The year of the unicorn (aka “Succeeding successfully”)

When we set out to create a job description for the search for our new rabbi, someone (it may have been our creative president Matt Schiering) suggested that we might as well be looking to replace a unicorn.

I certainly think quite highly of Rabbi Paula Drill, and I am beyond grateful for the partnership we have shared and the many ways in which having her as a co-rabbi has improved my life professionally and personally. But a unicorn?

As we follow Moses through the final year of his tenure leading the Israelites, we are reminded that he is irreplaceable. “There never arose another prophet like Moses….” Joshua is poised to succeed Moses, but not to replace him. Joshua will be a different leader for a different time with a different mission.

All this talk about Moses, Rabbi Drill and unicorns has left me reflecting on the origin story of Rabbi Drill‘s relationship with our community. We weren’t looking for a unicorn, and we didn’t hire one. We hired someone whom we knew could build relationships in the context of our Jewish tradition. There were challenges, doubts and growing pains as we introduced a new leader to our community. Personally, my guiding principle was that Rabbi Drill’s success would be my success. I believed my burden would be lighter, my life would have greater balance, and her achievements would add to the reputation of the OJC community as a place with which people wanted to connect. Our leadership understood that her success connecting, building relationships and offering more pathways into community would benefit our entire community and help us grow. It mattered not that Rabbi Drill started out only coming to OJC one Shabbat each month; it mattered that she was willing to connect with people on their time about their lives and their searches for meaning. Our faith was rewarded!

The partnership model that Rabbi Drill and I promoted from her earliest years here required a true cultural shift away from a hierarchical structure of leadership. We advocated to avoid the “assistant rabbi” title, ultimately establishing a co-rabbi relationship. We were inspired by the Jewish model of learning in partnership (“chavruta”), and by the pairs of rabbinic sages who challenged each other to grow, to refine their knowledge, and to consider alternate perspectives. I believe our synagogue became a kinder, more thoughtful place because of the partnership and team approach that we modeled.

For our succession plan to be successful, we need to remember what has made us successful as a community to date. We need to remember how Rabbi Drill’s tenure became the success it was. It should come as no surprise that the survey we recently sent to the congregation revealed that the rabbinic role most important to our community, by a wide margin, is for the rabbi to share a personal connection with us. We want to be seen, heard, understood and appreciated by someone who can help us forge our own connection with community, tradition and God.

If it takes a unicorn to fill that need, then let the search for the next unicorn begin. If anyone can find one, it’s us!

Rabbi Craig Scheff