YITH Home

Young Israel of Toco Hills Rabbinic Search

For the first 14 years of our shul’s existence, we have been served graciously and ably by Rabbi Michael J. Broyde, a dayyan on the Beth Din of America and a professor at Emory University’s School of Law. In the fall of 2006, Rabbi Broyde and the board realized that the shul and its needs had outgrown the capacity of a part-time pro bono rabbi, and so it was decided that we would launch a search over the 2007-08 academic year.

The process for this search was as follows:

1) The board re-affirmed the identity statement of the shul as a Modern Orthodox Young Israel synagogue and formed the Rabbinic Search Committee, co-chaired by Rabbi Michael Berger and Dr. Jay Cinnamon.

The Rabbinic Search committee fits into the shul’s governance in the following way: it is given a charge by the shul’s board to bring appropriate candidates to the shul for consideration. The board, informed by membership feedback, defines the job of a rabbi in the context of the shul’s vision and current strategic plan, and sets the parameters of the financial package. Then the committee begins to field candidates, reviews applications, conducts phone interviews, and checks references, and invites those candidates whom the committee feels will be the most appropriate candidates to the shul for a weekend. As our by-laws indicate, the membership votes for the rabbi from among the finalists chosen by the board, and then the lay leadership begins the process of negotiation with this candidate to reach a contract.

2) The membership was consulted, first through several town hall meetings in Spring 2007 and then through a survey in early fall 2007, what they were looking for in a full-time rabbi. This survey enabled a sub-committee of the board to craft a job description that reflected the priorities of the membership. At the same time, the finance committee crafted a budget that set the range of the financial package to be offered for this position within the capacity of the shul.

3) This description and financial package were sent to Yeshiva University’s Rabbinic Placement Office, part of the Center for the Jewish Future, which serves the rabbis of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), of the Orthodox Union (OU) and alumni of RIETS (Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary), YU’s rabbinical school. This office maintains contact with over 3,000 Orthodox rabbis, many of whom received their semicha (ordination) in seminaries or with individual rabbis other than YU.

4) The search committee began its work with this office, with the co-chairs meeting with Rabbis Ronald Schwarzberg and Eli Krimsky in person over the late summer and fall. With the job description in hand, in November the YU placement office began to send the committee resumes of candidates, seeking the best fit between the shul and the rabbis.

5) Iin late December, the search committee began to review applications, and narrowed the pool to those with whom phone interviews were conducted and references checked.

6) By mid-January, the search committee felt comfortable inviting several candidates for weekends (probehs) with the shul. The Committee remains open to reviewing other candidates until a rabbi is chosen by the membership and the board.

7) After each probeh, the shul board will collect the feedback of members, and decide which rabbis are truly the best fit for the shul. It is these candidates who will be put before the membership for a vote.

We believe that this process will yield the best rabbi to lead the Young Israel of Toco Hills into its next phase of growth. We have made every effort to make this process transparent (see the communications with the membership), while respecting the confidentiality and discretion of rabbinic candidates.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please contact the committee at YIRabbinicsearch@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!