By Michael Bloom, Religious VP and Pulpit Committee Chair

As you know, we have begun the Shabbaton segment of our search for a successor to Rabbi Gordon Freeman on his retirement June 30, 2006. After your Pulpit Committee conducts preliminary interviews and reviews a candidate’s credential and experience, we bring the candidate to CBS for a Shabbat experience.

During this experience, we schedule meetings with your Board of Directors, tours of the area, drop-ins at Religious School and Pre-School, discussions with other members of the community (such as Rabbi Roberto Graetz at Temple Isaiah, Dean Goldfein, head of school at the Contra Costa Jewish Day School, and Rabbi Mark Bloom, Temple Beth Abraham), and time for the candidate to meet with Rabbi Freeman and Hazzan Dinkin. The candidate will also participate in Shabbat services Friday night and Saturday morning, submit him or herself to congregation questions in a Q&A after Kiddush Luncheon, and conduct a Havdalah service. Our Shabbat dinners have served about 175 people each Friday, and our Kiddush Luncheon is serving more than 200 each Saturday, each of which is nearly double our “average.”

We also arrange for housing for the weekend, tour guides, transportation to and from here (and there), and a welcome basket (of California goodies) at the hotel or home; we generally try to make this as painless as possible for the candidate so that he or she may focus on “the Rabbi stuff.”

I believe that we are successful in all of this “pain reduction” because we have so many warm and generous members of the synagogue who step forward to help.

With those thoughts in mind, I would like to pay formal recognition and a heartfelt todah rabah to the following individuals who have given of themselves for their community. They are listed here in alphabetic order.

… and the parents and children of Religious Schoolgrades:
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Sixth Grade

Although many more have volunteered to help, we were not able to make the schedules work out. I expect that these additional congregants will be called upon as we host and review more candidates.

When you see these people, please be sure to thank them for helping to facilitate these weekends.

Feedback? Ideas? Comments? Criticisms? Contact me by email at or leave a message at the CBS Office.

Other members of your Pulpit Committee are Rayna Arnold, Hazzan Marc Dinkin, Sandy Frucht, Bill Gourdin, Scott Korney, Lynn Levine, and Mary Anne Winig.

b’shalom,

Michael Bloom
Religious VP and Pulpit Committee Chair

April 2006