Rabbi Search

Welcome to the information page about Shir Tikvah's first Rabbinic search process. Below you will find updates from the committee:

About the Process
December 2024 updates
Rabbinic Search Committee Members
Volunteer Opportunities

Stay tuned for more information as the search continues. You may also wish to visit our FAQ for more details about the role, and our How to Apply page for more details about the application process. If you have a specific concern or question, please reach out to the Committee by contacting Emma Lugo at emmal@shirtikvahpdx.org.

About the Process

Read the letter from the Rabbi here: Our Rabbi's History of Shir Tikvah and Perspective on Change

Read the letter from the Board of Directors about the upcoming Rabbinic search here: From the Board

Check out an overview of the selection process here: Shir Tikvah’s Rabbinic Search Process and Timeline

Here is the job description, along with instructions about how to apply: Rabbi Job Description and Application Instructions

Congregation Shir Tikvah held a series of conversations to get into the heart of who we are as a community and what qualities we hope to attract in our next rabbinic leader. All members were invited to participate in these facilitated World Cafe-style conversations. Here are the "graphic" results of these conversations.

After the World Cafe events, there was a feeling on the committee that we were missing some of the amazing voices at Shir Tikvah, so a survey was developed, circulated, and the data examined. Follow this link to a summary of the findings: SURVEY RESULTS

December 2024 updates

Your Rabbinic Search Committee has been busy. Here’s what we’ve been up to: 

• We’ve met several times in person and over Zoom to get to know each other and fully understand the process by which we will assess and ultimately recommend our newest rabbinic team member to the Board of Directors. 

• We all studied Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles. We will put these principles into place to ensure that our hiring process is inclusive. 

• We have reviewed and revised the timeline for the hiring of our new Rabbi.

• We held World Cafe events through which every congregant had a chance to share their vision, dreams, and hopes for our congregation and our Rabbi.

• We sent a survey to all members to more thoroughly flesh out our needs and wants. We published those results publicly (here!).

• We have integrated the congregation’s input and the specific tasks that our Rabbi performs into a job description. Now that this has been finalized, it is being submitted to a variety of different Rabbinic sites as well as circulated via networks of Jewish professionals.

• We have been discussing the search for a new Rabbi with other congregations in Portland and around the United States to learn about positive features to emulate and pitfalls to avoid.

• We have developed a budget for the Rabbinic Search process. 

• We have receiving and organizing resumes/videos from interested Rabbi candidates. 

We are open to discussing any of the non-confidential aspects of the search process with members. Contact us at emmal@shirtikvahpdx.org

Rabbinic Search Committee Members

Emma Lugo: Board Chair

Nehama Bennett: Board Vice Chair

Seymour Hanfling: Board Vice Chair

Morgan Senkal: Board member at large

Rachel Crawford: Congregant

Elaine Israel: Congregant

Sonia Marie Leikam: Congregant

Bob Lowe: Congregant

Marisa Debowsky, Gabbai and Congregant

Bruce Birk, MD: Congregant

Non-voting, advisory members: Rabbi Ariel Stone, JoAnn Bezodis

Volunteer Opportunities

The Rabbinic Search Committee wants you to join us in volunteering to help us find, interview, and welcome a Rabbi to our congregation. There are a lot of committees/teams that are being formed to manage the various aspects of the hiring process. If you are interested in joining any of these teams please send an email to Rachel Crawford at crawford.rose11@gmail.com. Please be aware that there is a maximum number of participants on each committee. 

• Candidate Application/Interview Team (coordinates and conducts the interviews of the Rabbinical candidates)

• Congregational Input (plans questions and sets up dates and logistics for the World Cafe events) – DONE. Thanks for volunteering!! 

• Media/ Communications Team (updates this page and assists in communications to our congregation)

• Logistics Team (coordinates visits for interviewees)

• Contract Negotiations Team  (negotiate and write the contract)

• Transition Committee/Onboarding Team (works with the new Rabbi and congregation in their first year)