Overview
Congregation Beth Israel is seeking someone to lead High Holiday services at our synagogue in Bloomsburg, PA, a lovely college town about 3 hours from Philadelphia and 3 hours from New York City.
We’re a friendly congregation, with a mix of members including all branches of Judaism. We’re too small have a full-time rabbi, which means we look forward all year to having a professionally-led service. We’re looking for someone to lead the services and chants in English and Hebrew for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, as well as deliver a short sermon for each holiday. Services would include Erev Rosh Hashanah, the morning prayers, Torah service, Tashlich and evening service for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Erev Yom Kippur, and a morning and an afternoon service for Yom Kippur.
Our area is beautiful. Our Tashlich service is held right on the Susquehanna River, and there are numerous trails nearby perfect for meditative walks during the Days of Repentance.
We use Eit Ratzon for our services, and have members who could sound the shofar. But while we have people able to come up for an aliyah, we don’t have anyone currently able to read the Torah or Haftorah. We are an egalitarian congregation, and do not separate men and women for the services. We’re looking forward to meeting someone who can help us start a sweet new year, inspired to do our part in making the world better.
We are a small university town, though we also serve members from the surrounding communities, including a blue-collar town, a hospital town, and rural areas. Our congregation is a mix of people including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist. A few of our members are just now reconnecting with their heritage. Nevertheless, it’s a friendly congregation that gets along well. The next closest synagogue is 23 miles away. We hold monthly, member-led services as well as congregation activities, including a challah-baking day, Hanukkah and Purim parties, a community Sedar, a picnic, and a kayak trip.
You must be able to lead the services, chant the prayers, and read both the Torah and Haftorah for the holidays. We will need a mix of Hebrew and English — while some of our members read Hebrew, others don’t, and we want the service to be meaningful to them as well.
Room, board and mileage. We can put you up in a local hotel, or you can stay with a member of the congregation, whichever makes you most comfortable.
Susan Schwartz, nomad6@ptd.net, 570-441-2774.
About Congregation Beth Israel
We are a small university town, though we also serve members from the surrounding communities, including a blue-collar town, a hospital town, and rural areas. Our congregation is a mix of people including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist. A few of our members are just now reconnecting with their heritage. Nevertheless, it’s a friendly congregation that gets along well.