Rabbi Paul Strasko is the new rabbi at Sinai!
JULY 2019 - Rabbi Paul Moses Strasko is here!
Chevrei,
Please allow me to begin by expressing my profound gratitude for your trust in me in appointing me your rabbi, as well as the welcome we have already felt before Katrin and I have even begun. Hachnasat Orchim – the open armed hospitality of the Jewish people—is something often spoken of but not always possessed in the measure we would like to believe. Although hospitality can be learned, more often than not it either exists or does not. It is my firm belief from my experiences thus far that the spirit of Hachnasat Orchim is strong and vibrant at Sinai.
Of course in addition to the spirit of welcome, beginnings are delicate times. Expectations are high for us all, but we are also all human and hold both conscious and unconscious expectations. As I paraphrased from William Bridges in my drashah when I interviewed this past year, a time of transition is by definition a time of loss. We can be excited by change, but the different tomorrow that results will inevitably contain moments from yesterday that will be lost and whose absence will surprise us in how keenly they are felt. Compassionate times of transition celebrate the movement forward while encouraging us all to be a part of the process of lifting each other up when we and those around us experience a sense of loss or challenge as our community evolves. Even admitting these thoughts to ourselves can be difficult.
From a more personal standpoint, I have done this long enough to recognize the aspects of my rabbinate that will be embraced and the aspects that will have much more varied opinion. Regarding the former, I am going to sing and teach and dive into our relevant Judaism with an energy and enthusiasm that never ends. I don’t know how to exist otherwise. Regarding the latter, it should be clear to us all that my cultural experiences will quite frankly be different. For example, I am convinced that within the first month I will say at least a dozen things that are considered entirely appropriate in colloquial American English but will unintentionally leave some of us collectively gasping, “The rabbi said what?!”
And in all seriousness, my background (which includes influences from American, Israeli, German, French and Swiss Reform, American Conservative and Reconstructionist, as well and Israeli, German and American traditional Judaism with a smattering of Sephardic and Chassidic traditions thrown in) means that my eclecticism will guarantee that there will be new melodies you love and some you will not to accompany the loss of melodies that some in the community cherish that I do not even know. This emblematic and predictable aspect of transition contains all Jewish communal disputes in a nutshell. It is often like saying “Gefillte fish is what defines a Jew” to a Sephardic Jew who answers back, “What is gefillte fish?”
All of us to some extent or another attribute religious authenticity to items that actually derive from cultural diversity. In other words, I will do some things that you will love and some things that will be a challenge for various reasons, and our success in the coming years will be predicated on our ability to be in a constant state of dialogue with ourselves and each other. I would rather we have these discussions up front and direct than letting anything fester over the years. To massively paraphrase a combination of Spinoza, Buber and Rosenzweig, at any given moment we are either in the process of tearing each other down or lifting each other up. May we, the Sinai community, continue being the community that welcomes with splendid hospitality and then continues to lift each other up.
My best wishes to all and deepest gratitude for your welcome,
Rabbi Paul Moses Strasko
FEBRUARY 2019 UPDATE
The Home Office has now granted Sinai the Certificate of Sponsorship which gives us formal approval to employ an overseas rabbi and we have now assigned the certificate to rabbi Strasko. This means that he can apply for his work permit within a specific time window.
He is in the process of doing that so we hope that very soon the final step allowing him to start at Sinai as planned will be confirmed. We are still expecting him to start at the beginning of July, with a slightly revised target date of 3rd July. We are hoping that his first Shabbat services will be over the weekend of 7th and 8th July and will confirm this with all members as soon as it is finalised.
So we are making really good progress now and hopefully the next communication will be the confirmation that all is completed regarding the visa and to confirm the starting date.
Meantime, a big thanks to those who have work so hard to get the certificate issued, and especially Stuart Nelson, Judith Chapman and Gillian Kempner.
Also a big thanks to our legal advisors as this is not a simple task.
Jonathan Lewis
Chair
29th NOVEMBER 2018 UPDATE
We are delighted to announce that Rabbi Paul Strasko has accepted the Board’s offer to become our next Rabbi and he will – subject to a successful application for a visa and the completion of his notice period at his current community – join Sinai on 1st July 2019.
During the last several months the Board has conducted a rigorous recruitment process to identify the right person to succeed Rabbi Ian Morris. The Board firmly believes that Rabbi Strasko has demonstrated an inspiring and exciting mix of skills and experience to take Sinai forward and further establish us as a leading progressive community – one which caters to the needs of all.
A lot of people have worked very hard to ensure the recruitment process was robust, professional and fair including: the Interview Panel; the Shortlisting and Questions Panels; those who produced the advertising materials; the wider Rabbinic Recruitment Committee; and everyone who helped to make the recent two candidate visits a successful part of the process.
A very big thank you to all.
Over the coming weeks we will be working with our appointed solicitors to manage the visa application process and we will of course keep you updated as this progresses.
I hope you will all join me in wishing ourselves and Rabbi Strasko a big Mazal Tov, and we look forward to welcoming him to the Sinai family.
On behalf of the Executive and Board
Jonathan Lewis, Chair
MARCH 2018
As we all know, Sinai faces potentially big changes in its (already more than 70 year old!) story as we begin the process of looking for our next rabbi, and in the interim, move forward as a community. Changes like this can be disconcerting, sad and uncomfortable, particularly when it’s not of our choosing, but it’s also a wonderful time to reflect on and imagine our new future, and a real opportunity right now for us all to seize the chance for each of us to play our part in getting there.
We begin from a fortunate position. A number of members have put in a great deal of time in recent years to consider our community vision and values [links to the Vision for Sinai document and anything else of value] which means that we have clear ideas about what we want to be. This is a good starting point.
Building on this, the Sinai Board has recently established a committee to manage the process of finding and appointing the new rabbi. The membership broadly reflecting the different experiences, generations and interests of our community. If you’d like more detail on exactly what the committee will be doing, terms of reference have been created and approved by Board, which are available by here.
Most importantly, we want to attract quality candidates to apply for the post through a transparent, thorough and fair selection process, so we can find the best person for the job. Alongside reporting back to the Board, we will update the wider community at key stages through different communication channels. We would love it if you want to engage us in conversation and ask questions. (Although bear in mind that we need to ensure complete confidentiality for prospective candidates at all times).
So who are the committee members?
Anna Dyson (chair)
Becky Teiger
Jonathan Lewis
Barbara Levy
Stuart Nelson
Ivan Herscovitz
Nicole Levine
Elsje Prins
Gillian and Richard Kempner (job share)
In addition, David Israel is currently attending meetings in his capacity as Chair of Sinai Synagogue.
The committee has met once and meets again at the end of March. There is a great deal of work to be done, and we are focussed on being able to make a recommendation on appointment to the Board as soon as practicable. The priority task is the timetable. It would be lovely if we could appoint someone by January 2019, but we need to do further work to work out if this is achievable.
In the meantime, this is our chance to build our community from the grassroots! Now is a wonderful time for every member who is able, to support and play a role. This includes everything from supporting or leading services, providing educational opportunities, participate in the kiddush team, help with the chevre kadisha, or help in the office, or just as importantly, helping to maintain the administration of volunteer rota lists.
Grab a committee or Board member, leave a message in the office or email or phone the office. Let’s all “Think Community”!