1. REFLECTIONS OF A TRANSITIONAL RABBI
Rabbi David Klatzker
The role of a transitional rabbi
When a rabbi leaves a congregation, regardless of the circumstances, many members get
anxious. One reason is a perceived loss of stability and continuity because the community has
lost a key leader; members worry that participation will drop, contributions will decrease, and
no one will join the community while this position is vacant.
To counter this anxiety, many synagogues immediately form a search committee and begin
seeking rabbinic candidates before they have taken time to assess their needs and use the
opportunity to build on their future. Few organizations, from corporations to congregations,
can make good decisions of this level of importance when they are anxious or under pressure.
A change of rabbi is the ideal time to pause and reflect, clear the deck of old issues, and lay a
strong foundation from which the new rabbi can move forward. This is where the value of a
transitional rabbi shows itself.
A transitional rabbi is a trained professional who has served as a settled rabbi in one or more
congregations and also has experience in interim settings. He fills the important role of
stepping in when change is called for, reviewing the dynamics of the synagogue, ironing out
dissonances, healing wounds, and bringing groups together in collaboration with a renewed
sense of mission. The transitional rabbi has what might be called a repair and revitalization
function, so when decisions about the next permanent rabbi are made the congregation has
set itself up for a richly successful tenure with its processes and programs in good shape and
the members focused on moving forward smoothly.
Every congregation has different needs at a time of transition. If the former rabbi was long
tenured, the transitional rabbi’s function would be to assist the lay leadership in becoming fluid
once more, no longer tied to the departed rabbi’s methodology and style. If there have been
past breaches of protocols, relationships or finances, the traces of these can be erased.
In other congregations, the focus might be on clarifying identity and goals, revitalizing
leadership roles, identifying programs and procedures that need to be updated or phased out,

2. Rabbi David Klatzker
2
or challenging old habits that no longer serve the congregation. The period between rabbis is
an opportune time for a congregation to renew itself. In this “neutral zone,” innovations have
an especially good chance of succeeding. An experienced transitional rabbi has a wide
repertoire of knowhow in inquiry, assessment, advocacy and managing change with
collaboration.
When the transitional rabbi and the congregation have done their work properly, the new
rabbi can spend the first year being a lover and a historian, getting to know and empower
people, and building a base of support for the long run.
An engagement plan
The transitional rabbi will generally ask for a small group of known and respected members of
the congregation to serve as a transition team. They will be his think tank, meeting periodically
to help take the pulse of the congregation and arranging for him to meet board members,
committee chairs, staff and others to get a full view of the current culture as well as help the
rabbi and his family settle into the community.
As part of the transition, the rabbi will speak with members who have issues with past
synagogue decisions or other aspects of congregational management to hear their concerns.
He might also want to meet with people who have left the synagogue to listen to their
experiences in order to understand their viewpoints.
Board meetings and staff meetings provide important opportunities for information gathering
and team building. The rabbi might ask participants to read and discuss a book or an article
that will strengthen their work together (for example, Edwin Friedman’s work on how to
handle conflict and anxiety).
Given his diverse experience and short tenure, a transitional rabbi is in an excellent position to
try some experiments—for example, he might vary the style of the prayer experience from
time to time. Such experimentation will make it easier for the next rabbi to innovate.

