Oak Park Temple
B'nai Abraham Zion

1235 N. Harlem Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 386-3937

Rabbi Search Committee - Letter from Linda Ross

October 1, 2007

Dear Chaverim,

I am very happy to report to you both our Executive Committee and our Board of Directors have approved Jeff Blaine as our Rabbi Search Committee Chair for the duration of the process.

Jeff Blaine, and his wife Sue, have been members of Oak Park Temple for the last 28 years. Jeff is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and was the founder of Perspectives, Ltd., which provides Employee Assistance Programs for more than 200 organizations. His responsibilities included having served for 25 years as the Director of Clinical Services and having provided organizational development services to a wide variety of organizations. Jeff currently is providing psychotherapy, counseling and consultation as a solo practitioner. He holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Northwestern University and a Masters degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Chicago.

Jeff is a member of the Board of Directors of the Temple and he also served in that capacity in 1983-85. Jeff has served Oak Park Temple as a Bagel Boy for the last 20 years and was the Chief Bagel for more than 10 years. He has also served as Oak Park Temple’s ba’al tekiah, blowing the shofar for the last 25 years. Sue was the President of the congregation from 1993-95. In 2002, Jeff and Sue received “The Celebration of Life Award” from the State of Israel Bonds.

In addition to his activities at Oak Park Temple, and in his professional life, Jeff was an elected member of the Board of Education of River Forest, District 90, from 1989-1993. He served as President of the Board and was the Chair of the Superintendent Search Committee that hired both an interim superintendent, as well as a permanent superintendent who served for 14 years. Jeff also served on the Board of Directors of Family Service and Mental Health Center of Oak Park and River Forest from 1998-2004. During his tenure on that board, he served as its President and as the Chair of the Professional Services Committee. He has also worked and continues to serve as an American Red Cross Volunteer for Disaster Mental Health Services since 2002.

Thus, I feel we are very fortunate to have a chair who is so eminently qualified for the post. I believe Jeff will successfully lead a committee to hiring a Rabbi who will be well received by all of us.

Secondly, I want to open the opportunity for all members of the congregation to apply to be on this Search Committee. If you would like to be a member of the Rabbi Search Committee, please be certain that you will have the time available in your schedule to make this work a top priority. The committee will be limited in size to increase functional efficiency. Meetings will, for the most part, be scheduled at noon on Sundays and occasional weeknights. We expect the process to have some relatively quiet periods and some periods of intense activity. Also, it is possible that some members of the committee may need to be available to travel to prospective rabbinic candidate’s congregations in other cities.

In order for me to consider everyone fairly, please write to me why you would make a good search committee member. Reasons can include, but not be limited to: what constituencies within the congregation you can effectively represent, relevant job experiences, and any volunteer service in which you have participated. This will also help me explain your candidacy to those on the Board who do not know you personally. Please email (mrossmere@aol.com), mail to 148 Riverside Road, Riverside, Ill 60546, or drop in my mailbox in the Temple office by Monday, October 22nd.

Once I have selected a committed, representative group, I will submit the proposed team to the Executive Committee on Oct. 31st and to the Board of Directors on Nov. 14th. The Board of Directors must approve the committee, as stipulated in the Oak Park Temple Constitution.

I will be reviewing all submissions with the plan to select members who will effectively represent young adult members, long term members, youth, past presidents, social action, worship/torah study, preschool parent, religious school parent, interfaith families, Sisterhood, and more. If you plan to suggest someone else for a seat on this committee, please make sure to consult with them prior to submitting their names; obtain their consent, as well as providing the requested descriptive information about them.

Thank you ahead of time to all those who take the time to let me know they want to take an active role in this process. For those not able or interested in serving on the committee, there will be many opportunities and ways in which you will be able to provide input into this critically important process in our congregation’s life.

We need your input and perspectives to make this process better serve our whole congregation for now and years to come.

B’shalom,

Linda Ross
President, Oak Park Temple