New Rabbi

Okay, so it's been a while since I last posted, however things in my life have been quite hectic. Monday night, I experienced something I had not before seen: an interview by my Temple's Board of directors and the Rabbinic search committee of the newest candidate for Senior Rabbi at Beth Israel. It really was a first chance to see a part of the process first hand, which was great. I realized, however, just how political my congregation has become and how it has moved away from much of the Judaic customs, even among its leaders. When Becky(my sister) was in Israel, she bought me a really cool yalmuke that I now wear anytime I leave the house for some Judaic event. The unfortunate thing is that of the 30 or so Jewish adults there, my Cantor and I were the only two in the room that were wearing a yalmuke. I was not overly surprised to see that none of the board were wearing yalmukes, however, I was surprised to see that neither the Associate Rabbi nor the Rabbi who was interviewed was wearing one. I do understand that yalmukes are usually associated with prayer, and this was a far cry from it, but if someone such as a Rabbi makes their Judaism so much of their life, I would assume they would wear this symbolic gartment to a Temple function. On the other hand, there was careful attention to make the food Kosher style, and Reform Judaism does believe in "Choice through knowledge," so I'm really not one to judge anyone's personal decision, I just found this interesting.
Anyway, I found the prospective Rabbi very good. His involvement in youth activity is very encouraging for our program. His philosophies in working with the board are ones which I highly respect and honor. I liked how he characterized himself as "main stream" in his Rabbinic theories and his stance on inter-marriage was very good and worthy of respect. As a person, I found him very outgoing and personable. I think he would be a great addition to our congregation and can maintain stability with the board and the congregants.