“The Process and Beyond”

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Rabbi Schindler on becoming the senior rabbi at Temple Beth El. All of us know what wonderful leadership Judy has provided to our congregation as our assistant rabbi.
 
It's hard to believe the impact she has had in the short time that we have known her. Rabbi Schindler completely revamped the religious school curriculum. Her creative programming has given Temple Beth El a far-reaching reputation, and we have been the recipients of several national awards.

As you know, the Temple conducted an extensive search to fill the position of senior rabbi. The search committee, co-chaired by David Crane and Norm Levin, created a thorough and exhaustive process to evaluate all of the candidates. This included studying resumes, reading sermons and other sample writings, phone interviews, visiting some of the candidates at their temples and much more.

The search committee, comprised of Bobbi Bernstein, Mickey Gold, Shirley Fytelson, Elsa Multer, Claire Krusch, Jennifer Deutsch, Doug Benson, Norm Levin, David Crane, Jonathan Howard, Tammy Seigel and Alan Blumenthal deserves our thanks for their tireless effort and dedication. Each member put in many hours, not only for countless meetings and reading hundreds of pages of materials, but also travel away from their families (at their personal expense). I was most impressed with the professionalism of their deliberations. Members put aside personal agendas, listened respectfully and debated constructively until a consensus emerged. In addition to the search committee I want to thank those people who hosted dinners and other events.

From the beginning, it was important to me that congregants have the opportunity to be heard and play an active role in the selection process. There were "town meetings" where we heard your thoughts about the needs of the Temple. We also received invaluable input from literally hundreds of congregants in the form of emails letters, phone calls and personal conversations. All of this input was substantive and thoughtful, and assisted the search committee in defining a comprehensive list of priorities to look for in the next senior rabbi, and eventually to make a decision. Thanks to every one of you who contributed to the effort.

The rabbi selection criteria took into account five main categories

• The first was Religious Leadership: Each candidate was evaluated on their preaching and spirituality, plus their knowledge of Torah and Judaica, their concepts of officiating at services and how Jewish life cycles were conducted.
   
• The second was Educator/Scholarship: Each candidate was evaluated on their ability to represent a preschool, youth, adult and community setting.
   
• The third was Pastoral Leadership: Each candidate was evaluated on dealing with individuals and family counseling, visitation, and as a liaison to Jewish Family Services and overall support to our members.
   
• The fourth was Community Leadership/Community Relations: Each candidate was evaluated on their leadership as spokesperson and role model, a community-wide leader. In addition to dealing with Jewish and non-Jewish community relations.
   
• he fifth was Temple Leadership: Each candidate was evaluated on communicating efficiently with the Temple Board of Directors, the Temple Staff and Administrator, and their involvement with the congregation and committees

In the end, it was clear that Rabbi Schindler offered the attributes that we were looking for. I am convinced that the collective time and energy that we all invested was necessary, and that it paid off in our reaching the right decision: that Rabbi Schindler is the best choice to lead Temple Beth El at this point in our evolution.

Selecting a senior rabbi was important of course, but the process also taught us more about ourselves and where we want to go as a congregation. To me, the most exciting part of the decision is the opportunity it provides for the Temple's positive change and growth. With this in mind, we have formed a transition committee led by our first vice president, Fred Dumas. The group will work closely with our professionals and congregants to ensure that the process of Rabbi Schindler moving into her new role runs as smoothly as possible. The committee will also assist in evaluating staffing needs and defining areas of responsibilities as the board plans for the Temple's future.

What a wonderful time to be president of Temple Beth El! Not only do we have a dynamic new senior rabbi; we will also soon move into a new education building. Plans call for us to take occupancy in June. This too presents great challenges and opportunities. During the next few weeks, we will share more details about plans and needs for the new building.

Thank you again for your understanding and commitment during this time of transition for Temple Beth El. I know I can count on you for continued support as we move forward. Sherri and I wish all of you a happy and healthy new year.

Larry Farber, President