Overview

Our rabbi will need to provide energetic leadership of religious services and be articulate and creative when communicating with the congregation from the bimah, in email and bulletin communications with congregants, and in educational offerings.

Our new rabbi must shine from the bimah, but also be active in the behind-the-scenes roles of the rabbi, like visiting and reaching out to the sick, coordinating social action projects, and providing adult education.

Our rabbi should have innovative ideas for building relationships between congregants and increasing the level of participation from the community.

Our rabbi will need to be able and willing to organize and lead all religious services; read Torah, and chant haftarah when needed.

Our rabbi will need to be able to develop a rapport with people of all ages.

Our rabbi must be computer literate and should be social media savvy.

We would like our rabbi to inspire the congregation with sermons that illuminate Jewish concepts but also reflect on being Jewish in today’s society.

Timing Expectations: This is a full time role but due to the size of our congregation the rabbi will have substantial time for other activities that will make them an even more valuable member of our community.
Rabbi Qualifications: We are a conservative congregation looking for a rabbi that can perform the full range of duties encompassed by a conservative rabbi. He/She does not need to be an ordained conservative rabbi.
Community Description:

Northwest Indiana, also known as the Calumet Region, borders Lake Michigan and is considered part of the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2010 Census, Northwest Indiana has a population of 819,537. It is a mix of industrial, suburban, and rural landscapes. The jewel of the region is our Indiana Dunes lakeshore, which was named a national park in 2019 (https://www.nps.gov/indu/index.htm). On the list of Indiana’s “safest cities” in 2020, 8 of the top 15 were in Northwest Indiana.
With approximately 23,000 residents, the town of Munster is considered one of the most livable towns in Indiana due to its professional community, proximity to Chicago (less than 30 miles from the downtown Loop area), access to a commuter train line to the city (10-20 min. drive from Munster), beautiful parks and bike trails, and a highly rated school system. Munster High School has repeatedly been named to Newsweek’s “America’s Top High Schools” list. Additionally, we have a strong arts community anchored by our Center for Visual and Performing Arts (https://www.cvpa.org/).
Since we are so close to Chicago, we are part of the Chicago news, television and radio market. We also have several prominent local radio stations, and our regional newspaper, the Northwest Indiana Times (www.nwitimes.com), is one of the largest employers in the area. Munster is also home to two major hospital systems and a dense network of medical professionals, as well as several high-tech firms in industries such as software and aerospace.
Our Jewish community enjoys a close working relationship with the Munster Police Department, as well as with our newly elected Congressional representative, Mr. Frank J. Mrvan. We also share adjacent parking lots with our Jewish Federation.

Work Remotely: no
Qualifications:

The qualities we are looking for in our next rabbi are an ability to engage with our diverse congregation where we are as individuals and Jews.  We are looking for an empathetic and engaging speaker to help make Shabbat services more accessible.  To engage with the lay leadership of the shul to increase their engagement in many facets of CBI.  To participate in the joint school that we share with the Reform congregation in town.

Other things we look for the rabbi to do is to lead our adult education program as well as be involved in the greater Jewish community and when appropriate be the face of CBI to the non Jewish community.

Position Start Date: August 1, 2021
Benefits:

Salary is all inclusive.

Salary Range: $110K-$130K
Send resumes and cover letter to:

cbisearch2020@gmail.com

About Congregation Beth Israel Munster, IN

Northwest Indiana, also known as the Calumet Region, borders Lake Michigan and is considered part of the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2010 Census, Northwest Indiana has a population of 819,537. It is a mix of industrial, suburban, and rural landscapes. The jewel of the region is our Indiana Dunes lakeshore, which was named a national park in 2019 (https://www.nps.gov/indu/index.htm). On the list of Indiana’s “safest cities” in 2020, 8 of the top 15 were in Northwest Indiana.
With approximately 23,000 residents, the town of Munster is considered one of the most livable towns in Indiana due to its professional community, proximity to Chicago (less than 30 miles from the downtown Loop area), access to a commuter train line to the city (10-20 min. drive from Munster), beautiful parks and bike trails, and a highly rated school system. Munster High School has repeatedly been named to Newsweek’s “America’s Top High Schools” list. Additionally, we have a strong arts community anchored by our Center for Visual and Performing Arts (https://www.cvpa.org/).
Since we are so close to Chicago, we are part of the Chicago news, television and radio market. We also have several prominent local radio stations, and our regional newspaper, the Northwest Indiana Times (www.nwitimes.com), is one of the largest employers in the area. Munster is also home to two major hospital systems and a dense network of medical professionals, as well as several high-tech firms in industries such as software and aerospace.
Our Jewish community enjoys a close working relationship with the Munster Police Department, as well as with our newly elected Congressional representative, Mr. Frank J. Mrvan. We also share adjacent parking lots with our Jewish Federation.