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January 7, 2000/29 Tevet 5760, Vol. 52, No.18
Rabbis resign from Beth El Congregation
TAMI BICKLEY
Staff Writer
Both of Beth El Congregation's spiritual leaders, Senior Rabbi Rick Sherwin and Assistant Rabbi Sharon Cohen, announced their resignations this week, in letters mailed to the Conservative synagogue's congregants and board members.
Sherwin's resignation, effective July 1, 2000, and Cohen's, effective May 31, 2000, are unrelated, Cohen told Jewish News. Sherwin and Cohen would not specify why they are leaving Beth El. Neither rabbi has a new job lined up. Sherwin commented that he wanted to "close one door before opening a new one."
Sherwin would not say whether he planned to seek work at another congregation in the Valley, but he assured that he will remain in the rabbinate.
"My goal is to find all of the joy and meaning that Jewish life has to offer," he said.
Several months ago, Sherwin first submitted a letter of resignation to Beth El, which he later withdrew after negotiating with some of the Phoenix synagogue's board members.
"Some people came up with ideas for making it work. And there are some wonderful people who have been working very hard, and we really tried," he said, referring to attempts to keep him at Beth El. Serving as Beth El's rabbi for nearly eight years, Sherwin said, "has been a wonderful chapter in my life and in the life of Beth El."
Sherwin submitted a new letter of resignation to temple leaders last week, and they responded with a letter accepting his resignation on Thursday, Dec. 30. That same day, a letter was sent out to Beth El board members notifying them of Sherwin's decision to leave.
On Monday, Jan. 3, Cohen notified the board of her intention to leave when her contract expires May 31. A letter announcing both resignations was mailed to congregants Tuesday.
Sherwin joined Beth El as assistant rabbi in late 1992 after having worked for 13 years as rabbi of B'nai Zion Synagogue in Chattanooga, Tenn. In 1993, he assumed the position of senior rabbi, succeeding Rabbi Herbert Silberman. Sherwin and his wife, Elissa, have three sons and one daughter.
Sherwin "has touched a lot of people's lives. ... He will be sorely missed, and we wish him the best," said Beth El President Michael Wolf.
Cohen, who came to Beth El in May 1997, freshly ordained from Jewish Theological Seminary, this week turned down a one-year contract extension offered to her by the synagogue board.
"At this time in my life, I think it is time to move on," she said, adding that her decision had nothing to do with the news days earlier that Sherwin would be leaving.
Cohen plans to seek work as a rabbi elsewhere, she said, and doubts she will remain in the Valley.
"For someone who came in right out of rabbinic school, she really has enriched our congregation," commented David Brooks, Beth El's executive director.
Meanwhile, the acceptance of Sherwin's and Cohen's resignations prompted Wolf to begin forming a search committee made up of board members and congregants who will determine criteria for selecting a new rabbi or rabbis. He said he hopes to make a hiring decision by March or April. Whether the search committee will hire one or two new rabbis has yet to be determined, Brooks said.
Before a search is launched, Wolf said, the search committee, which was still being formed early this week, will communicate with other congregants about what qualities they feel are a priority in finding a replacement for Sherwin, and possibly for Cohen.
"We really haven't put the wheels in motion," Brooks explained. "Right now our efforts have been to inform our congregation and board members."
Beth El has a membership of approximately 850 households.
When he arrived in Phoenix, Sherwin said, he "wanted to instill a sense of organic community, where everybody really works together."
He said he sensed the Phoenix Jewish community had already been making an effort to do this before he arrived, and he feels he and his congregation succeeded in keeping the idea of togetherness a top priority.
"There is no other rabbi in the country like him," Cohen commented. "He is an amazing Jewish leader, someone who inspires, and wherever he is, including Phoenix, he brings that with him."
In reminiscing about her time at Beth El, Cohen said she is satisfied that she was able to "bring a sense of spirit and joy for living and learning Judaism."
Sherwin said some of his fondest memories from Beth El include watching 27 adult b'nai mitzvah chant the Haftorah portion together last year; touring Israel in 1996 and 1998 with some of his congregants; and leading Beth El's Tuesday night adult education class.
"What makes a synagogue special in my mind is personal service to the congregants, a personal touch ... where every single person who walks into the sanctuary, comes to class or goes to a meeting feels special. I work very hard at the personal touch. ... I really try to address people's individual needs."
"(Sherwin) is a very dynamic rabbi and he has brought a lot of spirit, defined in Hebrew as ruach, to the community, and that is sometimes very rare in rabbis," noted Brooks.
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