Rabbi Search Update 1/20/26
Written by: Temple Israel Rabbi Search Committee
Lots going on with the Rabbi Search!
Put these two weekends on your calendar: February 6-8, and February 13-15! We will have two more finalists coming to visit TIP on these weekends. A separate email will come out with the specific events (and sign up links) for each weekend. Public events will include Friday night services/oneg, Saturday morning services/kiddush, an adult learning session after services, and a zoom Q&A on Sunday morning.
We are very excited about both of these candidates and hope many of you can join us to meet them. We would also like to share how we determined our finalists; here’s a summary of the process so far:
- Our application was listed with the USCJ/RA at the beginning of October, and we started receiving applications shortly after that. As a member of the USCJ, we were not permitted to list our position with other organizations until Feb 15, unless a waiver is submitted.
- We applied for, and received a waiver from the USCJ/RA on December 15; and shortly after that posted our application with Hebrew College, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, and the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR.)
- To-date, we have received 18 applications. Each application has been screened by the two of us; and in almost every case we moved ahead with a 30 minute preliminary zoom interview.
- After the preliminary interview, we decided if the candidate was going to move to a one hour zoom interview with the RSC interview subcommittee. Nine applicants moved ahead to this stage.
- After each interview, every member of the interview subcommittee independently completed a rubric that scored the applicant on 8 skills/attributes (these were determined by the results of the congregational survey we did last summer).
- Three candidates emerged as possible finalists.
- After each finalist visit, we collect feedback from the board, search committee, and the congregation. Once the three finalists have visited, we will analyze and discuss all the feedback, and make a hiring recommendation to the board. Once the board ratifies our recommendation, our synagogue president offers the position, and contract negotiations begin.
