The Rabbi Search Committee is pleased to announce that we have two candidates for the position of rabbi at Havurah Shalom. They will be visiting with us in December and January. Unfortunately, our third candidate had to withdraw his application due to family circumstances. These are the two weekends when our candidates will visit:

December 2-3: Rabbi Benjamin Barnett - RSVP for weekend events with Rabbi Barnett here.

January 6-7: Rabbi Micah Becker-Klein - RSVP for weekend events with Rabbi Becker-Klein here.

• Click here to see their bios and links to materials they have written found on the rabbi search website.

The process to determine which candidates to invite started with the focus groups and your participation.

• Click here to see the Focus Group report.

A job description was then developed based on the feedback we received from the focus group and your input.

• Click here to see the job description.

We realize that what we want is a “super rabbi” but also recognize that there is no one candidate who could possibly fulfill all that is in the job description. As you meet each of the candidates, we hope that the focus group report and job description will guide your evaluation of each individual, and the extent to which they embody the most important qualities we are seeking in a new rabbi.

In April we posted the job at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Placement Center and started receiving resumes that were forwarded to us by the Placement Center. We received over ten resumes and three were from women.

In July the Rabbi Search Committee reviewed the resumes and identified five rabbis with whom to hold Skype interviews in August. From those Skype interviews, we identified rabbis to invite to come visit.

So why are none of the candidates women? Two of the rabbis interviewed in August were women. We hoped that we could have a balance of female and male candidates. Unfortunately the female candidates did not have the experience and qualities that Havurah Shalom is looking for and needs in our next rabbi.

The Rabbi Search Committee believes that the two candidates who will be visiting with us are highly qualified and we look forward to your input after their visits. We hope you will take this opportunity to participate in as many of the events as you can.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at rabbisearch@havurahshalom.org.

- The Rabbi Search Committee