put ritual items and Jewish books out on the meeting table. For example, put out a small basket of dried fruit for Tu B’shvat. 5) Use careful language and have respectful deliberations. Even in heated conversation, be aware of the prohibition against lashon harah (hurtful speech). This excursion can be a difficult, long, and tedious process. However, if you keep in the back of your thoughts the importance of the physical and spiritual benefit the results will bring your community, you will be able to overcome any issues your congregation might face. A successful process will not only get your congregation a rabbi, but help it grow and mature. A congregation’s process of selecting a rabbi has four distinct periods: 1) self-reflection and preparation; 2) the search process; 3) transition; and 4) first year. A congregation will always experience all four stages, but not always in sequence. However, it is critical to pass through each stage completely and thoroughly, understanding the needs and demands of each period, and in each step of the process, the presence of God will be felt 1 Search Preparation & the Polarity Model Many synagogues fall into the trap of using a “business model” for their rabbinic search, because they view their rabbi as their CEO. The language of business has permeated synagogue culture in recent years, and some synagogues have said they must act more “business-like” by, for example, developing a mission statement or developing a “financial plan.” Because most of our congregants are much more familiar with business models of language, these are often employed in the rabbinical search, which becomes a search for a senior executive rather than a spiritual and religious leader. When looking for a religious leader your search needs to approach the task differently, by using a values-based evaluation system called a Polarity Model. Your rabbinic search committee must focus on what your candidate’s vision and values are. For example, you should examine what a candidate’s idea of tikkun olam is. Consider a candidate’s interpersonal skills and community building aspirations. Like a school principal, a religious leader builds community by creating meaning, articulating values and directing the purpose. What matters the most in the synagogue world is the opportunity to serve others, create a sacred, caring community, fight passionately for a cause and find meaningful ways to connect to God. Synagogues, of course, use financial considerations in their planning but they emphasize tradition, rituals, symbols and customs when making decisions. Many of the duties carried out by a rabbi cannot be justified by any kind of financial yardstick because they are based on a religious value system with dreams and ideas as the main characteristics. Rabbis need to be mindful of synagogue management constraints, but they are religious leaders first. You are looking for a person who will help you grow religiously both as individuals and as a congregation. A rabbi’s key role is what Rabbi Jack Bloom, z”l, calls being a “symbolic exemplar,” a religious symbol. Rabbis, whether off or on the bimah, represent the Divine. Clergy evoke the Presence whenever and wherever they are present. Many congregants see in the rabbi their pathway to God and their avenue and opportunity for chastisement and redemption. As a result, the search committee should evaluate the religious authenticity of the candidate by asking how the candidate sees their rabbinic role as a calling. Oversight of the Process – USCJ, the RA Career Center, and the Joint Placement Commission When a congregation enters the search process, tension and anxiety are high and congregations may be comforted by renewing ties with the national and regional offices of USCJ and the RA. However, it is the Rabbinical Assembly Career Center and the Joint Placement Commission (JPC) that specifically look after the placement process. USCJ can serve as a valuable resource to congregations during the rabbinic search. The Career Center strongly recommends that the congregation contact USCJ at the inception of the search process. USCJ can offer valuable guidance, particularly from the congregation’s perspective. We ask you to be in touch with your USCJ Synagogue Consultant immediately if you have not done so already. They will help you get started by visiting with your search committee and reviewing your documents. The JPC is the only advisory group and decision-making body with regard to pulpit rabbinic placement in the Conservative Movement. It is a partnership of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, USCJ and the Rabbinical Assembly. The JPC’s major obligations are to monitor the rabbinic search processes and to administer the Placement Code. The JPC brings order and dignity to the process by maintaining a set of regulations and 2 parameters both for rabbis seeking a congregation and for congregations in search of a rabbi. These rules and regulations, carefully conceived, are continuously evaluated. Their goal is to provide the best opportunity for congregations and rabbis to meet and affect a lasting relationship. They are published so that all who participate in the process can be well informed about procedures and ethical policies. Transparency of the process is a core value. There is a procedure for exceptions to these rules for good and sufficient cause. Please be in touch with the Career Center if you would like to inquire about an exception to the rules. The RA Career Center counsels both rabbis and synagogue search committees, creates programs on transition issues and the dynamics of leadership change, and serves as a resource for the broad process of integrating a new rabbi into a congregation. The Global Director of Rabbinic Career Development, Rabbi Elliot Schoenberg, writes, speaks and teaches widely about issues of placement at regional and national conferences of both USCJ and the RA. The Career Center is here to assist rabbis in understanding the placement process and has a strong responsibility to congregations that are searching for rabbis. Congregations are just as anxious as rabbis, and the Career Center is always available to congregations and search committees to answer questions and to be responsive to situations as they develop. It is helpful to reserve Rabbi Schoenberg’s time for advice in advance. Because telephone time is limited, it is best to make as many inquiries as possible by email, referring all routine matters and requests to the Director of Career Services, Emily Hendel: phone (212) 280-6052; email [email protected]. The Career Center office is open from 9:00 am-5:00 pm, Monday through Friday ET. We close one hour before sunset on Friday in the winter months. Self-Reflection Most non-profit organizations, including synagogues, spend little time being reflective. However, it is imperative that a congregation self-reflect and evaluate its current situation before beginning the search for a new rabbi. Sitting down to fill out the congregational questionnaire is often the first time a synagogue committee reflects as a group on the needs and aspirations of their congregation. Some synagogues do go through a process of reflection, but it rarely impacts the everyday life of the congregation or congregants.