The FHJC Rabbi Search Committee
Letter to the Congregation - March, 2023
March 3, 2023
Dear Members of the Forest Hills Jewish Center and Nursery and Religious School Parents;
On behalf of the Rabbi Search Committee, we would like to thank you for your active participation and extensive input in the search process for our new rabbi. You helped make our three candidate weekends a tremendous success. Our candidates were highly impressed by the level of participation of the congregation in all of our events. You showed the Search Committee and the candidates how much you care about the future of our Shul.
Also, we are extremely grateful that so many of you took the time to complete the congregational survey in the Spring, to participate in focus groups and to complete the candidate feedback forms. In total, we received over 430 feedback forms on the candidates, which is an enormous number, and the feedback we received was both extensive and very thoughtful.
In terms of process, the Board of Trustees will be meeting very soon to listen to the report of the Rabbi Search Committee and to reach its decision on how to proceed. Your feedback in the candidate feedback forms was critically important to the Search Committee in making its recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
We know the future of The Forest Hills Jewish Center is extremely bright with so many active and caring members. May we go from strength to strength together as a community.
B’Shalom,
Judy and Matt Beizer
Co-Chairs, Rabbi Search Committee
Timeline
- Form Committee, March 2022
- President’s Letter to Congregation, April 2022
- First Meeting of Past Presidents Advisory Committee, April 2022
- Preliminary Discussions with Staff, March 2022 / April 2022
- Preliminary Interviews with Arms of Center, March 2022 / April 2022
- Develop Website Page, March 2022 / April 2022
- Best practices from other synagogues, March 2022 / April 2022
- Develop Congregational Survey, April 2022
- Distribute Congregational Survey, May 2022
- Focus Groups, May 2022 and June 2022
- Complete RA Placement Questionnaire, September 2022
- Submit Questionnaire, Post Simchat Torah 2022
- Review Submitted Resumes / Select Candidates for Interviews, October through December 2022
- Preliminary Interviews, November and December 2022
- Secondary Interviews, December 2022
- Check References, December through January 2023
- Host finalists for Shabbat, January through March 2023
- Congregational feedback on final candidates, January through March 2023
Committee Members
Judy Beizer & Matt Beizer* – Co-chairs
Romi Narov, President
Ilana Altman*
Ira Beer
Richard Chase
Maureen Dunkel
Jaci Flug
Mitchell Frank
Paul Goldfarb
Rae Kerzner
Temma Kingsley*
Eric Kober
Carrie Leifer
Mark Raphael*
Debra Weil
David Zipkowitz
* denotes past-president
