Rabbinic Applicants

Town of Sharon

Sharon is a beautiful suburban community in a natural setting which offers a great Jewish environment to live in and raise children. In 2013, it was rated by Money magazine as the #1 small American town to live in. Located midway between Boston and Providence, we have access to both cities via MBTA commuter trains stopping at the Sharon station, and to New York City and Washington, D.C., via Amtrak trains at nearby Route 128 station. The population of 18,000 lives mostly in single-family houses, ranging from relatively modest ranches to luxury properties, with some younger or older families in rental properties. The town jewel, Lake Massapoag, is a 353 acre body of water, with beachfront, swimming, boating and fishing. Many town residents have second- and third-generation family roots in Sharon, but the town is also notable for its diversity and openness to newcomers.

The Sharon Jewish Community

Synagogues

Despite being a small town, Sharon has several synagogues of different denominations including two other Orthodox shuls. These synagogues have warm relationships; Young Israel (YI) of Sharon sold its old building to Temple Kol Tikvah (where the community mikveh is still housed) in 2000, and bought its current building from Temple Sinai. The members of these synagogues get along well, with kids sharing playgrounds, Little League teams, beach sandcastles, or summer camps. The Sharon Community Kollel also brings members of different shuls together to learn, celebrate holidays, or sometimes just to eat.

Schools

Sharon and the surrounding area provide a broad array of choices for schooling. Many of the YI Sharon children attend our local innovative, Modern Orthodox school, the Striar Hebrew Academy of Sharon (SHAS) for preschool through sixth grade. Yl and SHAS enjoy a close relationship, including a shared building space. The school is viewed by the community as an important asset, and many families enjoy being able to send their young children to a school that is only a bike ride away.

Maimonides School in Brookline offers a Modern Orthodox education for preschool through grade 12. It follows in the tradition of Rav Soloveitchik, its founder, offering a secular and Judaic education at the highest level while teaching children the importance of integrating their love of Torah and desire to contribute to society.

Both schools provide a peer group of Modern Orthodox kids and a strong foundation in Jewish learning and practice.

Some parents in the community choose to educate their children via other Jewish schools, including Gann Academy, a pluralistic Jewish high school.

Our community also offers a Mikveh, Eruv, and local kosher butcher.

Our Shul

History

Young Israel of Sharon was founded in 1972 with just a Minyan of families. The community expanded quickly after the construction of the Sharon Eruv in 1990. Many Orthodox families were drawn to Sharon by the affordable houses with spacious green lots, commuter rail access to Boston, and the friendly Jewish community. In 2001, YI moved to its present-day home at 100 Ames Street. It presently has about 175 member families.

For the past 31 years, YI Sharon has proudly been under the leadership of Rabbi Dr. Meir Sendor. Rabbi Sendor received his ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University, where he studied with Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l. He received his Doctorate in Medieval Jewish History from Harvard University, under Rabbi Isadore Twersky, zt”l, and also holds a Masters Degree from Yale University. Rabbi Sendor teaches shiurim in Talmud, Halakhah, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Ethics, Jewish History, Kabbalah, Hassidut and Parshanut at YI Sharon and across Greater Boston. Rabbi Sendor plans to make Aliyah in 2016.

Values

The Young Israel of Sharon community embraces the mission of Modern Orthodoxy, striving to pursue a Torah-based life that provides for spiritual growth, fosters community, and seeks integration with modernity. The community maintains a fundamental commitment to halachic observance and spirituality -- as well as intellectual curiosity and appreciation of complexity -- and greatly values integrating the Torah and secular perspectives in understanding ethical challenges faced in the modern world. The community encourages the development of women’s roles in synagogue life with respect to educational opportunities, leadership, and religious participation. The congregation values an environment that is warm and welcoming to all and supports its members in times of need. The Young Israel of Sharon is an accessible and supportive congregation for those with disabilities and is active in the Boston-area Synagogue Inclusion Initiative, intended to help shuls find ways to integrate those with disabilities into synagogue life.

