Job Summary
Congregation B’nai Israel, a vibrant, progressive, Conservative Jewish community in Northampton, Massachusetts, is seeking a passionate, dedicated, and visionary spiritual leader to meet the needs of our diverse and growing community. As the Senior Rabbi, this individual will oversee an array of weekday, Shabbat, and holiday services and programming that they will facilitate, as well as support the educational and pastoral care needs of the congregation. They will also serve as CBI’s internal and external voice to represent the needs, values, and desires of a synagogue deeply committed to social justice and tikkun olam. This individual will work collaboratively with staff and an existing rabbi who serves as the Director of Education to lead us into the future.
Responsibilities
- Serve as the spiritual leader of our community
- Oversee all spiritual and ritual offerings of the community, as well as lifecycle events
- Conduct and facilitate regular weekday, Shabbat, and holiday rituals
- Hold halachic and ritual decision-making authority
- Determine and implement the ritual offerings needed to meet a growing and spiritually diverse community
- Serve as coordinator for ritual lay leaders
- Meet the pastoral needs of the community
- Offer empathetic, skillful, consistent, and deeply felt pastoral care to congregants
- Build and facilitate deep relationships between and among the community
- Serve as teacher and educational leader
- Design and teach engaging adult education classes, text study, and other programs rooted in CBI’s values
- Share responsibility of teaching weekly parsha study class
- Guide the community with visionary leadership and strategy for the future
- Lead the expansive nature of CBI’s position in the Valley as a Jewish leader
- Continue to build upon the vision of CBI as a community campus
- Support the relationships among the shul, religious school, educational farm, and havurot
- Provide spiritual, moral leadership, and guidance for the community internally and externally—in the Northampton community and beyond
- Collaborate with local Jewish and other faith leaders
- In partnership with board and other staff leadership, plan and implement the strategic direction of the synagogue and related programs, including playing an active, public role in fundraising and development work
- Hold the big tent of the community
- Work to understand and hold the vast political, religious, spiritual, and age diversity in our community, with members at many different life stages, religious practices, and relationships to Israel and Palestine
- Ably engage with community members from across that diverse spectrum
- Address the many community facets and needs from a big-picture perspective, enabling a sense of collective to exist
Requirements
- 3+ years of pulpit, ritual, or congregational experience leading a community, or the equivalent
- Fluency and comfort with the norms and practices of the Conservative movement, of which our shul is a member, with an openness to incorporating other Jewish spiritual practices
- Deep connection to and familiarity with Jewish text study and education
- Experience leading a community amidst difference and facilitating ongoing dialogue, particularly around Israel and Palestine, and antisemitism.
- Proven experience providing pastoral care to a diverse community
- Experience supporting marginalized Jewish communities and implementing inclusive practices
- Excellent writing and speaking abilities alongside well-honed listening skills
- Ability to multitask, stay on top of multiple responsibilities, and manage competing deadlines with sensitivity
- Musicality a plus
- Experience being part of a senior team with fundraising expectations preferred
About CBI
Congregation B’nai Israel (CBI) is a 120-year-old progressive, USCJ-affiliated synagogue with about 425 member households in Northampton, Massachusetts, the heart of the Western Mass Five College area. We offer a full range of youth and adult education programs including a licensed preschool, twice-weekly religious school, a food-justice farm, and a variety of traditional and alternative religious services. We share a campus with the Lander-Grinspoon Academy, a pluralistic K-6th grade Jewish day school. We collaborate closely with and are adjacent to the Northampton Survival Center, our community’s local food pantry.
In recent years, CBI has defied national trends to enjoy robust growth. Our innovative programming and opportunities for engagement and social justice have drawn a diverse community, both in life experience and sensibility. We boast a long-standing, dedicated, and intergenerational membership, and passionate and visionary leadership. CBI is currently in the quiet phase of a capital campaign that will allow our campus and physical infrastructure to support our growth.
Since 2022, with the departure of our long-term rabbi of more than 20 years, we have had the opportunity to evaluate our priorities and needs as a community. As we look to the future, we see ourselves as a resilient and dedicated community, committed to meeting the moral and spiritual challenges of our time with a firm foundation in traditional and evolving Jewish practice.
About Northampton
CBI is located in Northampton, Massachusetts, which is a lively, diverse city of some 30,000 famed for its arts and music scene, charming downtown commercial life, progressive politics, and strong LGBTQ+ community. The city is surrounded by farmlands and beautiful New England woodlands, mountains, lakes, and streams with immediate access to extensive hiking and nature preserves. It has been named one of America’s best small cities.
The Five College area, including Northampton, provides a unique cultural and intellectual environment that is home to a wide range of scholars and professionals, many associated with CBI. The community is filled with many transplants, who still take advantage of our proximate location to Boston and New York City (and the greater Springfield metro area) while finding joy in the slower pace of life of our small city setting.
Additional Information
Preferred start date: July 1, 2026
Compensation: $145,000–$160,000 plus benefits
How to Apply: Email your resume, cover letter, and sample divrei torah or public speaking (ideally video) to [email protected]. In your cover letter, please speak to your top 3 rabbinic strengths and include examples of how these have manifested in your career. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, with preference for applications received by February 13.
Questions: If you have any questions about this role, please email [email protected].
Frequently cited statistics show that women and underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Congregation B’nai Israel encourages you to break that statistic and apply. No one ever meets 100% of the qualifications. We look forward to your application.