Crafting a Contract Between the Synagogue and the Professional

Protecting the Partnership While Providing for Separation

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly have prepared a Model Engagement Agreement which has been also accepted by The Cantors Assembly. An essential provision of the Model Contractual Agreement states that, in the event of any dispute regarding a section of the contract, both parties agree that resolution will occur through mediation and, if necessary, arbitration through the Committee on Congregational Standards. The United Synagogue and each of the professional organizations of the Conservative Movement have recommendations concerning severance to be provided if the contract is not renewed and there is no claim or proof of "cause" for dismissal.

Clergy and professionals of synagogues, schools, and organizations of the Conservative Movement must be mindful of the need to have written contracts. The contract must be fair to both parties. The contract must have a dispute resolution provision. The provision must engage the Conservative Movement's Committee on Congregational Standards, if there is a difficulty that cannot be resolved by the participants in informal dialogue or on their own.

The Synagogue and its Professional Partners

The rabbi, hazzan, educational director, executive director, youth director, early childhood director, day school headmaster, youth advisor, religious school faculty, day school faculty and the leadership of Conservative Judaism must insist of each other that every contract include a dispute resolution statement/provision. While we seek to work in harmony, we must realistically prepare for disagreements to be addressed. While we want to retain clergy/professionals for many years, we must also recognize the process for closure when an arrangement is not working out.

Who Agrees?

The mediation and arbitration will be conducted under the auspices of the United Synagogue's Committee on Congregational Standards. The Standards Committee has a significant history of success in resolving disputes. With a broad membership of clergy, professional in synagogues, lawyers, national Conservative leaders and arbitrators on the Committee we assist the parties without "outside" intervention. The Committee has a vested interest in all parties.

The Committee is the long-standing vehicle for effective dispute resolution which has the input and active participation of representatives of the Cantors Assembly (CA), Jewish Educators Association (JEA), Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), Jewish Youth Directors Association (JYDA), North America Association of Synagogue Executive Directors (NAASE), Rabbinical Assembly (RA), Women's League for Conservative Judaism, and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ). Provisions for mediation-arbitration and the benefit of severance should be intrinsic to the written contract of all synagogue professionals.

How Does The Committee Function?

If there is a contractual dispute, the two parties engage the Committee on Congregational Standards. Either party may initiate the process of mediation. When the second party agrees, a mediator is selected to meet, facilitate, expedite and guide an open exchange of the issue(s). Every effort will be made by The United Synagogue and the clergy/professional's organization to influence both sides to agree to the process (if it is not in writing already). Upon reaching a successful mediated conclusion, the parties can proceed or bring closure to their relationship. At such time, the parties can continue or seek a new professional and a new position. Our Conservative Movement's process is a healthy resolution which brings a greater assurance of unity within the congregational membership. There will not be anger, disappointment, "choosing sides" or, God forbid, a split in the congregation when the Committee's process has been incorporated into the contract and followed by the parties.

If the mediation process does not result in a mutually accepted resolution, the parties proceed directly to binding arbitration. Each party selects an arbitrator and the two arbitrators select a neutral chief arbitrator or turn to the Committee on Congregational Standards to choose that neutral individual who chairs the panel. These three arbitrators are designated to hear the facts and bring the issue(s) to closure-either maintaining the relationship or opening new vistas for professional employment and a chance for the congregation/institution to select a new individual.

The Goal: Shalom Bayit

The goal is Shalom bayit. By using the Committee on Congregational Standards, we minimize or avoid legal expenses and public airing of our differences that might occur if we litigate the dispute. The Jewish community has always taken care of matters involving synagogues, organizations, professionals and kley kodesh (hazzan, rabbi and staff) internally. The Committee on Congregational Standards provides this service and process as a benefit for Conservative Judaism. There is no cost to the parties. The arbitrators serve without remuneration. The Committee receives no fee.

What Circumstances?

If there is a conflict to be managed or resolved, then all parties agree to do so via the Committee on Congregational Standards by including a provision in the initial contract.
Because there is a contractual statement, we have established a healthy process which supports all parties in a respectful way with a level playing field.

The mediation/arbitration dispute resolution process is agreed upon by all arms of Conservative Judaism as a key to building healthy respect for one another. The decision by the national representatives of the Association of Conservative Synagogues (USCJ) with those of the Rabbinical Assembly (RA) and Cantors Assembly (CA) requires implementation by all professionals/clergy and synagogues/institutions of the Conservative Movement.

