We are entering an important new chapter in Temple Rodef Shalom’s history, one that invites us to celebrate the remarkable leadership that has shaped our community while looking with excitement and purpose toward the future.
After 30 years of extraordinary service, our beloved Senior Cantor Michael Shochet will retire on June 30, 2028. Since becoming TRS’s first cantor in 1998, Cantor Shochet has helped transform our congregation into a vibrant home of Jewish music, worship, learning, and community. His influence reaches far beyond the music we sing, touching generations of congregants through his spiritual leadership, teaching, and pastoral care. Upon his retirement, he will become Temple Rodef Shalom’s first Cantor Emeritus.
As we prepare to honor and celebrate Cantor Shochet’s remarkable legacy, we are also beginning the important work of envisioning the future of our senior cantor position. The Executive Board has begun planning the search process, which will include opportunities for congregants to share their perspectives, hopes, and aspirations for the next chapter of musical and spiritual leadership at TRS. We will soon be announcing the dates and details for a series of Town Hall conversations, where we will be able to discuss and shape our shared vision for Rodef’s cantorial future. Dates and details will be announced soon.
Our tradition offers us the words Chazak, Chazak, V’nitchazek — From Strength to Strength, May We Be Strengthened. They remind us that moments of transition are also opportunities for renewal, connection, and growth.
We invite you to bookmark this page and return often for updates on the senior cantor search, upcoming town hall meetings, opportunities for congregational participation, and plans to celebrate Cantor Shochet’s 30 years of leadership. We look forward to sharing this meaningful journey with our entire TRS community.
Chaired by past president Lynne Lotenberg, the Transition Committee will help guide our congregation through this meaningful period of change. Its work will include honoring and celebrating Cantor Shochet’s remarkable legacy while helping our community prepare for the transition ahead.
Chaired by past president Jen Jacobsen, the Senior Cantor Search Committee will lead the process of identifying our next senior cantor. Building on the strong musical and spiritual foundation Cantor Shochet has established, the committee will seek a leader who will help carry TRS into its next chapter. We’re very thankful for the committee members, representing diverse perspectives across our congregation, who have committed to this critical work :
Cantor Shochet has decided to retire on June 30, 2028 (almost 2 years from now), which will be almost 30 years after he came to Temple Rodef Shalom.
After June 30, 2028, he will become Temple Rodef Shalom’s very first Cantor Emeritus, remaining an important and integral part of our community and supporting the active TRS clergy as needed.
We will recognize Cantor Shochet, who was our first cantor, through events leading up to his retirement. Celebrations will reflect his contributions to our worship, the richness of our music, and the generations of members who have sung with and been inspired by him.
The TRS Executive Board will assemble a Senior Cantor search committee, which at its most basic, has two roles: establish what the congregation needs in a cantor and evaluate candidates.
As part of the process, TRS leadership will provide various ways for congregants to share their thoughts about the musical and pastoral future of our congregation, so please stay tuned for more information on how to participate.
Once the Executive Board has approved a candidate to be our next Senior Cantor, the recommendation will come to the full congregation for a vote.
No. The TRS Executive Board and the search committee will conduct a robust and extensive selection process for our next Senior Cantor. While the exact details of this process have not yet been developed, it will certainly include a comprehensive and thoughtful evaluation of any candidate that is considered – including Cantor Michaeli.
Not initially. The first effort will be to identify what the congregation needs in a new senior cantor. With that in mind, we will initially evaluate Cantor Michaeli alone for the position because of our congregation’s special relationship with her. If we do not select her, we will conduct an open search.
We are taking this one cantor at a time! After we make the determination about who is to become our next Senior Cantor, we will figure out what needs to happen regarding a new second cantor. But rest assured that TRS will continue to have two full-time cantors on our clergy team.
No and no! We are celebrating Rabbi Schwartzman’s 36th year because it is a major milestone for our congregation and something worth celebrating! And we are using that milestone as a catalyst to solidify the temple’s financial health by growing the TRS endowment. There are no plans or discussions on the horizon for Rabbi Schwartzman to retire anytime soon!
