Rabbinic Educator in Israel

T’ruah is seeking a ¼-time Rabbinic Educator in Israel who is responsible for building relationships with American rabbinical and cantorial students, supporting their learning and growth through educational programming and text studies, and collaborating with the Israel Program Manager and U.S. staff to develop and facilitate seminars focused on human rights and engagement with Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

The ideal candidate is a committed advocate for the safety and dignity of both Israelis and Palestinians, skilled at building authentic relationships, experienced in adult education with a deep knowledge of Jewish texts, a collaborative team player, and an adept facilitator capable of guiding challenging conversations and fostering respectful dialogue.

Who We Are

T’ruah brings the Torah’s ideals of human dignity, equality, and justice to life by empowering our network of over 2,300 rabbis and cantors to be moral voices and to lead Jewish communities in advancing democracy and human rights for all people in the United States, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.

To learn more about our work, visit www.truah.org or find us @truahrabbis on Twitter and Facebook.

What You’ll Do

Since 2013, T’ruah has offered nearly 300 American rabbinical and cantorial students spending the academic year, or more recently semester or summer in Israel, the opportunity to develop their moral voice on human rights in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territories. Core to this program are on-the-ground opportunities to both experience human rights crises and to form relationships with Israeli and Palestinian human rights and civil society leaders who are working to improve their society. The program also includes text studies that help students bring Jewish wisdom to bear on what they are learning, guided conversations about how to engage with Israel as a rabbi or cantor, and skills for bringing their experiences and knowledge back to their internships and rabbinic jobs in such a way as to contribute to a better future for everyone in the region. Since October 7, T’ruah has adjusted to meet the needs of the students who remained in or returned to Israel, including programs that addressed the impact of the war on both Israelis and Palestinians. In the past, this program has consisted of monthly field programs, along with a more intensive fellowship for a small group of students. This year, we anticipate the program consisting of a smaller number of two-day seminars including field visits and processing time.

The Rabbinic Educator in Israel, who reports to the Chief Programs Officer, and is a member of T’ruah’s program team, is responsible for:

• Building relationships with American rabbinical and cantorial students during their time of study in Israel. This includes students who are in Israel for the full academic year, as well as those who come only for a semester or for the summer. As the rabbinic educator, you will build relationships with students with an eye towards helping them become rabbis who can bring a moral Jewish voice to engaging with Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, articulate an approach that affirms the dignity of both Israelis and Palestinians, and help their own communities understand the reality on the ground.
• Supporting the learning and growth of program participants through text studies, ritual practices, group reflection sessions, and one-on-one conversations, all of which take place during or after each field seminar. You will contribute to the development of T’ruah’s educational goals and evaluate whether programming achieved those goals.
• Collaborating with the Israel Program Manager (based in Israel) and relevant programs team staff in the U.S. to plan the calendar of events for the year as well as the development of each seminar’s itinerary with an eye towards T’ruah’s educational goals. Together, you will recruit students, coordinate with administrators at the schools where the students are studying, communicate with speakers and guides, facilitate the programs, and guide the students through challenging and provocative moments.
• As time permits, you may provide additional rabbinic support on T’ruah’s written materials regarding Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and/or T’ruah staff text studies for bi-weekly staff meetings.

Who You Are & Keys to Success

To be successful in this position, you are most or all of the following:

