RABBINICAL SEARCH UPDATES

This page will be regularly updated with information about the search for our new rabbi.

November 27, 2023

I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving! We have lots of exciting things to report from the Search Committee. You should've all received an email blast today from Melissa Weiss that announces that we have 2 Rabbi Chief Executive candidates coming in during the month of December. One will be here December 3rd and the other will be December 17th. We just learned that we will have our 3rd candidate will be here January 7th. You can log into the Members Only section of the website to review their application materials.

The most important thing you can do is come to Adult Education in person at 9:30a on those dates. Candidates are interviewing us as much as we're interviewing them so let's show them what an engaged and vibrant congregation we are! Adult Education will be hybrid as well in case you are unable to be there in person.

Rabbi Barr has asked me to join him for our hybrid Shabbat on December 1st so we can get ready as a congregation to interact with our candidates and answer any questions you may have. I hope as many of you as possible can join us for that special Shabbat service.

A day or two after each candidate's visit, members will receive an email with a link to a survey where they will be able to provide the Search Committee with their feedback on the candidate. The email will also have instructions on how to access a recording of the Adult Ed session in case they were not able to attend at all. Members may provide feedback if they were in person, hybrid or viewed the recording. Please remember that the survey is not a "vote" - it is to provide input to the Search Committee for us to use to inform our recommendations to the Board.

If you're interested in all the activities that the candidates will be engaged in, please take a look below at the schedule of events. Thank you for your ongoing support of the vital process.

Maureen

Sunday

9:30a-11:30a – Adult Education – this will be a hybrid event and will be recorded for those congregants who cannot attend in-person or online and wish to view later.

o The first 80 minutes the candidate will present to the congregation. We have asked that they cover the following in that allotted time:

Introduce themselves to the congregation in whatever way they wish – whatever it is they would like us to know about them.
Showcase any skillset they would like to demonstrate – this could be delivering a midrash, performing music, delivering a sermon, etc.
Teach on a topic of their choosing ensuring they engage both the in-person and online participants.

o The last 30 minutes will be Q&A with those in-person and online – there will be a 10 minute break prior to the Q&A

11:30a-noon – break
Noon-1:30p – Lunch at Beth Adam for the Candidate with Board members, Finance and Personnel Committee Chairs, and Search Committee members
Free time in the afternoon to relax and recharge
Evening - get picked up at hotel to have dinner with Board President (Marcie Rosenston), Board Treasurer (Paul Korn), and Search Committee Chair (Maureen Marks)

Monday

Morning – Individual interviews at Beth Adam with:

o Rabbi Barr

o Executive Director, Melissa Weiss

o Rabbi Lewis

o CEO, Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, Brian Jaffee (if available)

o CEO, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, Danielle Minson (if available)

Afternoon - informal lunch at Beth Adam with one or two members of the Search Committee
Afternoon - Zoom call with Past Presidents group

RABBINICAL SEARCH UPDATES

This page will be regularly updated with information about the search for our new rabbi.

October 16, 2023

Happy Fall everyone!

Your Rabbinical Search Committee (RSC) has been hard at work the last couple months since the job posting went "live" in mid-August. We've received close to 10 applications so far which is more than I expected at this point. We'll be starting first round interviews by zoom in the next week. We still hope to have in-person interviews the first 3 Sundays in December with the congregation having an opportunity to engage with each candidate during the regular adult education time slot on those days. We strongly encourage your in-person attendance for those events so we can demonstrate what an engaged and dynamic membership we are. It's important for us to remember that candidates will be evaluating us as much as we are evaluating them. While members will not be "voting" on candidates at that point in the process, we will have a way for you to submit your reactions/feedback to each candidate for the RSC's consideration as we deliberate on whom we may want to recommend to the Board of Trustees for selection as the new Rabbi Chief Executive (RCE).

And, what if we don't find anyone during this search process that we believe will meet our needs? Then, we will begin the search again next summer, and Rabbi Barr will continue as RCE until his official retirement date of June 20, 2025. If we do find someone during the current search, then the new RCE will start July 1, 2024, and Rabbi Barr's duties/responsibilities will be scoped back so the new RCE can take on the role. He will continue to do some teaching in adult ed, will be involved in High Holiday services, and may continue to do some life cycle events, but that would be at the discretion of the new RCE and negotiated between the two of them. Because it's important that a new RCE be involved in the conversation regarding Rabbi Barr's role in that transition year, we can't be more specific than this right now. However, it's important that all of us are prepared for things to change whenever it is we have a new RCE leading Congregation Beth Adam.

On October 1st, Rabbi Barr and I had a wonderful conversation during adult ed with those who were able to attend. We discussed where we are with the search process more in depth and shared what's coming up. He also shared his perspective on the potential start of a new RCE in July and his hopes for what it will mean for him and for Beth Adam. If you weren't able to attend, I invite you to watch the recording of this session [click here]. We'll be living in a bit of a gray area for the next several months. Having a common set of expectations as we outline in this session can help us navigate that together.

Thanks for your ongoing support and encouragement as we work to secure Beth Adam's future. I know it's hard to focus on day to day things right now when there is so much violence and grief in Israel. Wishing each of you peace as we manage these turbulent times.

Maureen

August 23, 2023

Hello and welcome to our Search Process Blog! Here is where members can come to find out what's new and happening with our search for Beth Adam's next Rabbi Chief Executive. Keep an eye out on the weekly email blasts from our Executive Director, Melissa Weiss, to let you know when something new has been posted here!

Well, we've made a LOT of progress over the past few months. I'm very excited to announce that our job announcement went live this past week. You can find the job brochure we developed in this "For Candidates" section of the website. We love how it turned out and hope you do, too. We're promoting the job on various platforms and are working with a couple organizations whom we believe may have really high quality candidates who may be interested in a congregation like ours. The Rabbinic Search Committee (RSC) plans to complete first round Zoom interviews by the end of October/early November, complete second round Zoom interviews by end of November, and hope to invite 3 candidates for in-person interviews over the first 3 weekends in December. Please earmark Sunday adult education in your calendars to meet/interact with our candidates those first 3 Sundays in December! We need your involvement!

If we are successful in hiring a new RCE in early 2024, that person will begin their tenure with us on July 1, 2024. This will mean that Rabbi Barr's role will begin to change at that time, and he will step back from various duties allowing the new RCE to take on that role. We are still talking through those details, and many will not be finalized until we have a new RCE selected so that person can be part of that conversation as well. Rabbi Barr has been very clear with the Board and the RSC that his primary goal is the successful transition to a new RCE to ensure a bright future for the congregation, and that he will do whatever is needed to support that. If we do not select someone in early 2024, then Rabbi Barr will remain RCE until his official retirement on June 30, 2025. He will have a Rabbi Emeritus role upon his retirement, but, again, the details of how this will be defined are still under discussion.

We are planning a special adult education on October 1st where we will talk more in depth about where we are and what's coming up as well as respond to any questions you may have. And, of course, you are always welcome to email your questions to rabbinicalsearchcommittee@bethadam.org. Thanks for your support of this effort!

Maureen