Sha’arei Shalom is a member-driven, independent congregation of approximately 40 families located in Ashland, Massachusetts. We are seeking a part-time Rabbi, Cantor or Spiritual leader, who can guide us and collaborate with us in helping our congregation to deepen our programming and broaden our reach. A Rabbi, Cantor or Spiritual leader who is comfortable working with children as well as adults is important to us, as we are working to attract more young families to our congregation.
We expect that our Rabbi, Cantor or Spiritual leader will spend an average of 10-15 hours a week on responsibilities and preparations associated with our services, High Holidays, religious school, and life-cycle events. Rabbi, Cantor, or Spiritual leader responsibilities are a mix of core/regular events that happen on set dates/times as well as occasional events that will happen from time to time. Responsibilities include:
Core/Regular Events • Lead Friday night services 1-2x/month, High Holiday Services, and Holiday celebrations
• Engage with Religious school. Attend Sunday mornings 2x/month (9a-12p) to:
• ▪ Co-lead learner’s service (1 hour) for grades 3-7 to learn Shabbat morning service
• ▪ Meet 1-2x/month with our 7th graders in preparation of dvar torah for bar/bat mitzvah as well as to
help them explore the meaning of the event and their future identity as Jewish adults
• ▪ Preside over school-wide events (such as Chanukah party, Purim megillah reading, model seder,
7th grade graduation
• ▪ Provide guidance to our religious school teachers and school committee
• Assist in preparation and planning for b’nei mitzvah (assignment of torah/haftorah portions, determination of appropriate level of responsibility for child, communication with families)
• Provide pastoral counseling to our membership
Occasional Events • Officiate at life-cycle events (e.g. baby namings, funerals, shiva) and b’nei mitzvah (full Saturday morning service)
• Participate in ritual committee, advise the president and board
At Sha’arei Shalom, we value the warmth and inclusiveness of our small community. We recognize the wide range of views in our congregation and provide both tradition and innovation, giving us the opportunity to learn and grow as a community. We are eager to help our members find ways to connect to Judaism and Jewish tradition in ways that match their contemporary lives and sensibilities. Music is central to how we connect with tradition. Many of our member families are interfaith and we look to always make ourselves accessible to them. We encourage and support efforts to reach out to those in need both within and outside of our membership family. We have an active religious school serving children kindergarten through bar/bat mitzvah. In addition to our member families with children in our school (enrollment is ~25 children), we also have an active senior membership.
Sha’arei Shalom is a congregation without walls. Friday night services are held at the Ashland Community Center; our religious school meets every Sunday at the Ashland Middle School. High Holiday services are held at Ashland High School. Our programming is planned and supported by a dedicated team of volunteer members.
Annual salary range: $30,000 - $35,000