Hillel is still searching for a new executive director, but leaders say the vacancy won't hamper holiday programming.
Since the mid-May departure of Rabbi Rich Kirschen, a board that includes several student members has been looking for someone to take his place, said Megan Nesbitt, the assistant director of Hillel.
The search is still in its early stages. "Since August we have been reviewing résumés and speaking to candidates, but we are still actively searching," Nesbitt said. Thus far, there is no definite number of candidates, and no decision has been made, said Hillel board president Shana Gotlieb '05.
Hillel will bring in visiting clergy to run Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. Even when there was a rabbi to lead one of the two services, they always had to hire someone else to lead the other, so this is no great change, Gotlieb said. Rosh Hashanah services begin Wednesday evening.
This year, the organization hired two rabbinical students to lead Reform and Conservative services, along with two professionals, Nesbitt said. Zoe Weiman Kelman, from Kol HaNeshama synagogue in Jerusalem, and rabbinic student Josh Lobel will lead Reform services while Cantor Amichai Margolis and rabbinic student Rachel Kahn-Troster from the Jewish Theological Seminary will lead Conservative services. Brown students will also provide support and help lead Torah services, she said.
The search for Kirschen's replacement has been particularly rigorous in part because it is so important that the chosen candidate be a good match for Hillel and for the University as a whole, Gotlieb said. As a part of the search process, several promising candidates will be brought to campus to meet with students. "We are looking for someone to fill a position in Hillel and to serve as chaplain to Brown - not just to work at Hillel, but also to join the Brown community and be part of multicultural and interfaith programming," she said.
The candidate must also be someone who understands the unique position of Hillel at Brown, Gotlieb added. "They must understand the mission of Hillel at Brown as a place where students can find meaning in Jewish life on campus in whatever way is best for them: through religious observance, educational study, cultural or social programming or through public outreach programs and getting involved in the community." The future executive director must also accept that Hillel's programming and leadership is primarily student-driven, she said.
Gotlieb said it is in part Hillel's student-run nature that has enabled the organization to continue functioning smoothly as the search board considers candidates. Students have always run weekly Shabbat services, so no new arrangements had to be made, she said.
In the absence of an executive director, Hillel's staff has taken on many of these responsibilities, Gotlieb said. Nesbitt has been acting as interim director with Program Director Abby Berenson's assistance. "Brown Hillel has always been student-centered, and with our programming staff still here there hasn't and won't be a change in terms of quality and quantity of our programs," Nesbitt added.
According to Nesbitt, Hillel leaders did not expect to find an executive director by the beginning of the semester.
"That is really fast for this kind of search," she said. The search became more complicated because Hillel's timetable didn't coordinate with the cycle of people leaving rabbinical schools and looking for jobs, Nesbitt added.
Gotlieb said Hillel's capable professional staff has meant that leaders can perform a thorough and careful search. "We'd like to find a good match sooner rather than later, but we would prefer to have a good fit than rush into anything," she said.
Herald staff writer Gabriella Doob '07 can be reached at herald@browndailyherald.com.
