Search Status The CMI Rabbinic Search Committee (Dana Astmann, Rachel Alderman, Karen Baar, Julie Chevan, Kim Braun Cohen, Jim Horwitz, Dalton King, Marsha Moses and Adam Schaefer) continues its sacred charge of reviewing Rabbinic applications and talking with prospective candidates about the opportunities for solo rabbinic leadership with our unique congregation. Since August, we have received 10 applications primarily from candidates in southern states and from as far away as Israel and Brazil. Per policy of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), a synagogue our size (430 member families) can expect that candidates have 3 years plus post-ordination experience. Demographically, we've had a mix of candidates with between 3-5 years to as many as 20 years of post-ordination experience. Last year we received a broader mix of 18 candidates primarily from the west and midwest who were interested in a senior/solo rabbi position in the northeast. It seems this year that the pool of rabbis looking for new positions is smaller than it was last year, and we've learned from our CCAR contacts that there may also be fewer synagogues looking for rabbis.

The following are the important qualities (based on a congregational survey in 2022) we seek for our next Rabbi. We have shared this information with CCAR in our application, as well as the critical first priorities we believe our next rabbi will need to assume in making the initial transition to CMI.  

Important Qualities of Our Next Rabbi We seek a Rabbi who engages deeply with members, who teaches and inspires learning and discussion, and who appreciates congregants’ unique perspectives and life experiences. Throughout CMI’s history we have been blessed to have rabbinic leadership that has embraced our congregation’s social justice values, progressive priorities, and spiritual needs. We are seeking a Rabbi who will continue to take us further by challenging us to do more and to do it better. We hope our next Rabbi will also provide engaging, approachable, and responsive spiritual leadership, pastoral support, officiation of life cycle events, and donor cultivation within our diverse congregation – while inspiring the next generation of Jewish and congregational leaders. We also hope our next Rabbi will have skills in developing and delivering sermons that spiritually inspire, intellectually stimulate, and challenge our diverse multi-generational congregation — and provide a source of reflection and comfort to congregants as we navigate a most challenging world.

Critical First Priorities for Our Next Rabbi As our next Rabbi joins our congregational family, it will be important to have the capacity to get to know our CMI members and the greater New Haven community, and to understand our history and current position within that broader community.  It will also be important to focus on building meaningful relationships that promote the engagement and growth of our membership base, lay leadership, and financial health, as well as support our ongoing Tikkun Olam, pastoral and spiritual initiatives. It will be critical that our new Rabbi is comfortable developing strong connections with our youth (especially current and pre-B’nai Mitzvah), their families, and members of all generations to support their engagement in Jewish education, values, and identity development. And it is necessary that our new Rabbi support congregants as together we address challenges facing Israel and Judaism today. 

We thank those who have participated in our in-person visits with promising candidates. We will continue to provide updates as we move forward. We welcome your thoughts and questions as we proceed with further consideration of more candidates in the next month. 

B'Shalom, 

Michael & Sarah