• Committed to the safety and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians. You feel comfortable representing T’ruah’s positions, which include support for a swift end to the current war, including the return of hostages and a cessation of violence in Gaza, as well as massive humanitarian relief there; a political solution that ends the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and that resolves the status of Jerusalem and its residents; and the future of Israel as a Jewish democratic state side-by-side with a State of Palestine.
• A relationship builder: You have a demonstrated track record of building authentic relationships quickly and with ease. You are self-aware and attuned to others and put relationship before task without dropping the larger vision and goals. You demonstrate appropriate use of self in professional contexts and elicit similar vulnerability in others. You demonstrate integrity, acting in line with your, and the organization’s, values.
• An educator: You are an experienced adult educator who delights in an individual’s social, emotional, and intellectual growth through experiential and text-based modalities. You have strong knowledge of Jewish text and facility applying texts to the burning questions of the moment in ways that provoke more conversation and insight.
• A team player: You have experience working as part of a team, collaborating with others toward a collective goal. You view your work as supporting the whole, and integral to the team’s effectiveness.
• A facilitator. You can guide students through challenging conversations, ensure that all voices are heard, and help students deepen their own perspective, listen to their peers, and disagree respectfully.
• Familiar with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) values. You recognize ways that race and other identities intersect in the work, both with communities we serve and with fellow colleagues. You are willing to talk about identities such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, ability, or gender, in plain, specific terms. You understand the historical context for racial inequity and its present-day implications.
• Self-aware and emotionally intelligent. You are able to reflect on and describe the impact of your own identities -- and those of others -- in a given situation, decision, or process. You demonstrate awareness of your growing edges. You are able to hear, reflect, act on, and learn from feedback, including feedback about identity and equity.
• Comfortable representing T’ruah’s mission, campaigns, and positions.

The following experiences are a plus, but not a requirement:

• Rabbinic ordination
• Undergraduate and/or Masters degree in Jewish education

Systemic inequities in hiring have caused many women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. If you don’t have all of the qualifications listed above but are extremely organized, passionate about our mission, and believe you have applicable and transferable skills from other industries or experiences, we encourage you to apply for this job. We’d love to hear from you. In your cover letter, be sure to explicitly highlight how your experience, skills, and personal qualities have set you up to succeed in the role.

What Else You Should Know

Eligibility

Both U.S. persons and Israeli citizens are eligible to apply.

Status

This position is ¼-time, i.e., 10 hours per week.

Salary

This position is in T’ruah’s $60,000 - $85,000 salary band; since this position is ¼-time the annual salary is $15,000 - $21,250. We set salary within this band through a collaborative process using a standard rubric based on years of experience.

Location

The Rabbinic Educator in Israel will be located in Israel.

Travel

The Rabbinic Educator in Israel will be expected to travel to on-the-ground programs in Israel, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank. All staff are expected to attend a semi-yearly team-building retreat. All work-related travel expenses are paid for by T’ruah.

Benefits include:

• 32 vacation hours a year in your first year of employment, increasing to 40 hours a year at the start of your second year of employment
• 34 holidays a year, which includes Jewish holidays, Summer Thursdays, and a floating holiday
• Unlimited sick leave
• Paid leave of up to 12 weeks for the birth or adoption of a child
• Salary deferral contributions to T’ruah’s retirement savings plan
• Employer-covered basic life and AD&D insurance valued at $10,000 (U.S. persons only)
• Optional benefit plans available at employee expense (U.S. persons only): dental, vision, health savings account, flexible spending accounts, supplemental life insurance, and supplemental AD&D insurance

Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

T’ruah is committed to DEI at every level of our organization, including our Board of Directors. For the past several years we have been actively working on becoming an antiracist organization. We published a set of organizational values reflecting this commitment.

Equal opportunity employer

T’ruah isn’t just an equal opportunity employer. We are actively seeking to build a diverse and inclusive team with a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. T’ruah does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, personal appearance, family responsibility, political affiliation or any other status protected by applicable law. Women, transgender people, veterans and people of color are encouraged to apply.

Compliance with eligibility verification laws

In compliance with U.S. federal law, all U.S. persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

In compliance with Israeli law, all Israeli persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in Israel and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

Our Timeline

Applications will be accepted, and interviews will be conducted, on a rolling basis. Applications received before October 2 will be given priority status. Our ideal start date for this position is as soon as possible.

How to Apply

Submit the form on this page. Your cover letter will be used as a writing sample. No phone calls, please.