June 15, 2023 
Dear Congregation Kol Ami,
The passing of communal leadership is a sacred moment for a rabbi and for a congregation. One such transition is found in Torah, that being the passing of leadership from Moses to Joshua. The Torah teaches that Moses charged Joshua to be "strong and resolute" (Deut. 31:7) to carry forth this holy people, our people. This leadership transition was done before the people. One can only imagine how the Israelites felt after so many years of Moses’ faithful and tireless leadership. All we are told is that Moses passed on the leadership with his blessing and God’s blessing.
As I transition towards Rabbi Emerita, I want you to understand my gratitude in serving as your Founding Sr. Rabbi during these past 30 years. My heart will always be here with you at Congregation Kol Ami. As Rabbi Lutz begins as the Interim Rabbi and Kol Ami begins its formal search for the next settled Rabbi, I have every confidence in our congregation’s leadership to guide us and to help our community thrive.
As Moses passed on the leadership of our people to Joshua, as of July 1, I will pass on the leadership of our congregation to Rabbi Lutz with my full support and blessing. This means that Rabbi Lutz will fully assume all the privileges and responsibilities of the position as Interim Rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami. As such, he will be solely responsible for rabbinic decision-making regarding ritual and temple policies as well as management of the student rabbi, staff members and all programs. Rabbi Lutz will also, be responsible for all the programming, education, services, and life cycle events going forward.
We are relying on the Board of Trustees, clergy, staff, and you, the members of our congregation to be our partners in ensuring a smooth and respectful transition. I commit to full compliance in our ongoing relationship according to the CCAR Code of Ethics Section II (b)(2) and informed by the CCAR Retiree-Successor Handbook (2021).
As rabbi emerita, Rabbi Eger will retire from all rabbinic work at Congregation Kol Ami and will no longer provide input into temple policy or ritual practices, as Rabbi Lutz and then our settled rabbi will be the full and sole authority as the interim rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami. On occasion, particularly after the first year of transition, Rabbi Eger may be invited back to teach, lead services, or join our settled rabbi in officiating at lifecycle events or in pastoral roles as the new rabbi invites her and as her personal retirement schedule allows. We know this is the most difficult part of a rabbinic transition and trust all of our members will respect this and will use the established protocol of contacting the temple office to schedule lifecycle events instead of communicating with Rabbi Eger directly.
The Central Conference of American Rabbis, and best practices, recommend that to accomplish a successful transition, and to serve the best interests of the congregation, Rabbi Eger will be practicing what is known in tradition as "tzimtzum" a purposeful withdrawal from most elements of temple life to help facilitate our congregation’s process and Rabbi Lutz’s work as our Interim rabbi, especially for the first year. Congregation Kol Ami will always remain Rabbi Eger’s spiritual home as rabbi emerita of our congregation.
As Moses and Joshua modeled for us, a new leader can take our people into the future with the blessing of the old, even as the retired leader continues to be loved, admired, and honored. With resolute strength we will do all we can to help you through this time of transition.
Shalom,
Rabbi Denise L. Eger
Peter Mackler, President |
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