About the Central Conference of American Rabbis

Inspiring Excellence in Jewish Life Through
Innovative Reform Rabbinic Leadership

ABOUT THE CCAR

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is the Reform rabbinic leadership organization, founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise. More than 2,200 Reform rabbis make up the membership of the CCAR. They lead in diverse settings and communities—including congregations, hospitals, academic settings, non-profit institutions, the military, freelance, and entrepreneurial—across North America, Canada, Israel, Europe, and beyond. The CCAR enriches and strengthens the Jewish community by empowering and supporting Reform rabbis and fostering excellence in whatever setting they serve. The Central Conference of American Rabbis provides Reform rabbis with unparalleled lifelong learning, professional development, personal support, career services, and community to strengthen rabbinic careers and leadership skills in an ever-changing landscape. Throughout the full career of Reform rabbis, the CCAR provides a full suite of professional and personal support to help Reform rabbis grow, evolve, and thrive. The CCAR’s rigorous ethics system holds member rabbis to the highest ethical standards in the pursuit of maintaining safe and sacred communities for all. The CCAR also amplifies the voice of the Reform rabbinate in the Reform Movement and the wider Jewish community on the social, ethical and religious issues of the day. We are also home to CCAR Press, which publishes prayer books, Torah commentaries, and resources for the Jewish community. The rabbinate can be complex and isolating. The CCAR provides a lifeline in the form of chavruta—a nurturing community among rabbis—and supports and strengthens Reform rabbis. We enable rabbis to feel connected, resilient, ethically grounded, inspired, and empowered to flourish in every step, phase, and transition of their career. The CCAR helps rabbis manage shifting expectations, landscapes, and demographic, cultural, political, and religious change. The CCAR is the only organization that understands and fulfills the unique needs and constantly changing realities of the modern Reform rabbinate.

CCAR’S MISSION AND VISION
The CCAR supports and strengthens Reform rabbis so that our members, their communities, and Reform Jewish values thrive. Learn more about the CCAR’s mission and vision.

BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE CCAR
• Information about qualifications required for CCAR membership can be found in our bylaws. • Information for ordained rabbis interested in becoming a member of the CCAR can be found here.

CCAR LEADERSHIP

CCAR Board of Trustees The CCAR is governed by a Board of Trustees, all of whom are Reform rabbis and CCAR members in good standing. The Board of Trustees can be found here. CCAR Staff The CCAR is led by Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive, with a staff of educators, support providers, and operational experts. The CCAR is also supported by volunteer committees comprised of CCAR members who generously volunteer their time and expertise. CCAR Constitution and Bylaws The CCAR is actively governed by a constitution and bylaws, which can be found here.

RABBINIC SUPPORT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

The CCAR creates and provides innovative programming, tools, and resources for rabbis to strengthen their leadership skills and the congregations and organizations they serve. CONTINUING EDUCATION: The backbone of CCAR’s programing is ongoing Continuing Rabbinic Education, which includes a robust year-round schedule of continuing education opportunities, including deep learning with leading Torah scholars, connection with Israel, programs that respond to urgent social justice and contemporary issues, and programs designed to enhance rabbinic skills in areas such as pastoral care, rabbinic resilience, transition management, supervision, and fundraising. PERSONAL AND COMMUNAL RABBINIC SUPPORT: Who rabbis the rabbi? The CCAR offers pastoral, personal, crisis, and spiritual support and wellness programming customized for individual rabbis and small rabbinic groups and cohorts. The rabbinate can be a lonely place. The CCAR provides chesed, connection, and community, from our yearly CCAR Convention to study, connection, and wellness groups. CONVENTION: CCAR’s annual rabbinic Convention is the highlight of our year, and an opportunity for chevruta, deep learning, and in-person connection with colleagues. RABBINIC VOICE: Reform rabbis are at the forefront of the Jewish experience, working directly with hundreds of thousands of individuals to build a stronger and richer Jewish community. Reform rabbis integrate a Jewish dimension into contemporary life, providing an authentically Jewish voice, teaching Jewish values and traditions, and shaping the future. Since our founding, the CCAR has produced formal and informal statements, resolutions, and responsa that interpret the voice of prophetic Judaism, and that govern, guide and express the contemporary views of the rabbinate. These documents are of vital importance to rabbis, as well as scholars and the general public. CCAR Statements, Resolutions, Responsa and more can be found here.

RABBINIC CAREER SERVICES

The CCAR Office of Rabbinic Career Services provides congregations and other organizations with Employment services that identify and meet their staffing needs, including for interim positions. The CCAR helps Reform rabbis plan, focus, and advance rabbinic careers with custom job placement, mentoring, and transition training. Career guidance is tailored to the needs of the modern rabbinate, meeting Reform rabbis wherever they are, wherever they serve, whether in traditional roles or on less traditional paths. For more information about CCAR career services, contact Rabbi Leora Kaye, CCAR Director of Rabbinic Career Services at lkaye@ccarnet.org.

RABBINIC ETHICS

The Central Conference of American Rabbis holds Reform rabbis to the highest standards of rabbinic behavior. Being a member of the CCAR means being part of a peer-to-peer agreement to uphold the values expressed in the CCAR Ethics Code. This code allows the CCAR, CCAR members, and our Jewish community to have a shared language and expectations around rabbinic behavior and to achieve safe, sacred communities. The CCAR Ethics Code is a dynamic document that is regularly revised and updated.

HELP SUSTAIN THE CCAR

The CCAR thrives thanks to the generous support of our members through annual dues. While dues provide a strong foundation, they cover only a portion of the resources needed to sustain and grow our vital work. There are many inspiring and impactful ways you can help strengthen and support this essential network for Reform rabbis and the broader Reform Jewish community. To learn more about how you can make a meaningful difference, please contact Rachel Perten, CCAR Director of Advancement, at rperten@ccarnet.org.

To contact a member of the CCAR staff, click here.