Scroll The A Publication of Mosaic Law Congregation April 2013 | 21 Nisan - 20 Iyar 5773 Inside this Issue Services & Festivals 2 Education & Youth 3 Women’s Network 4 Community Notes 4 Donations 5-6 Birthdays 6 Anniversaries, Kiddush Sponsors, Mazel Tov! and Condolences 7 2300 Sierra Boulevard | Sacramento, CA 95825 | (916) 488-1122 | Fax: (916) 488-1165 | www.mosaiclaw.org Second Clergy and The Search As you know, one of the primary goals for this year was to hire a second clergy to assist Rabbi and help grow our congregation. The Chai 5 campaign, phenomenally chaired by Deborah Gonzalez and Carol Loew, has been in full swing for two years, taking a hiatus during the High Holidays. The goal of raising enough funds to support ei- ther a cantor or rabbi has been met, with a huge thank you to Rowena Fahn for her very generous gift to the cam- paign. As members of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the process to hire a cantor or rabbi is bureaucrat- ic, to put it mildly. The Rabbinic Assembly requires the completion of what ends up being a 20-page application (with no accommodation for supplying pictures in lieu of written descriptions) while the Cantor’s Assembly asks for completion of a one-page application, with only five ques- tions asked. Both get submitted with appropriate requests for “activation” and then “the games begin.” For many applicants, there is “Interview Week” in New York. For one week, rabbinic and cantorial candidates come to the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and are matched up with representatives from a myriad of syna- gogues from around the world. The candidates submit their resumes and JTS schedules them in what could be 5-6 hours of consecutive 50-minute interviews. During Interview Week this year, we were lucky to have Second Vice-President Dan Ott conduct our interviews and vett the candidates for the search committee, diligently chaired by First Vice-President Jonathan Lightman. Independent of JTS, we received a number of resumes from rabbis and cantors with prior experience who had heard wonderful things about Rabbi Taff and Mosaic Law. The committee sifted through 25+ resumes and determined whom we should take to the next level. In this high tech age, candidates sent us mp3 files of their liturgy, pdf-based portfolios of the accolades and articles, and links to their websites for reading what their resume doesn’t say. Search committee members in have spent tens of hours listening, rating and discussing the pros and cons of each candidate. Those that made the “second cut” were sched- uled for Skype interviews, thereby saving us funds by not having to fly them out to Sacramento. Of those that made the “third cut”, the congregation was blessed to have three candidates visit on three consecutive weekends to see how they do when put through their paces. The Rabbinic Assembly dictates the timing of the inter- views – many interviewees expect to receive job offers by Passover. Mosaic Law’s process dictates that the search committee makes a recommendation to the Board of Trus- tees and the Board determines if an offer should be extend- ed to the preferred candidate. While you may be reading this during the Passover holiday, the search committee, in consultation with Rabbi Taff, will be meeting during Chol Hamoed to determine who, if any of the candidates, should be offered the position of second clergy at Mosaic Law. (Continued on page 2) Reflections from the President Caren Zorman
Transcript
Page 1
Scroll The
A Publication of Mosaic Law Congregation
April 2013 | 21 Nisan - 20 Iyar 5773
Inside this Issue
Services & Festivals 2
Education & Youth 3
Women’s Network 4
Community Notes 4
Donations 5-6
Birthdays 6
Anniversaries, Kiddush Sponsors,
Mazel Tov! and Condolences 7
2300 Sierra Boulevard | Sacramento, CA 95825 | (916) 488-1122 | Fax: (916) 488-1165 | www.mosaiclaw.org
Second Clergy and The
Search
As you know, one of the primary
goals for this year was to hire a
second clergy to assist Rabbi and
help grow our congregation. The
Chai 5 campaign, phenomenally
chaired by Deborah Gonzalez and Carol Loew, has been in
full swing for two years, taking a hiatus during the High
Holidays. The goal of raising enough funds to support ei-
ther a cantor or rabbi has been met, with a huge thank you
to Rowena Fahn for her very generous gift to the cam-
paign.
