SAUL'S INSTALLATION

Before he rose to the exalted position of president of the Schenectady Jewish Center, Saul Rabinowitz was a member of the Rabbinic Search Committee there.  Despite the importance of serving on a rabbinic search committee, Saul was not too keen on accepting the offer when he was initially asked.  But his wife, Sadie, convinced Saul that service on the rabbinic search committee would derail him off the presidential track, from which Saul was desperate to remove himself.  You see how that worked out, for as you know, Saul served with distinction as the SJC president in 2008 and 2009.

Having heard the news of Temple Beth El’s recent rabbinic installation, I received a phone call of congratulations from Saul.  He told me about his own personal experience on the SJC search committee.

Saul said that serving on a Rabbinic Search Committee is serious business.  According to Saul, he reviewed 250 pages of applications, and claims to have invested 100 hours in attendance at Search committee meetings over a two-year period of his life.

“Time I can never get back,” he is quick to point out.

Such a heavy workload makes it understandable (if not entirely forgivable) for Saul to admit that on one occasion during a search committee meeting his mind went a-wandering.  He began to daydream that the Rabbinic Search process could be conducted like a television game show.  Had this been the case, can you imagine what kind of rabbi we would have selected?

If the game show had been Concentration, we would have searched to find a rabbi with a great memory who will do everything at the synagogue exactly as it has been done before.  If the game show had been Jeopardy!, a game in which knowledge is central to the search, we would have landed a smart and learned Rabbi, but finding the big prize, the Daily Double, is purely the result of a lucky guess. What if the game show had been Family Feud? The most influential families in the temple would compete against each other, with the winning family selecting a rabbi who is their most perfect candidate.

Lucky for us at Temple Beth El, the Search Committee operated like a popular television program from 40 years ago.  The show was called This is Your Life.  Do you remember that show? The host, Ralph Edwards, would surprise a celebrity or an ordinary person, and then bring family and friends on stage to share their memories of the honoree. The television show, This Is Your Life, affirmed a person's relationships and accomplishments.

This is an apt metaphor, for our Rabbinic Search Committee was able to articulate honestly who we are as a congregation, speak truthfully about our needs and preferences, and explain clearly what makes us unique.  It is to our mutual benefit that David Widzer answered our call, for he is the right rabbi, for the right congregation, at the right time.

To the other rabbinic candidates we respectfully thank you for your interest in Temple Beth El, and we have nice parting gifts for you backstage. Herschel, tell ‘em what they’ve won.