Ask Yourself a Few Questions

Does your congregation include a provision for mediation/arbitration in every contract with a synagogue professional?
Has the day school/religious school included a statement for its administrators, headmasters, and faculty for the mediation/arbitration process?
Have you, as a professional, insisted on a mediation/arbitration provision when accepting a position in a Conservative synagogue, institution, organization?

A Few Suggestions

Please call your respective organization for further support of this recommendation. Contact a USCJ regional director to reinforce the crucial importance of mediation/arbitration and severance.
Ask for a discussion/session at an upcoming convention/meeting of the USCJ, RA, CA, JEA, NAASE, or JYDA.
Start off with a positive attitude every time a contract is to be signed. But, protect both parties in the event of future situations which result in differences or the ending of a relationship.
The Talmud teaches, "A word to the wise is sufficient." Take heed of this plea.

From the Committee on Congregational Standards

Statement in Support of Including the Severance Provision in a Rabbi's Contract*

* Also applies to hazzan, educational director, executive director, early childhood director, day school director, youth director, faculty of schools.

Introduction

There is a special relationship that develops in synagogue life between a congregation and its rabbi. Each of these men and women lead and serve. Each of these role models transmits Jewish values by virtue of their daily lives and their teachings. A congregation enters into a contractual relationship with its rabbi, which creates a unique spiritual role which is not replicated in the corporate or business world. The rabbi is a leader, a motivator, a teacher, a values transmitter and a key decision-maker for the congregation. However, the rabbi acts as a member of a community in a mutual relationship, a partnership of the rabbi and the laity in leading the synagogue.

The Severance Provision Agreement

There is a particular provision in the respective model contract prepared by The Rabbinical Assembly and The United Synagogue with which both organizations are in accord—and that relates to severance when a rabbi is not continuing in the congregation. The severance provision is a crucial part of the contract. The severance provision should be referred to in the initial contract even though it is not operable until a future contract, i.e., a rabbi’s severance provision takes effect after five years of service. The details of the recommended severance statement are part of the Guide to Congregational Practices published by the Committee on Congregational Standards.

The Benefit to All Parties

The severance provision in a rabbinic contract is important because:

The severance policy protects all parties through its clarify, its unambiguous nature and sheer declaration of intent.
The severance policy assures a separation and closure in a dignified manner for all parties.
The severance policy ushers in a healthy process of moving ahead to elect a new rabbi.
The severance policy allows the congregation to smoothly enter the process of seeking new religious leadership without interruption.
The severance policy gives the rabbi the resources to be able to establish him/herself in a new community.
The historical experience of the Committee on Congregational Standards affirms the value of the provision. Many disputes would have been avoided if the severance provision had been cited in a contract.

Ma Nishtana... What’s Different When A Rabbi Leaves?

There is a difference. When a rabbi leaves a community, he/she is uprooting a family... and more. Children may be displaced from a school. Spouses may also have to return to the “job market” for a new position. Rabbis, unlike people in many other professions, most often also leave a community and therefore by so doing leave friends, colleagues and communal affiliations. The rabbi and family will have to find new physicians, new support systems and new community contacts. If a doctor leaves a practice, if a lawyer decides to go out on his/her own, if an investment broker leaves a firm, if a computer specialist leaves a company, it does not have to necessitate relocation. For the rabbi, it is usually entirely new circumstances in another community.

There is a difference which reaches into the rabbinic family. There is a difference because a spiritual leader has an investment in the total community, not only the job.

If a rabbi’s tenure has been terminated or not renewed by a congregation despite his/her wishes to remain, then a synagogue should be sensitive and act in a manner which is Jewishly responsible. Severance applies in the case of a rabbi only after five years. During this time, the rabbi has developed a profound and meaningful relationship with many individuals. The synagogue should demonstrate care, concern and commitment. There is a difference.

Therefore:

The Committee turns to every member congregation of The United Synagogue and urges the use of the severance provision set forth in the USCJ Guidelines to Congregational Practices, in the initial contract. The severance provisions is so crucial that it must be includedas a matter of procedure—just as the other contractual provisions have become standard.

The Committee recommends and urges the inclusion of the severance provision in the contract of its rabbi in each contract.

The Committee welcomes the opportunity to explain the value of the severance provision in telephone communication, in writing, and in personal contact with congregations and at United Synagogue gatherings.

Congregational representatives and rabbis are encouraged to call Rabbi Moshe Edelman, Director of the Committee on Congregational Standards, (212) 533-7800, ext. 2205, to discuss questions or concerns in a confidential atmosphere.