Temple Emanu-El Signs 15-Year Deal with Rabbi
The growing congregation also signed five-year contracts with its associate rabbis.
When Temple Emanu-El senior rabbi Spike Anderson speaks with prospective congregants, he noted, “it’s not unusual for them to ask about his contract” with the synagogue. Congregants, he explained, want to feel that a rabbi is going to be with the congregation on an intergenerational basis. “Changing rabbis can be disruptive.”
As of last fall, Temple Emanu-El congregants no longer must fear that disruption. The congregation signed a long-term, 15-year contract with Rabbi Anderson, taking the 50-year-old clergy member to his retirement. The congregation also signed five-year contracts with rabbis Max and Rachael Miller, who are in their sixth year with the Temple. “The [new] contract that begins summer 2023 will begin their seventh year with the congregation,” explains congregational co-president Edye Summerfield Disner.
Rabbi Anderson is in his eighth year with Temple Emanu-El. The congregation’s stability could be seen in another way as well. Rabbi Max Miller grew up attending Temple Emanu-El. He attended both The Davis Academy and the Weber School in Atlanta and met his wife at Hebrew Union College.
The contracts for the temple’s religious school director and executive director have also recently been extended.
Disner said the congregation’s leadership has encouraged past presidents to stay active, even treating them to a Shabbat dinner with their wives last fall.
One of the many former presidents of the congregation still providing counsel to the current leadership, Harold Kirtz, said the clergy contracts provide stability to the congregation. Kirtz, who was president from 1991 to 1993, said his biggest achievement as head of the search committee was bringing Rabbi Stanley Davids to Temple Emanu-El. After Davids’ retirement, he made Aliyah, but is now living in Santa Monica to be near family. When he was senior rabbi, the congregation peaked at about 830 member families. After a dip in membership, the number is back up to 725 member families.
“Most congregations during the COVID pandemic did not experience growth, but we were lucky to see an increase” in the number of member families, said Disner. There was an even larger increase in the religious school numbers – the largest ever, said Disner, at 225 children. “We realized that that energy and enthusiasm increased since Spike came on board, and the youth with Max and Rachael. This clergy team is bringing in enthusiasm and we want it to continue. It’s been a long time since we felt like this with our senior rabbi. It’s been such a wonderful match.”
Looking at the “big picture,” said Rabbi Anderson, “it is very rare for a rabbi to be offered this type of contract. A 15-year contract is like a marriage, on top of the previous years. It is a sign of stability and maturity from a congregation, even the fact that Emanu-El could do this. In the past, it might not have been able to.”
Citing his family that includes wife and three children, Anderson said it’s a good “cultural fit. Atlanta is home. I am dedicating the best decades of my life to this place. It’s not just job stability. This is a feel-good thing. I think the synagogue is happy with the way I’m leading and it’s a spiritual home for me and my family.”
Anderson had previously served several years at the mammoth, 2,500-member families Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles. “My mentor had been there 40 years and the founding rabbi had been there 40 years,” he noted.
According to Disner, Anderson “has a connection with congregants at all ages and stages of life. This was so different from the past. We were unanimous; this is what we wanted from a rabbi. We have several founding members still around.”
Kirtz added, “I think most people think he is doing a terrific job. He is bright, articulate, empathetic, knowledgeable and he brings a big combination of things with him. He’s very good in giving responsibilities to the Millers and good at bringing them along. He’s very cognizant of doing that.”
Disner said she considers the long-term contract with Rabbi Anderson to represent her legacy as a co-president.
For Anderson, the long-term contract represents a stability, not unlike the congregation’s. He spent his first year of marriage to wife, Marita, in Jerusalem in 2003, during his Israel studies year at Hebrew Union College. In addition to his seven years in Los Angeles, he spent five years in New York and some time in San Francisco. “We’ve moved around,” he understated.
So, the realization that he will be with the temple until his retirement is “weird. But we feel blessed.” Speaking of himself and his wife of 20 years, he said, “We have always had five-year plans. For the first time ever,” the couple have a longer term outlook.
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