Dear {{first_name}}:
Good afternoon! I wanted to provide the community with some information about Rabbi Schuck’s sabbatical this spring.
As we discussed at the Special Congregational Meeting last June when the congregation unanimously voted to renew Rabbi Schuck’s contract, Rabbi Schuck can take two sabbaticals (for up to 6 months each) during the 5 year contract term.
Sabbaticals are commonplace in the rabbinate, and provide important time away for a rabbi to reflect, learn and study. As Rabbi Schuck finishes his nineteenth year in the rabbinate, this will be his first sabbatical. We are proud that we are a synagogue that understands the critical importance of providing our spiritual leader with the opportunity to step away from his service to our community in order to care for, and invest in, his own spiritual life. Clergy who have sabbaticals return to their work with the renewal necessary to carry the emotional intensity of pastoring to a community’s spiritual and psychological needs 24/7.
Rabbi Schuck will be on sabbatical beginning in late January/February for about six months. Below is additional information about the sabbatical planning. Please reach out to me at laurenfreemanbosworth@bethelnr.org or Liz Clain at eclain@bethelnr.org if you have any questions. Thank you.
What is the coverage plan?
Rabbi Zach Sitkin and Cantor Gaby Schvartz will be here serving Beth El with the same commitment that they have been and are doing now. They already lead services on Shabbat, officiate at funerals, weddings, b’nei mitzvah, teach, provide pastoral care, and lead minyanim and shiva minyanim. We are so fortunate that they will continue doing all of those things during the sabbatical.
If you have a need for pastoral care, want to speak with a rabbi, or otherwise have something for which you would have reached out to Rabbi Schuck, please reach out to Rabbi Sitkin at zsitkin@bethelnr.org or 924-235-2700x338. If you are not sure who to reach out to, or you have a question about the shul, please reach out to Liz Clain, eclain@bethelnr.org.
Membership:
Membership will be taken over fully by Liz Clain, working in conjunction with Rabbi Sitkin.
Minyan:
We have reassigned the days of the week of minyan coverage among the clergy team, we are resuming the practice of lay leadership (which we had pre-COVID) for Mondays (the clergy day off) and Jack Klebanow is coordinating one morning minyan a week as well.
Back up:
Rabbi Barry Kenter, a member of our congregation who for many years was the Rabbi at Greenburgh Hebrew Center has agreed to help with pastoral care if needed and be a backup for funerals if necessary. If Rabbi Sitkin is unavailable to officiate at a funeral, we will also have a list of local rabbis the family can call if Rabbi Kenter is also unavailable.
A few people will volunteer to lead a shiva minyan if necessary.
Shabbat sermons:
Rabbi Sitkin will have primary responsibility for speaking on Shabbat morning. We know that the congregation values hearing different voices, and we want to be sure that Rabbi Sitkin is not preparing a sermon every single week, so Rabbi Fisher has agreed to spend two or three Shabbatot with us on which she will deliver the sermon, and she will stay through Tuesday so she can do some teaching as well. We may have another guest rabbi for two more Shabbatot. In addition, we have a number of special Shabbatot throughout the year, such as Youth and Family Shabbat, Scholar in Residence, and Sisterhood Shabbat, where we hear sermons from individuals other than our rabbis. These will occur throughout the spring as follows:
February-Youth and Family
March-Sisterhood Shabbat
April-Scholar In Residence
May-Refugee Shabbat
June-Pride Shabbat
We have created a schedule on which Rabbi Sitkin will speak twice a month, which is the schedule we currently have.
Will there be any programming at Beth El during Rabbi Schuck’s sabbatical?
Of course! Beth El is a thriving community, and there are programs that occur nearly every single day at Beth El. Many of these are not currently rabbinic-led, from SMART to Sisterhood to Youth and Family events. Rabbi Sitkin will be teaching and lead other programs that he (and Rabbi Schuck) currently organize. Take a look at our calendar and the weekly Ride the El and Shabbat Announcements as well as our bulletin to see the full list of the many exciting things going on at Beth El.
How does this timing relate to the ongoing rabbi search and the potential to hire an additional rabbi?
As you are aware, we are hopeful that we will find and hire a new rabbi to start in July or August 2024. We thought about the possibility of deferring the sabbatical until after that date, because it would be easier from a coverage perspective. But, we believe it is incredibly important to onboard a new rabbi with Rabbi Schuck present to coach and mentor any new rabbi as they get to know the Beth El community. As we onboard a new rabbi, Rabbi Schuck’s leadership of the clergy team, enables the clergy team as a whole, under his guidance, to determine each of their roles and to build the team’s relationship.
What will Rabbi Schuck do during his sabbatical?
Rabbi Schuck had been planning to spend February in Israel and to spend the month of October finalizing his plans for programs for his sabbatical. Of course, the horrible events since October 7 have made both the timing/planning around time in Israel a bit uncertain and means that some of the specifics are a bit fluid. At a high level, he plans to spend time reflecting, studying, and learning.
How can I reach Rabbi Schuck while he is on sabbatical? Will Rabbi Schuck be in touch with Beth El while he is on sabbatical?
Part of the goal of a sabbatical is for Rabbi Schuck to break away from the routines of rabbinic life, including email. Zoe Raynes, Rabbi Schuck’s assistant, will monitor his email account in the event that emails come in from individuals who did not realize that he is on sabbatical, and she will forward them to others at Beth El, as appropriate, to be addressed. Rabbi Schuck will not be checking his email. Rabbi Sitkin, Liz Clain and I will have a way to be in touch with Rabbi Schuck should the need arise.
We are excited for the opportunity to provide Rabbi Schuck with a sabbatical and we hope that it will create opportunities for lay leadership to emerge in ways that will strengthen our community. Rabbi Schuck will also send a letter to the congregation before his sabbatical begins.
If there are any questions, feel free to reach out to me.
