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August 21, 2022
24 Av 5782
Dear Member or Friend of CSFA:
I am writing to update you on the plans for the High Holidays at CSFA. We will be returning to the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, for our High Holiday services.
We are pleased to inform you that we have engaged a rabbi to lead Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services, Rabbi Dr. Howard Markose, who is currently on the faculty of the Pardes Institute in Israel. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Rabbi Markose is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, received his ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and his doctorate at Bar Ilan University. Rabbi Markose was the rabbi at Adath Israel Congregation and at Shaar Shalom, both in Toronto, Canada, over a ten-year period before making aliya with his wife, Dr. Judy Markose, and his children.
We are also thrilled to report that Sarah King, our beloved Cantor, who made aliyah earlier this year and is currently living in Jerusalem, has also agreed to return to the United States for the High Holidays and will be serving CSFA as High Holiday Cantor.
Tickets, which are included with your paid synagogue membership, will be mailed to members in the next few weeks. In addition, we will be selling additional tickets to those who wish to join us. Please make sure to respond to the synagogue’s dues requests so that your tickets arrive in a timely manner.
In keeping with what has been our policy during most of the Covid pandemic, all CSFA members, visitors, and attendees at services are required to be fully vaccinated, including with boosters if eligible. Likewise, masks are required whenever we are indoors.
We recognize that many of us are feeling enormous fatigue around masking, while for others continued masking creates a stronger feeling of safety. We feel compelled to protect one another by maintaining our policy in this way, as we continue to navigate this current wave of COVID-19.
Now that High Holiday preparations are underway our next major effort is to begin the process of searching for a new rabbi for our congregation. I have created a small committee which includes officers and members of the Board as well as non-Board members of the congregation. Utilizing the offices of the Joint Placement Commission, comprised of members of the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which is the official placement committee of the Conservative Movement, our Search Committee’s first order of business is the completion of the lengthy Rabbinic Search Questionnaire, which becomes the job posting within the Rabbinical Assembly. This is a long and drawn-out process. Pulpit rabbis usually start their search in the winter months for a new position that will begin before the High Holidays the following year. We need to be realistic in our expectations as we will probably not see resumes from candidates before 2023. Once the committee has reviewed the resumes, I will be reaching out to other people to join us as we start the interview process.
Of course, after the interview, selected candidates will be invited to come spend a Shabbat at CSFA so we all can see the prospective rabbis officiate at services. Finally, when the decision is made to extend an offer to a candidate, the entire membership will have to vote to ratify the selection. Every member is welcome to be a part of this process.
The synagogue Board and leadership ask for your patience as we go through this search together. It is not easy selecting a rabbi for a kehillah, but I am confident if we all work together and remember we are doing holy work in support of our synagogue we will, in the spirit of unity, select the best candidate.
Enjoy the rest of the summer and best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Sincerely,
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