There is a fact that is little known in the world of pulpit placement. The Morris and Gertrude Bienenfeld Department of Jewish Career Development and Placement is the only full-service professional department for pulpit placement in the orthodox community. The department works with RIETS students and alumni and all members of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). We help prepare candidates' resumes, cover letters, and video divrei Torah so that they can put their best selves forward to the search committees of the synagogues they apply to.
On the other side of the equation, we offer every search committee a carefully crafted pool of resources on how to run and execute a serious and professional search. We offer materials that will help the search committee at every stage of their search from the evaluation of resumes and the interview process through the Shabbos visit, finalist voting and the contract negotiations. We believe that we have a process that when executed and tweaked by any congregation to their needs will result in a successful search.
We currently have approximately 5 synagogues at the final stage of their searches (the proba weekend), another 12 getting closer to the proba stage and an additional 5 assistant rabbi searches in progress currently. We continue to be in discussion with several other synagogues that will shortly begin their new search for rabbinic leadership. The process from beginning to end requires great patience on all sides as it involves months and, in some cases, up to a year and a half when congregational research is done before beginning the actual search. Our office provides the basic services free of charge. When we are asked to do the congregational research such as running and evaluating focus groups and surveys, we activate a division of our department called CJF Consult which does charge fees for the consulting time.
This past summer Keren Simon, who was previously the executive administrator of our department, was promoted to assistant director. After 16 years of working together, Keren has mastered this process and has taken on many of the responsibilities working with both rabbinic students, rabbis in the field and the search committees. We wish her a Mazel Tov and look forward to many more productive years helping rabbis and communities. Keren has also become the new placement coordinator of Yeshiva University's Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies (GPATS) at Stern College for Women.
We are also pleased and fortunate to work with so many of our colleagues in RIETS who work so diligently in educating and preparing our very own RIETS students. Here we would need to mention many names and departments throughout the RIETS administration, and it is deserving of its own spotlight article.
All the best,
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