Facts about Rabbi Goor's decision to make Aliyah
Answers to Questions You May Have
Rabbi Goor to make Aliyah
- Why is Rabbi Goor leaving? 18 months from now, in July 2013, Rabbi Goor, along with his husband, Cantor Evan Kent, plan to make Aliyah and move to Israel.
- Will Rabbi Goor continue to be a part of our community? Rabbi Goor will become Rabbi Emeritus in July, 2013. He plans to create an active relationship and, since he is keeping his Los Angeles home, looks forward to visits when he returns.
- Will there be a national search for our Senior Rabbi? We believe that we are obligated, on behalf of the entire congregation, to consider the entire pool of appropriate candidates. In soliciting advice from other congregations whom have recently gone through this process and in listening to the best practices advice from the Central Conference of American Rabbis, a national search will ensure we have the appropriate candidate pool. Temple Judea has done national searches in the past and we plan to call upon the institutional memory that resides within our community to help us with this process.
- Will Rabbis Bender or Moskovitz be our next Senior Rabbi? They both understand the need to conduct a national search. A national search legitimizes the rabbi who is ultimately selected. No one will later question how the rabbi was chosen. Rather, they will know that after seeing everyone out there, this rabbi was determined to be the best for Judea
- Will this effect how many rabbis we have? The Organizational Structure Committee, which has been working for the last year to evaluate the Temple’s Clergy and Administrative structure, will continue its work and make recommendations to the Board. The Board’s decisions will then be shared with the congregation. Rabbi Goor’s decision to make Aliyah does not affect the number of rabbis.
- Can we have Co-Senior Rabbi’s? Nationally, there aren’t effective examples to look to that we might duplicate or build upon to ensure the healthy growth of Temple Judea. Institutional vision is important to the health of the organization and the model of a single spiritual leader has proven to be the most successful.
- Who is leading the search committee? The search committee will be Co-Chaired by Steve Poretzky and Andy Keimach.
- Will the congregation have any opportunity to give input into the selection process? Throughout the process, we will be holding meetings to make sure we are getting the community’s input and feedback.
- How will the congregation be kept up to date when key decisions are made? In addition to emails, letter and a dedicated page on our website, periodic Town Hall meetings will be held to update congregants on the status of the process.
- What is the search timeline? The search will take approximately 12 months. A congregational vote on the recommended candidate is expected in early 2013.
- Will there be a transitional time where Rabbi Goor and the new Senior Rabbi overlap? Rabbi Goor is committed to working with the next Senior Rabbi to ensure a smooth transition.
- Whom do I contact if I need further information? Michael Robbins at or the search committee at .