3. Rabbi David Klatzker
3
Appreciative questions and motivating proposals
A healthy congregation knows its purpose. If its purpose is missing or unclear, there is no
promised land toward which it is traveling. An important role of the transitional rabbi is to help
the congregation define its primary reason for being and stay on course, posing questions such
as: Is our purpose compelling? Is it doable? Are we clear whether we are fulfilling our purpose
or not?
One useful approach to refocusing the congregation is to train some members to serve as
interviewers in a process of what is called Appreciative Inquiry. Their role in the process is to
ask their fellow congregants to share those times when they felt most alive, most motivated,
and most excited about their involvement in the congregation.
This line of questioning is likely to elicit many affirming responses. Negative experiences will be
acknowledged, but not dwelled upon, as they will not help achieve the outcomes we desire.
We are interested not in illness (problems and inadequacies) but in health (strengths and
life-giving stories of the past and present). Yes, transitional rabbis are optimists, but we are
also realists. When we look at a half-full glass, we do not miss the fact that it is also half empty.
We are trained to see it as a glass full of opportunity and focus on a preferred future.
Within this process our interviewers will then ask, what additional gifts and talents can you
bring to the congregation? Many think they have nothing to offer the community, but some of
us are good at cooking, some at gardening, some at house painting, some at singing, and some
at bookkeeping. Some have money to contribute; some have personal contacts they can share.
Taking inventory of the gifts we all have to offer is a big part of revitalizing our congregation.
Other data—neighborhood demographics, financial figures, synagogue historical
statistics—will also be gathered from our interviews. Ultimately, our aim is to construct a set of
provocative proposals, crafting our future by expressing what we can already see.
A provocative proposal might read like this:

4. Rabbi David Klatzker
4
“In the previous generation, our synagogue was largely child-centered. One evident result is
that many of today’s parents have little experience of spending time in synagogue with their
full families. But we are different, we are truly family-centered. We provide grandparents,
parents and children with opportunities to ‘do Jewish’ together. We also offer families
opportunities to dialogue about their goals together. In our shul, the generations learn from
each other, study Torah together, celebrate life, and reach out into the world.”
Later on, we will discuss how to turn our provocative proposals into reality, in small, believable
and resourced steps. But the proposals themselves will help us re-envision our congregational
life. The provocative proposals will help us move ahead, because they will be based on what
we love, what we already do well, and what we dream about.
Since the transitional rabbi will be with the congregation only a short time, the decision about
who will be responsible for leading the implementation of these provocative proposals, will be
an important one. Perhaps what he sows in this positive inquiry process will only be reaped
after his departure. But a strategic plan to turn our provocative proposals into reality in small,
believable and resourced steps will make it much easier to attract strong rabbinic candidates.
The provocative proposals help us move ahead, because they are based on what we love, what
we already do well, and what we dream of.
Resolving grief
Congregants who are mourning the death or retirement of a rabbi need opportunities to
process their feelings. The transitional rabbi will listen compassionately, and provide a calming
presence, creating room for the congregants’ feelings of loss while helping them to clarify the
positive qualities of the old rabbi that they will be able to reclaim in the future.
When the rabbi deals with grief in this way, he is inoculating the congregation against potential
grief in the future, and is deepening the conversation about the congregation’s core values.

5. Rabbi David Klatzker
5
Transforming the narrative
Where conflict has led to the termination of the previous rabbi the question needs to be asked
whether the conflict was between the rabbi and a fairly united congregation, or are there splits
within the congregation? In most cases, if the congregation was in agreement, things will
resolve fairly quickly once he departs, and the transition time will focus on healing and
forgiveness within the congregation to prepare them for the future.
Alternatively, if the congregation has a history of short rabbinic tenures, clergy misconduct, or
deep factionalism, the transition time will need to be extended in order to grow collaboration
around shared values and purpose before initiating the search for a new rabbi.
Some congregations have a negative narrative such as “we are rabbi-killers.” They need to
consider what narrative would suit them better, such as, “Our rabbi and congregants
collaborate with each other in life-giving ways.” In this way the problem is not ignored but
transformed into a desired goal. With this goal in mind, the congregation is invited to share
stories of times when they have worked in partnership. Even if those times are rare, they must
exist for the congregation to have survived despite its apparent problems. These rediscovered
stories of collaboration are used to create a new, improved narrative.
Managing conflict
When there is sharp conflict in the congregation, it is crucial that the leadership be willing to
confront difficult realities, and find appropriate ways to let people express their ideas and
feelings, help them define and be clearer about their positions, and encourage them to enter
into dialogue with one another. With dialogue, disagreement can become an avenue for
creativity instead of a dead-end.
When a congregation is stuck in disagreement, consider that there is a tension between
opposite needs or opinions that cannot be “solved,” but which needs to be managed.

