Overview
Aspen Jewish Congregation (AJC), an inclusive Jewish community serving the naturally spectacular Roaring Fork Valley, is seeking a full-time spiritual leader (Rabbi or Cantor) to begin July 2023. AJC has 250 member households and serves the diverse, educated, and curious communities of Aspen, Basalt, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs. AJC is an egalitarian, open, and inclusive group that welcomes all to pray, study, and build community.
AJC has a nearly 50-year history as the center for non-Orthodox Jewish life in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. Our congregants, both those living here full-time and our many second homeowners, make for an active, diverse and sophisticated Jewish community. We are a participatory community that enjoys singing together on Shabbat, embracing new melodies, and cherishing older prayer styles, with strong adult education programs in winter and summer, as well as a vibrant religious school.
AJC is poised to go to the next level of ruach, Torah, and service in partnership with an engaging and ambitious leader. If you are an innovative, creative, committed lover of Jewish study and life and relish the challenges and joys of working in a beautiful setting with seasonal and permanent communities, this is an exciting opportunity for you.
Our ideal spiritual leader:
Cares deeply about building community, spiritual growth, and Judaism as a path to leading a meaningful life
Is musically talented, with the ability to lead inclusive, joyous, and reflective services and life-cycle events
Loves teaching Torah, and does it well, with people of all ages
Enjoys creating and leading a wide range of family activities connected to Judaism
Is committed to Tikkun Olam and has demonstrated these qualities
Works well with our talented team including staff and lay-leadership
Articulates the Aspen Jewish Congregation’s purpose and mission to facilitate successful fundraising in partnership with the board and staff
Understands and embraces our valley’s small-town life, with its benefits of nature and the outdoors, and its challenges, in particular, the geographic isolation from larger Jewish communities
Understands and embraces Aspen’s unique world class intellectual, cultural and outdoor opportunities, which are essential aspects in the lives of most of our congregants. Full-time and seasonal homeowners, and many visitors to the area, come together as a result of a common bond
Is welcoming of all types of families and will officiate at interfaith or same-sex wedding.
AJC will consider all qualified candidates regardless of age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status. This is a full-time position; our spiritual leader will live in the Roaring Fork Valley, is an ordained rabbi or cantor who is a member of (or is eligible to be a member of and will join prior to July 2023) a rabbinical/cantorial organization with an ethics code.
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR RESUME AND THREE REFERENCES TO: SpiritualLeaderSearch@aspenjewish.org prior to October 14, 2022.
Applications will be reviewed, and initial virtual interviews will be held, on a rolling basis.
Annual base salary of $150-$175k.
AJC will contribute 15% of annual base salary into an approved Clergy Pension Plan such as the one from the Reform Pension Board
Housing support will be available, tailored to the needs of the individual Spiritual Leader
Health insurance will be provided for the SL and immediate family.
Disability insurance: AJC will provide SL with income disability insurance, with a 90-day waiting period, through the Reform Pension Board or similar organization.
Life insurance: Term insurance up to $750/year will be paid by AJC.
Cell phone allowance: AJC will reimburse SL $100/month for cell phone expenses
Car allowance: AJC will pay SL $350/month for travel related to their clergy work throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.
Ski Pass: AJC will provide SL with a two-day per week season ski pass to Aspen Snowmass.
Conference allowance: AJC will provide $7000/year for conferences related to the role of AJC spiritual leader
Books, webinars, etc: AJC will provide $500/year.
SL Innovation Fund: the SL will have the ability to spend up to $25,000/year on innovative programs of her/his choosing in addition to the AJC annual budget.
Honorariums: No fees or honorariums from members of AJC. Any compensation from non-AJC members for life cycle events or speaking will be placed in the SL’s discretionary fund. If the SL performs life cycle or speaking events during vacation time, any compensation will be theirs and not required to be placed in the SL’s discretionary fund.
Family Leave: SL is entitled to 12 weeks of paid family leave in the event of a birth or adoption of a child and/or serious health condition that is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Discretionary Fund: The AJC agrees to maintain a SL discretionary fund to be directed by the SL for any charitable purposes consistent with the charitable and non-profit purposes of the AJC.
Vacation:
SL will have four weeks of paid vacation per year.
One week per year may be carried over to the following year.
SL will have one complete Shabbat (Friday afternoon until Sunday morning) off six times a year, NOT including vacation Shabbatot.
Sabbatical: After seven years of employment, SL is entitled to 6 months of sabbatical, broken into intervals of not less than 1 month.
SpiritualLeaderSearch@aspenjewish.org
About Aspen Jewish Congregation
AJC has a nearly 50-year history as the center for non-Orthodox Jewish life in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. Our congregants, both those living here full-time and our many second homeowners, make for an active, diverse and sophisticated Jewish community. We are a participatory community that enjoys singing together on Shabbat, embracing new melodies and cherishing older prayer styles, with strong adult education programs in winter and summer, as well as a vibrant religious school.