Overview

Seeking Interim Rabbi in the Land of Enchantment

Congregation B’nai Israel, a vibrant Conservative egalitarian Jewish community in Albuquerque, New Mexico, seeks an experienced interim rabbi for 1-3 years to serve our spiritual, communal, and educational needs in the heart of the Southwest.  After a few years without consistent rabbinical leadership, our community seeks an individual to guide our lay membership. We are looking for a steady hand who can help us heal from past divisions and guide us toward a unified future.

Job Responsibilities:

The interim rabbi that we seek combines the pastoral skills of an experienced community rabbi with the organizational skills that we need to navigate this period.  This position requires:

Service attendance and leadership:  Although our community has a high degree of lay participation in Jewish ritual life, we seek someone to lead our religious services (including Shabbat, weekday, and holiday). As we do not presently have a cantor, musicality is desired.
Education:  Our congregation has an active Hebrew school to which we want the rabbi to contribute both knowledge and direction.  Also, the community hungers for more adult education opportunities, and a Rabbi to engage with the Education Committee to provide resources and teaching.
Pastoral care:  In addition to officiating at Simchas (B’nai Mitzvot, weddings, baby namings, etc.), the position will require administering to the off-hour needs of our home-bound congregants, of grieving families and funeral preparation.
Broader community engagement: We seek a rabbi who will represent us in interactions with the larger community in Albuquerque and New Mexico, reaching out to other congregations, community and interfaith organizations, and unaffiliated Jews. Participation in RACAA (Rabbis and Cantors Association of Albuquerque) is also expected.
Administrative skills: We are looking for someone with self-direction, as well as organizational skills and training. Although we have an extensively dedicated corps of volunteers, it should be noted that our congregation’s only paid administrative staff is a part-time office manager and a part-time religious school director.
Special to the interim position: We need a rabbi who can work with the Board of Trustees and the congregation to create a vision for the future that will help us to find our settled rabbi for the longer term.

Above all, Congregation B’nai Israel seeks a kind and intuitive leader who embodies the welcoming and inclusive spirit of our community to guide us toward more settled rabbinic leadership.

 

 

Type of service are you envisioning: Please contact us for details
Why you need a rabbi: We have a Rabbi emeritus that had been our full-time rabbi for 15 years, but has wanted to cut back. We hired a full time rabbi 2 years ago that was not a good fit and has left, leaving us with lay people leading our services and our rabbi emeritus stepping in for life-cycle events. But we would like a full-time pulpit rabbi again.
Timing Expectations: We would like to consider an "Interim Rabbi" - someone to help us recover from our past rabbinic experience and learn what we need for the future. But we are also open to a Full-Time Rabbi that will take a short term contract (2-3 years) to see if this is the right fit for all.
Rabbi Qualifications: Member of USCJ and we are a very inclusive community. Please contact us regarding specific needs
Community Description:

Albuquerque boasts more than 300 days per year of sunshine, outstanding mountain views, and four distinct seasons. We have it all: a well developed arts scene, a culturally diverse population, and an established Jewish community. Kosher meats are available in grocery stores around town. Our airport, the Albuquerque International Sunport, is nationally recognized for its ease of use. Albuquerque also has a comparatively low cost of living. Check out comparisons here: https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/. We know Albuquerque is a hidden gem: the proof is in the turquoise!

Work Remotely: no
Qualifications:

An ordained Rabbi from a recognized seminary.   But more than that, our next rabbi will need some experience to help us recover from past experiences and grow from here.

This is a conservative congregation and as such, our rabbi will need to lead services in Hebrew mostly - we don't have a cantor.  But we have many congregants with the ability to help with services and read Torah.

Provide all pastoral care, aid in Bnai Mitzvah studies and lend a hand with the Sunday School.

Be an active member of the religious community in Albuquerque - representing us with the Jewish community as well as the non-Jewish religious groups.

 

Please contact Ellen Satz for further clarification

Position Start Date: May 1, 2019
Benefits:

Please contact Search Committee Chair - negotiable

Salary Range: Please contact Search Committee Chair - negotiable
Send resumes and cover letter to:

Please send all requested job materials to BnaiIsraelRabbiSearch@gmail.com AND to the chair of the search committee satz@comcast.net.

About Congregation Bnai Israel of Albuquerque, NM

See above