6. Rabbi David Klatzker
6
A classic example of this, that all transitional rabbis are familiar with, is the naturally occurring
tension between people who love tradition and those who want change. No congregation can
exist without tradition and change. “Tradition and Change” is the very motto of Conservative
Judaism; the two are always in dynamic tension, similar to the tension between the rights of
the individual and the rights of the community, which is an ever present dynamic in every
congregation.
A transitional rabbi will pay special attention to changes that are on the horizon in a
congregation—for example, recognition of non-Jews at b’nai mitzvah services, new categories
of synagogue membership, and new models of religious education. When there is conflict and
controversy related to these changes, it is likely that there is a polarity between two opposites
that are equally important and positive. The first step is to disallow extremism in the
differences. Solid immovability will not lead to collaboration, but leaders can use issues like
these as opportunities to engage the congregation in a process in which people hear one
another, and learn to value what is good about both sides of the equation.
As an example of how to move away from “either/or” thinking, a congregation that was
struggling over the introduction of contemporary music at services was gently coached by its
transitional rabbi to hear both sides of the issue in a respectful way. In the end, a majority of
the board voted to permit drumming and guitar music on an occasional basis. The
traditionalists in the congregation felt that their voices had been heard, and some of them
were even moved to support the innovations (“I don’t care for it myself, but I can now see how
my children and grandchildren might be attracted by it”).
Renewing connections
Helping the congregation reflect about what it means to be “Conservative” is an important
undertaking during the transition process. How do our programs tie into the Conservative
movement? Are we following national policies and practices? Are there resources we should
be using? What kind of advice can the movement give us as we transition?
Relationships are always two-sided. The United Synagogue and the Rabbinical Assembly have
not always been helpful to congregations, but instead of kvetching about the Conservative

7. Rabbi David Klatzker
7
movement, the shul leadership can try to engage with it in new ways. With a transitional rabbi
helping, our relationship to the movement can be lifted up, examined and refashioned.
Coaching the search committee
While it is inappropriate for the transitional rabbi to take an active role in the congregation’s
search for a permanent rabbi, it is beneficial to the congregation to learn what he has observed
and how he sees future needs. He can help them write their congregational profile, can
rehearse possible answers to questions they will ask candidates, and can explain to them what
the search process looks like from a rabbi’s point of view.
As they enter the search process, he should remind them that, “The rabbi you want may not be
the rabbi you need. Ask not what the rabbi can do for you personally, but focus on your
congregation’s key goals, then ask, what do we need in a rabbi to help us achieve those goals?”
Saying goodbye
At the end of the interim period, there will be an evaluation of the rabbi and the transition
process. There are some good models for mutual rabbi-congregation evaluation that can be
shared.
The transitional rabbi will fully brief his successor about the congregation. For example, he
should leave a briefing packet for the new rabbi with detailed information about congregants
who are ill or have special needs, important events and changes that have occurred, and
currently active issues. He should also brief his successor about the purpose process the
congregation has gone through so he understands this as a starting point.
The transitional rabbi will remind the congregation in writing and from the bimah that he will
always be their friend, but will no longer be their rabbi. This is an important step in preparing
the way for a long-term rabbi. The new rabbi doesn’t need anyone hanging around and making
himself available for people to voice their opinions about their new spiritual leader. There has
to be a clean break.

8. Rabbi David Klatzker
8
Instead of just saying “Thank you” or “I will miss you too,” the departing rabbi can use the
situation as an opportunity to explore what people are going to miss. By inviting the
congregation to move their focus from the rabbi himself to focusing on the values he has
modeled with them, the less likely it is that they will grieve his departure in an unhealthy way.
A good transitional rabbi is spiritually grounded, self-aware, and knows the context in which he
operates. He communicates his own preferences and invites others to share theirs. He has
pastoral and teaching skills, and has also been specifically trained in systemic thinking, power
dynamics, conflict management, and infrastructure organization. A consulting rabbi like this
can help the congregation travel successfully through the wilderness period of uncertainty and
ambiguity that is inevitable whenever there is a rabbinic transition, so that it can start again
with new energy, a new sense of purpose, and a new image of itself.
Rabbi David Klatzker, Ph.D. March 2016