Ousted rabbi sues previous congregation in Pa. claiming interference with his contract at Dayton synagogue

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer

In an Oct. 23 letter sent to members of Beth Jacob Congregation, President Dr. Herman Abromowitz wrote that he and the three other executive officers of the synagogue’s board would resign effective Dec. 31.

Abromowitz wrote that he and the officers — Executive Vice President Chuck Friedman, Secretary Sara Horwitz, and Treasurer Barry Serotkin — announced their planned resignations at the full board’s Oct. 16 meeting.

The announcement came nearly two months following the officers’ abrupt dismissal of Rabbi Martin Shorr after little more than two weeks on the job.

On Sept. 18, Shorr filed a lawsuit in Montgomery County against his previous employer, Temple Hadar Israel in New Castle, Pa., claiming Temple Hadar Israel interfered with his contract and employment with Beth Jacob.

“As your officers, it is our shared opinion that it is now time for a change in the leadership of our beloved synagogue and for others to step forward and assume the helm of our congregation,” Abromowitz wrote in his Oct. 23 letter to Beth Jacob members, with no mention of Shorr.

Abromowitz declined to comment for this article.

Shorr began his work at Beth Jacob the week of Aug. 5. He and his wife, Stacy, arrived from New Castle, Pa. where he had served as rabbi of Temple Hadar Israel, a merged Conservative and Reform congregation, for seven years.

According to Pittsburgh’s Jewish Chronicle, Temple Hadar Israel faces significant budgetary challenges and a declining membership. One of the ways the congregation tightened its budget was to eliminate the full-time position Shorr held in favor of a part-time clergy model.

The suit filed by Shorr’s attorney, Jason P. Matthews, against Temple Hadar Israel states that “on or before Aug. 21, 2013, an agent of Defendant (Temple Hadar Israel) contacted Congregation Beth Jacob by placing one or more telephone calls to Montgomery County, Ohio and intentionally made false and misleading negative statements about Plaintiff’s job performance and character for the purpose of interfering with Plaintiff’s contractual relationship and employment with Congregation Beth Jacob.”

According to an incident history report on file with the Montgomery County Sheriff, on the evening of Aug. 21, Chaya Vidal, then Beth Jacob’s executive director, called the Montgomery County Sheriff, Harrison Township Substation to request an officer stand by while she was firing Shorr. The report stated that Vidal was concerned Shorr might not be cooperative. Shorr left without incident.

The next day, those who inquired at Beth Jacob about Shorr’s status were told the synagogue and the rabbi weren’t able to come to an agreement on a signed contract.

Abromowitz sent a letter to congregants on Aug. 26 in which he wrote, “we were unable to finalize a contract with Rabbi Shorr and both parties agreed to part ways.”

Several congregants have confirmed that Shorr and his wife are still living in a house owned by the synagogue.

Congregants voted to hire Shorr for a one-year contract at the beginning of August, following the board’s recommendation.

After Shorr was relieved of his duties at Beth Jacob, its officers hired a cantor from Borough Park N.Y. to conduct High Holy Days services. Since then, in the absence of a qualified Torah reader, the congregation has not been able to conduct regular Torah services. Instead, congregants take turns reading from a tikun, a book used to prepare for reading from a Torah scroll.

Shorr’s suit against Hadar Israel indicates that he is seeking lost wages and compensation “exceeding $25,000,” attorney fees, and costs of the suit.

Matthews and Shorr declined to comment on the suit as did Temple Hadar Israel’s attorney, Charles F. Shane, with Bieser, Greer & Landis.

The situation surrounding Shorr is the latest blow to the stability of Beth Jacob, the only synagogue remaining in Dayton’s north suburbs, once the center of the area’s Jewish population.

Beth Jacob brought in Shorr after the departure of Rabbi Martin Applebaum, whose one-year contract was not renewed by Beth Jacob’s board.

Applebaum himself came to Beth Jacob following a year without a rabbi: Rabbi Hillel Fox had taken a sabbatical during the last year of his 10-year contract, which the board didn’t renew.

Leaders from Beth Jacob and Beth Abraham, Dayton’s Conservative synagogue, formally explored merging in 2009 and 2010.

The merger would have consolidated both congregations into one Conservative entity at Beth Abraham’s new home at Sugar Camp in Oakwood.

Though Beth Abraham members voted for the merger in 2010, Beth Jacob members overwhelmingly rejected it.

For the print version of the December 2013 Observer, click here.