On behalf of the Rabbinic Search Committee, I am pleased to announce that we have selected Rabbi Stephen Fisher Moch to visit our congregation (Note: Rabbi Moch was scheduled to visit during the weekend of July 25 through 27, but needed to attend to a family emergency. We will re-schedule this visit in the near future). Rabbi Moch is currently the Rabbi at Congregation B'nai Emmunah, in Tarpon Springs, Florida, an 85-family Reform congregation. We interviewed Rabbi Moch by telephone, and have spent many hours talking with his references, and we are thrilled with the caliber of this candidate, whom we believe possesses the attributes, and much, much more, that our congregation identified in the Rabbinic Needs Survey conducted last Fall.

Nine candidates expressed interest, but the remaining eight fell out of the process either because they were not willing to relocate for a part-time position, their job search timeline did not coincide with Temple Beth Or's search timeline, or they were simply not a good fit for our congregation.

While the search committee has worked hard to get to this point, this is where the most important part of the process begins. We will post an itinerary for this upcoming rabbinic visit. We encourage all Beth Or members to participate as fully as possible in these events and activities. Also, we should all keep in mind that while we are interviewing Rabbi Moch during this weekend, he will also be interviewing us!

Rabbi Moch's resume and support materials are available in the Rabbinic Search Binder in the Temple office, and we will also send these documents to all members with email addresses. We ask that prior to your meeting the candidate at the end of the month, you take at least 10-15 minutes to look at his credentials and samples of his sermons and articles.

At every event during Rabbi Moch's visit we will have candidate evaluation forms for you to complete. We will ask that you turn in your forms immediately because the Search Committee will meet immediately afterward to determine if there is support to make an offer to Rabbi Moch. If so, two members of the Search Committee will travel to Tarpon Springs to observe a Shabbat service by Rabbi Moch in his home congregation.

If the Search Committee continues to support a candidate, then President Janis Warner will schedule a membership meeting to discuss the issue and possibly reach a hiring decision. We may receive additional applications, and could possibly schedule another another rabbinic visit weekend this summer. The search will continue until the congregation identifies a candidate that we wish to make our new rabbi.

Thank you to the dedicated members of the Rabbinic Search Committee who have devoted long hours to make this an outstanding process - Mark Bresnick, Rachel Friedman, Heidi Piel, Vicky Romero, Hanna Schwarz, Doug Wallis, Eldon Wexler, and Lori Wolff. Please take the opportunity to thank them often for their ongoing work.

I look forward to discussing Rabbi Moch's qualifications with you during the next few weeks, and to participating with you in his upcoming visit.

- Carolyn Henri, Chairperson
Rabbinic Search Committee