Congregational Rabbi

Temple Emanu-El – Rochester, NY
~25 hours/week • Start Date: As soon as possible 

Temple Emanu-El is looking for an energetic rabbi to provide progressive and engaging leadership and work with us to continue to build our warm, inclusive community.  Join us in building our accessible, joyful, and hamish community where we support each other as Jews and as whole people.

About Temple Emanu-El

Temple Emanu-El is an eclectic, cozy, intellectually-engaged Reform congregation located in the Rochester, NY area. With approximately 80 diverse households—including interfaith families, LGBTQ+ members, Jews by choice, elders, and a growing number of young families—we embrace a Judaism that is rooted in tradition, open to questions, and connected to community.

Our Shabbat services are musical and reflective, often weaving Torah study and poetry into the liturgy. We are a congregation that values relationship, learning, spiritual depth, and hospitality: weekly Torah study, monthly potluck Shabbat dinners, home-hosted “hospitality Shabbats” on fifth Fridays, and a growing community of families with children are integral to our rhythm of communal life.

We take pride in being an LGBTQ+ affirming congregation and seek a rabbi who is fluent in queer and trans–inclusive language, practices, and sensitivities. Our community also contains a wide range of perspectives on Israel/Palestine—from zionist to non- and anti-zionist—and it is essential that our next rabbi be comfortable holding space for this full spectrum with compassion, openness, and intellectual integrity.

Position Overview

The Rabbi serves as Temple Emanu-El’s spiritual leader, pastoral presence, teacher, and partner in shaping meaningful communal life. This role is expected to average approximately 25 hours/week, with natural fluctuations depending on holidays, pastoral needs, and programming. Compensation may vary in the range posted depending on hours, experience, and mutual needs of the congregation and rabbi.

We are looking for someone who demonstrates ritually creative leadership, strong pastoral skill and interest in the spiritual lives of all members, a deep interest in Jewish learning, and energy to build on our strengths. The rabbi is responsible for coordinating and/or leading educational activities including Torah study and youth programming.

The rabbi will collaborate closely with lay leadership, our part-time administrator, our cantorial soloist, and our pianist. The rabbi reports to the Temple Emanu-El President.

About Rochester, NY

Rochester is a diverse, unpretentious, mid-sized city in Upstate New York, with a gently growing metro area of roughly one million people. The local Jewish community is one of the largest in the region, including multiple synagogues across denominations, a vibrant JCC, Jewish Federation, Jewish philanthropic and cultural organizations, a kosher butcher and bakery, a mikvah, an eruv, multiple small day schools, and lots of history. Rochester has world-class arts institutions, universities, museums, hospitals, and a thriving food scene—while maintaining the warmth and accessibility of a smaller community. The cost of living is significantly lower than major coastal cities, making it an attractive place for educators, artists, and families alike who often “boomerang” back home after exploring further afar in their early adulthood. 

The broader Rochester community is known for its progressive values, deep history of social justice leadership (including the legacies of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony), and a lively grassroots arts and activist culture. Rochester is part of NY’s tech-corridor with hundreds of mid-sized companies spun off from the legacy of Kodak, Xerox, Paychex, and Bausch & Lomb.  Graduates from RIT and UR, and the dozens of other colleges and universities in the area enhance the community. The region’s four distinct seasons, proximity to miles of sandy public Lake Ontario beaches, downtown waterfalls and gorges, and easy access to hiking, skiing, rail trails, and the Finger Lakes make it a beautiful setting for those who appreciate nature and outdoor adventure. Rochester has a local airport with direct flights to many major cities, Amtrak service, and is an easy drive to Buffalo or Syracuse via I-90. It’s a great place to be.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead services including four Shabbat services per month and holidays, in collaboration with the cantor, pianist, and Spiritual Practices Committee.
• Support and build on our congregation’s musical and reflective service style while integrating Torah study as appropriate into the service.
• Provide moral leadership while holding space for a full spectrum of positions, including on issues like queer/trans identities and Israel/Palestine.
• Provide compassionate pastoral support to congregants, including phone or virtual pastoral check-ins and in-person visits (home, hospital, or care facility) as needed.
  
  
• Officiate lifecycle events, including weddings (including interfaith weddings) baby namings, b’nei mitzvahs, funerals and Shiva minyanim.
  
  
• Coordinate and lead our educational programming including leading weekly adult education/Torah study, supporting our monthly youth programming, support adult/youth b’nei mitzvah students and potential Jews by choice

• Represent Temple Emanu-El in the broader Rochester and Jewish community when appropriate, whether interfaith programming, inter-denominational planning, or social justice issues that affect our community. 
  
  
• Partner with lay leadership to help strengthen the community, welcome newcomers, and help Temple Emanu-El grow.