As members of United Synagogue of Conservative
Judaism, the process to hire a cantor or rabbi is bureaucrat-
ic, to put it mildly. The Rabbinic Assembly requires the
completion of what ends up being a 20-page application
(with no accommodation for supplying pictures in lieu of
written descriptions) while the Cantor’s Assembly asks for
completion of a one-page application, with only five ques-
tions asked. Both get submitted with appropriate requests
for “activation” and then “the games begin.”
For many applicants, there is “Interview Week” in New
York. For one week, rabbinic and cantorial candidates
come to the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and are
matched up with representatives from a myriad of syna-
gogues from around the world. The candidates submit
their resumes and JTS schedules them in what could be
5-6 hours of consecutive 50-minute interviews. During
Interview Week this year, we were lucky to have Second
Vice-President Dan Ott conduct our interviews and vett
the candidates for the search committee, diligently chaired
by First Vice-President Jonathan Lightman.
Independent of JTS, we received a number of resumes
from rabbis and cantors with prior experience who had
heard wonderful things about Rabbi Taff and Mosaic Law.
The committee sifted through 25+ resumes and determined
whom we should take to the next level. In this high tech
age, candidates sent us mp3 files of their liturgy, pdf-based
portfolios of the accolades and articles, and links to their
websites for reading what their resume doesn’t say.
Search committee members in have spent tens of hours
listening, rating and discussing the pros and cons of each
candidate. Those that made the “second cut” were sched-
uled for Skype interviews, thereby saving us funds by not
having to fly them out to Sacramento. Of those that made
the “third cut”, the congregation was blessed to have three
candidates visit on three consecutive weekends to see how
they do when put through their paces.
The Rabbinic Assembly dictates the timing of the inter-
views – many interviewees expect to receive job offers by
Passover. Mosaic Law’s process dictates that the search
committee makes a recommendation to the Board of Trus-
tees and the Board determines if an offer should be extend-
ed to the preferred candidate. While you may be reading
this during the Passover holiday, the search committee, in
consultation with Rabbi Taff, will be meeting during Chol
Hamoed to determine who, if any of the candidates, should
be offered the position of second clergy at Mosaic Law.
(Continued on page 2)
Reflections from the President
Caren Zorman
Page 2
The Scroll
April
Services & Festivals
Shabbat Candlelighting Times
April 5 - 7:14pm
April 12 - 7:21pm
April 19 - 7:27pm
April 26 - 7:34pm
Shabbat Shabbat Morning Service
9:00am
April 6 - Parshat Shemini
Havdalah - 8:13pm
April 13 - Parshat Tazria/Metsora
Havdalah - 8:20pm
April 20 - Parshat Aharey Mot &
Kedoshim
Havdalah - 8:28
April 27 - Parshat Emor
Lag Ba’Omer
Havdalah - 8:35
Minyan Schedule
Mornings
Sunday – 9:00am
Monday, Thursday &
Rosh Chodesh – 7:15am
Federal Holidays – 8:30am
Afternoons
To the members of the committee, my sincere thanks for the vast amount of time,
diligence and ethics you have brought to this very important task:
It’s an exciting time for the shul as we enter a new chapter of growth. Your feed-
back on the candidates is always welcome and I encourage talking to either a
Trustee or member of the search committee. Look for an announcement on the
second clergy status in mid-April, at the earliest.
UPDATE 3/29/13:
Our Second Clergy Search Committee has been meeting diligently over the past
three months, reviewing applications and arranging for interviews at Mosaic Law
Congregation. At this point in the process, the committee has recommended the
candidacy of soon-to-be Rabbi Marc Kraus to the Board of Trustees. The Board
will conduct an independent review before determining its next steps. We thank
the congregation for being warm and inviting to our three outstanding candidates
we have brought to Sacramento. Please feel free to contact President Caren
