Leah Nadich Meir - Beth Sholom, Teaneck, NJ

Judy Woll from Beth Abraham Dayton Ohio

Hal Koplin from Temple Beth El in Lancaster, PA

Aviva Jezer - Temple Aliyah - Needham, Massachusetts

Richmond - Congregation Or Atid

Hi I am Fred Levick from Congregation B’nai Torah in Atlanta

Hello, watching from Gloucester, MA. Temple Ahavat Achim

Hi from Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego

Geri Samuels-Or Atid, Richmond VA

hi! Jillian Bernstein, Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac, MD

Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald, Congregation HEA, Denver CO

Congregation Beth Israel in Greenville, SC

Betsy MacCarthy - Congregation Beth Israel in Greenville, SC.😊

Sue Lampert - Congregation Beth Shalom, Northbrook, IL

Marty Chester from Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis, MN

Adrienne Berman, Beth El, Minneapolis, MN

Fonda Lowe, B'nai Israel, Rockville, MD

Tova Tolman, Agudath Achim in Savannah, GA

Andrea Hagan Temple Beth-El Poughkeepsie, NY

David Goldstein San Francisco, Am Tikvah

Hello from Hebrew Educational Alliance, Denver CO from Laura Intfen

Ron Fink Cong. Or Atid, Richmond, VA

Robyn Feuerberg , Congregation Beth Emeth, Herndon, VA

Norm Lewis, Beth Abraham Synagogue, Dayton, OH

Bev Mendelson-Shaare Zion Beth-El Congregation, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Hello from Beth El in Birmingham, AL

Also from Gloucester, MA

Phil Freidenreich, Congregation Beth El, Yardley, PA

David Braitman, Beth Israel Congregation, Owings Mills MD

Ellen Kischel, Temple Israel, Sharon, MA

Hi all. Or Atid. Richmond VA.

Adam Fins, Agudath Achim, Savannah, GA

Marcel Buchsbaum, Congregation Sons Of Israel, Woodmere NY

Martha Katz-Hyman, Rodef Sholom Temple, Newport News, VA

From Monroe, NY

Wendy Rapps from Shaare Zion Beth EL Montreal

Aliyah: https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/2021-09/aliyah-2021-a-congregational-rabbinic-search-guide.pdf

So would a congregation hold both kinds? or does one take the place of the other?

Can you explain why a screening interview should not include the entire search committee, especially if it's not a large group?

Sorry if I missed this, will you be sharing the slides?

we will share slides and answer questions at the end

Leah-we did this last year, wasn’t optimal for us. WE’RE INCLUDING THE FULL CTTEE THIS TIME AROUND, MUCH BETTER

When hiring an associate rabbi, should the senior rabbi be the primary questioner?

You will get a full sample interview note taking form, and questions

Can you send link to sing up for next week’s session on eliminating/recognizing bias in interviews?

https://crm.uscj.org/civicrm/event/info?id=448&reset=1

so you recommend that we see all applicants before offering the next step?

Is it an issue that all of us will be asking very similar questions?

Being in Canada, we are better with virtual.

Having 2-3 candidates come in assumes that you've had more than 2-3 respond to the congregation's questionnaire posting. Sometimes a congregation doesn't get a lot of response, or the responses they get are candidates who are not judged to be suitablel.

Do you have recommendation for them to bring/not bring small children on a visit weekend?

Have them decide. Some may say it's more difficult to have them there for an interview, some may say it's important the whole family unit is part of the decision, but that can be their decision.

And a recommendation for a proper/appropriate way to ask if there is a partner or family they'd like to bring with them for a visit?

I will share as a rabbi who has been through the process that rabbis talk to one another and share information about their visits.

At what point may an offer of employment be made?

@Rabbi Gruenwald, I would be very surprised if they didn't!

Are Rabbis encouraged to communicate with us about how they felt after a visit?

@tova Tolman, excellent question

How do you manage looking interested vs deperate with a candidate you really like?

At what point is it appropriate to check references?

What is reasonable time frame to expect a response to an offer from a candidate

after the weekend visit or before if you prefer

How do you let them know you are only paying for 2 if they say they are bringing 4

You can request a response by the end of the week or after a weekend if offered on a Thursday

Yes, Bev, totally appropriate; we can send you suggestions for virtual interview "visits"

This might be a too big question for here but are there any guidelines (other than to not use yes or no questions) for spotting “red flags” when references give candidates positive reviews

No one gives a name (knowingly) of someone who is going to give a "bad" reference. You have to read between the lines - don't you think?

I have a friend who is a rabbi who went through the process of interviewing only a few years ago. Would it be inappropriate to ask them about the things in their interviews that enticed them or turned them off to a particular congregation? What made their choice feel "right"?

Is it acceptable to contact references not on the list provided by the candidate?

Great idea Betsy!

Don't let your committee members just ask any question without you knowing what they are going to ask.

@Frederick - we're Jews, so we're all going to naturally play geography....

Please respond to Frederick's question about contact references who are not on the candidates list of references. Such as synagogue officers, etc I would assume.

sending two bouquets of flowers might make you look desperate. Just send 1. lol

We had the first interview taped and the Co-Chairs were able to see it later. That was really helpful.

Can you give us an idea how many synagogues are looking for rabbis and how many rabbis are looking for positions?

It is common for the president of the shul in search to contact the president of the shul where the candidate currently is.

reminder that recorded interviews need to be approved by the candidate in advance

Years ago, we had a short period of time to look for a rabbi, and the search committee ended up with someone who was "the last rabbi standing." The rabbi turned out to be a very poor match for the congregation and had issues that we wish we'd known about ahead of time. It is sometimes better to go without a rabbi, if the congregation can handle that, or engage an interim rabbi, rather than to engage the wrong person for the congregation.

Yes, Martha.

we also suggest after a long time rabbi, a transitional rabbi is helpful

I have a template letter I send after receiving their initial resume that says we would ask to be able to record the conversation and it will be erased after all committee members have viewed it. This way I don't forget to ask for permission.

This might make some congregations feel better ;) -We are behind the curve in terms of when we learned we needed to start a search. Any helpful suggestions?

How do we know if a rabbi's congregation knows he/she\/they are looking?

Asking members of the office staff can be very helpful

when can we expect to get the recording and the slide deck.

there will probably be a follow up e-mail tomorrow

To be in search a candidate has had to let his leadership know, whether the community knows is up to that shul

all material will be out later today / or by tomorrow morning

Can you break down by synagogue size how many congregations are looking in each category?

Thank you so much. Very helpful.

This was wonderful thank you

Evaluation: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RabbinicSearch12-7-21Bias Webinar: https://crm.uscj.org/civicrm/event/info?id=448&reset=1Final Steps Webinar: https://crm.uscj.org/civicrm/event/info?id=442&reset=1

Thanks so much to everyone--this has been very helpful!

Thank you for an informative and helpful webinar

they will also be sent in the follow up

Thank you for your insights .

@fredrick. Great question

Thank you.

Thanks so much

Thank you