Rabbinic Search Committee

Welcome to the Rabbi Search Committee information page. Below you will find updates from the Rabbinic Search Committee. Stay tuned for more information as the search continues. If you have a specific concern or question, please reach out to the Committee at emmal@shirtikvahpdx.org.

Read the letter from the Rabbi here: From the Rabbi:

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

April 2024 update

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 learned 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 have begun the planning for the World Cafe events through which every congregant will get to share their vision, dreams, and hopes for our congregation and our Rabbi.   

• We have reviewed rabbinic job posts and developed the format for Shir Tikvah’s post.  Once we have concluded our listening sessions and have integrated the congregation’s input, job postings will be submitted to a variety of different Rabbinic sites.

• We have discussed the search for a new Rabbi with other congregations in Portland to find out positive features to emulate and pitfalls to avoid.  

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

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 Teasdale-Bennett: Board Vice Chair

Seymour Hanfling: Board Treasurer

Morgan Senkal: Board member at large

Kalyn Culler Cohen: Congregant

Bruce Birk, MD: Congregant

Non-voting, advisory members: Rabbi Ariel Stone, Ruthie Prasil, Amelia Schroth

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 emmal@shirtikvahpdx.org. 

• Candidate Application/Interview Team

• Congregational Input (plans questions and sets up dates and logistics for the World Cafe events) 

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

• Logistics Team (coordinates interviews and visits for interviewees)

• Contract Negotiations Team  (negotiate and write the contract)

• Transition Committee/Onboarding Team