Identity

The congregation encompasses different backgrounds and perspectives and takes great pride in its diversity and strong sense of communal identity. The membership has significant diversity with respect to age, stage of life, profession, and family support. Many members have advanced degrees or Semicha.

Services and Shiurim

The shul offers two morning Minyanim during the week as well as daily Mincha/Ma’ariv. On Shabbat there is a 7:30 Hashkama Minyan in addition to the regular 9:00 Minyan. There is a monthly Tefilat Nashim service, conducted in accordance with a Halachic framework supported by Rabbi Sendor. We also offer a teen Minyan and multiple children’s groups on Shabbat. The shul offers a weekly Gemara shiur, a shiur following Shabbat Hashkama Minyan, and occasional seminars on salient topics in Modern Orthodoxy. All classes are open to men and women. We hold Shabbatonim with invited scholars in residence that attract people from the local Jewish community. On any given night, you will find Chevruta learning in our shul or a Mishmar class of teens.

The Shul offers weekly shiurim in Gemara, Halakhah, Mishneh Torah, Machshevet Yisrael (including Jewish Philosophy, Kabbalah and Hassidut), and a shiur in Moreh Nevukhim, as well as a rotating shiur after the Hashkamah minyan on parshanut. All shiurim are co-ed, and there is also a weekly Women's Torah Circle. We also have a robust scholar-in-residence program throughout the year, and we host the Summer Beit Midrash, a summer Kollel program.

The Ideal Candidate

We seek a rabbi for the congregation who will embody these values and embrace this diversity. The rabbi should have received Orthodox Semicha, and should have a strong educational background in both religious and secular studies. The candidate should be married and have at least 3 - 5 years of experience working as a rabbinic leader of a congregation.

Specific expectations:

The rabbi should be well versed in Torah and secular knowledge.

●  He should have Orthodox Semicha and a college education.
●  He should have the depth of learning to provide Pesak Halacha on communal and personal issues.
●  He should use his sermons and teaching opportunities to speak of how a Torah perspective informs our approach to understanding the complexity of modern-day challenges.

The rabbi should be a role model for religious observance and practice.

●  The rabbi should be a Halachic and spiritual leader who sees the importance of integrating Jewish identity and practice with our role in the modern world.
●  He should be an inspiring teacher and role model who can reach people with different educational and religious backgrounds.
●  He should inspire the pursuit of education and deepening religious involvement, and work to increase adult participation in educational opportunities and even greater attendance at Minyanim.

The rabbi should be caring, sensitive, flexible, tolerant and approachable.

●   He should offer comfort to those facing hardship.
●   He should provide Pesak Halacha with sensitivity to the diverse backgrounds of the congregation.
●   He should be available to provide counseling, guidance, and visits to the sick.
●   He should serve as a pastoral leader helping the congregants through lifecycle events, showing sensitivity to their individual situations and needs.

The rabbi should help foster a sense of inclusion in the community.

●   He should improve cohesion and inclusion by motivating people to get involved in shul and community activities.
●   He should engage with the congregation to enhance the role of women within synagogue life, including expanding educational opportunities and religious experience.
●   He should engage the youth within the community and help foster their connection to Torah as a relevant force in their life.
●   He should build and maintain relationships with children from their participation in Shabbat groups, to preparation for Bar and Bat Mitzvah, and throughout their experiences during their high school years in forming their Jewish identity as young adults.

The rabbi should be a communal leader.

●  He should support the local religious day school and other local religious institutions as vital to the growth of the community.
●  He should be a strong advocate for Israel, with involvement in communal Zionist activities.

A highly-competitive compensation package will be offered, commensurate with experience. The position is full-time and begins on July 1, 2016.

Application Information

Applications with cover letters, resumes, and relevant accompanying materials should be submitted through the appropriate Rabbinic Placement Office, or they can be e-mailed to

yisharonsearch@gmail.com

Applications will be accepted through October 18, 2015. They will be reviewed as they arrive, with the intention of conducting phone interviews by October - November 2015 and in-person interviews between November 2015 and December 2015. Candidates are assured of confidentiality before visiting the Young Israel of Sharon for an in-person interview. Probehs are scheduled to take place in January 2016.