Overview
Congregation Kol Ami in Elmira, NY, is searching for a Spiritual Leader to join and guide us in our Jewish life. The intimate nature of our community allows our worship services to be participatory, featuring engaging D’var Torah or discussion and music from a variety of denominations, ensuring all in attendance feel welcome and included. We share a strong bond outside the sanctuary, working together to plan and carry out a variety of social, educational, and spiritual activities. We welcome and are excited to have participation and support from outside the Jewish community in many of these activities. We look forward to forming a partnership with a Spiritual Leader who will worship, learn, and play with us, both as our mentor and our friend.
We are eager to work with our Spiritual Leader in succeeding in our small community and are proud to be part of the Makom Fellowship Program.
The small town feel of the Elmira-Corning area, situated near the beautiful Finger Lakes
region of New York, is complemented by easy access to a number of larger cities within
a two-hour radius. We are home to the Clemens Center for the Performing Arts, the
Rockwell Museum of Western Art, the Corning Museum of Glass and the Orchestra of
the Southern Finger Lakes, as well as multiple Golf Clubs and Ski Resorts. Watkins
Glen International Race Track which hosts a NASCAR race in August, and several
different tiers of professional sports teams are available to satisfy the needs of sports
enthusiasts. The dozens of nationally known Finger Lake Wineries are a must see for
both those who enjoy the excellent products produced there and those who enjoy the
gorgeous scenery.
We are looking for looking for an ordained or eligible for ordination Rabbi.
Our worship services combine a mixture of traditions from different forms
of Judaism. Congregants pray in Hebrew and English, cover their heads or
not, wear Tallit when comfortable, and participate in rituals that are
important to each individual. We expect our Spiritual Leader to not only be
comfortable with this arrangement, but to actively express comfort with
these differences. Phrases like “please stand if it is your custom” are often
uttered from the pulpit and it is important to our congregation that this
acceptance of different forms of religious expression continue.
Lay participation is an important part of our worship services, ranging from
opening the Ark to chanting from the Torah. The Spiritual Leader we are
looking for will encourage this to continue, encouraging attendees to feel
comfortable leading prayers or responsive readings, both in Hebrew and in
English, according to their comfort level. Also important to us during
worship is music. We are looking for someone who shares our passion for
music as an intrinsic part of ritual observance and is comfortable finding
ways to use it to enhance the worship experience.
Also important to us is that our spiritual leader encourages lay leadership
during worship services, wherein attendees feel comfortable leading
prayers or responsive readings, both in Hebrew and in English. In addition,
we would like a spiritual leader who can lead discussions in which all feel
welcome to participate no matter their level of Jewish education and
knowledge.
We invite you to visit www.kolamielmira.org to learn more about us.
To learn more about the position visit https://www.kolamielmira.org/candidateinformation .
Benefits are included as part of salary.
More information to be found here: https://www.kolamielmira.org/candidateinformation
Candidates are asked to submit a cover letter and resume to ckarabbisearch@gmail.com.
Questions about this position may be sent to this email as well, and the Co-chairs, Gil or Harriet
Sweet will respond.
About Congregation Kol Ami, Elmira
Congregation Kol Ami in Elmira, NY is searching for a Spiritual Leader to join and guide
us in our Jewish life. The intimate nature of our community allows our worship services
to be participatory, featuring engaging D'var Torah or discussion and music from a
variety of denominations, ensuring all in attendance feel welcome and included. We
share a strong bond outside the sanctuary, working together to plan and carry out a
variety of social, educational, and spiritual activities. We welcome and are excited to
have participation and support from outside the Jewish community in many of these
activities. We look forward to forming a partnership with a Spiritual Leader who will
worship, learn, and play with us, both as our mentor and our friend.