Committee Updates on the Senior Rabbi Transition Process
Community Update: October 29, 2025
Dear Community,
We are pleased to share an update on the ongoing work of the Senior Rabbi Search Committee as we continue the sacred and thoughtful process of preparing for our congregation’s future leadership.
Since forming earlier this year, the committee has met regularly and has been deeply engaged in important conversations about the values, attributes, and skills that we would like to see in our next Senior Rabbi. Together, they are gathering information and data to develop a comprehensive job description that reflects the needs, hopes, and priorities of our community.
The committee’s work has included listening, learning, and reflecting on what spiritual leadership means for Rodef Sholom today and into the future. They are carefully considering the balance of pastoral, teaching, visionary, and community-building qualities that define our next chapter. This process also includes developing a thoughtful evaluation tool that will help ensure fairness, clarity, and consistency in the interview process. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to send us a note about what is important to you in our next Senior Rabbi.
To expand our outreach efforts, the committee has scheduled a series of “Office Hours”—open times when congregants can meet with members of the committee, ask questions, and share perspectives on the qualities and experiences they value in our next Senior Rabbi. The first of these sessions is being held on Wednesday, October 29 from 5:30-6 pm in the Rodef Sholom office. Additional office hours are on Sunday, November 9 from 9:15-10 am (during Religious School) and Thursday, November 20 from 1:15-2 pm (before Senior Schmooze). Details about these sessions are shared in the weekly newsletter, and we warmly invite you to participate.
Over the next month, the committee will be building the interview guide and preparing to interview Rabbi Elana in December. Once the interview process is complete, the committee will bring its recommendation to the Board of Directors for review and next steps.
As always, we are committed to transparency, care, and broad community participation. We have included a section on our website for information about and updates on the search process. You can find this under the “About” tab under Senior Rabbi Transition Process. You will also find a list of the search committee members as well as FAQs with more details about our process.
We are grateful to the eighteen dedicated committee members who bring such thoughtfulness, integrity, and love for Rodef Sholom to this sacred work.
We will continue to keep you informed at key milestones. If you would like to share your reflections, please reach out at transition@rodefsholom.org.
With gratitude,
Beth Katz and Gary Alpert
Senior Rabbi Transition Committee and Co-Chairs, Senior Rabbi Search Committee
Community Update: September 9, 2025
Dear Community,
Congregation Rodef Sholom has begun the important work of searching for our next Senior Rabbi to succeed Rabbi Stacy Friedman, who will retire in June 2027. The search for the future spiritual leader of our community is sacred work that we are undertaking with thoughtfulness, transparency, and community participation.
As we shared in May, I am serving as co-chair of the Senior Rabbi Search Committee in my role as Immediate Past President, and I’m joined by Gary Alpert, long-time congregant and current Board member. Over the past few weeks, we have been hard at work forming the Senior Rabbi Search Committee. The committee includes 18 members from our community, drawn from a wide range of perspectives and experiences. We were intentional in creating a group that brings together different generations, backgrounds, and practices so that the process is guided by the rich makeup of our congregation. Some examples of the kind of representation in the committee are:
- Generations & Households – young adults, parents, grandparents, and long-time members
- Tenure & Roots – newer members alongside those who helped shape our early history
- Jewish Journeys – multi-generational, Jews by choice, Jewish-adjacent, practicing, and secular
- Community Leaders & Engaged Members – activists, educators, volunteers, and participants in synagogue life
- Inclusive Voices – members representing our community’s broad inclusiveness
This diverse committee reflects the richness of our community and ensures that the process will be guided by a variety of perspectives, experiences, and hopes for our shared future.
These committee members are available to hear feedback from you about the Senior Rabbi search process. At the same time, however, please understand that they must protect the confidentiality and integrity of the search process and may be limited in the information they are able to share. Please join me in thanking them for their willingness to serve our congregation in this important way.
The committee’s first task will be to create the criteria for what we envision for our future, and the skills and experience we seek in our next Senior Rabbi. They will also design a plan for the interview process.
As shared previously, Rabbi Elana has informed the board that she would like to be considered for the Senior Rabbi position. Consistent with the widely accepted practice across URJ synagogues when there is an internal candidate for the position of Senior Rabbi, the Board of Directors approved a plan at its June board meeting that begins with interviewing Rabbi Elana as a candidate for the position.
The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), part of the Reform movement, has established guidelines for rabbinic succession and we are working closely with the CCAR and are following the timelines the CCAR has established for searches and all the associated processes according to these guidelines. We are confident that this process aligns with our values and will enable us to ensure that the person we hire as the next Senior Rabbi has the vision, skills, experience, and shared values to lead our community into the future.
Rabbi Elana’s interview will occur closer to the end of the calendar year. This timing allows us to have the thorough and thoughtful process it deserves.
We’ll continue to keep you informed at key milestones, with our next update coming in late October. We deeply value input from our community and are so grateful for the feedback we have already received. As always, we welcome your feedback. Please continue to share your thoughts at transition@rodefsholom.org.
We are blessed with a strong and vibrant congregation, and we are confident that this process will lead us to the next chapter of inspired leadership at Rodef Sholom.
Warmly,
Beth Katz
Past President, Board of Directors
Chair, Senior Rabbi Transition Committee and Co-chair, Senior Rabbi Search Committee
Community Update: June 18, 2025
Dear Community,
I’m writing today to give you an update on the Senior Rabbi transition process. As I shared a few weeks ago, Rabbi Stacy will retire on June 30, 2027, after 34 extraordinary years of devoted leadership. We are deeply grateful that she has given us two more years to thoughtfully prepare for this important transition.
To help guide this process, we have formed a transition team that I will lead, along with incoming President Jodie Silberman, past Presidents, Ed Grossman and Hali Croner, and our Executive Director, Tracey Klapow. This team will oversee each phase of the process.
Gary Alpert, a Board member and long-time congregant, and I will co-lead the Senior Rabbi interview committee. Board members Orr Shakked and Tracy Layney will head our transition communications committee along with our Director of Marketing and Communications, Heidi Sanders, to ensure that our community stays well-informed throughout the process.
We are thrilled to share with you that Rabbi Elana is interested in the Senior Rabbi position. For the past eleven years, she has shared her deep commitment to and care for our congregation, and we will ensure that the process will recognize and reflect her years of dedicated service. Consistent with what we have learned is a widely accepted practice, the Board of Directors approved a plan at its June board meeting that will begin with interviewing Rabbi Elana as a candidate for the position.
The process will be guided by a deep commitment to our community’s values, voices, and vision, with additional opportunities for input along the way. During the summer, we will focus on forming our Senior Rabbi interview team and finalizing the process that will follow.
We’ll continue to keep you informed at key milestones, with our next update coming in late summer. If you have questions or feedback, please feel free to email me at transition@rodefsholom.org.
Warmly,
Beth Katz
Past President, Board of Directors
Chair, Senior Rabbi Transition Committee and Co-chair, Senior Rabbi Search Committee
