Senior Rabbi Search Updates

Fellow Congregants,

We continue to receive applicants, and, through our partners at the CCAR (the Reform movement rabbinic organization), have proactively contacted a number of talented rabbis who could be a good fit for Beth Am. This part of the process can be quite sensitive, and requires us to keep the names of applicants and potential applicants confidential.

In addition, every congregant who will be interacting with candidates directly has completed Unconscious Bias Training, either virtually or led by the very talented Donnovan Yisrael. By becoming more aware of our own biases, we can open our minds to the best rabbis who come through our doors, rather than limiting ourselves based on preconceptions that may have little value in predicting success. It’s more fair to our applicants, and it drives a better outcome for us.

Several people have asked about our job posting. Here it is — all 12 pages of it. This reflects the priorities you described in the survey and meetings over the summer, and incorporates incredibly helpful feedback from the Search Advisory Group. What a photogenic congregation we are!

As we’ve said many times, we welcome congregant input, particularly about considerations that are important to you. We will not make any decisions until we have met with all viable candidates, and will evaluate all candidates against the same criteria, which were published earlier. You can send comments or questions to search@betham.org. Our next update will be coming November 30.

L'Shalom,

Deb Radin, Ben Lloyd and Loree Farrar
Senior Rabbi Search Co-chairs