<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><b><br></b></div><div><blockquote type="cite"><b>Halacha says that you cannot fire a rabbi</b>.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#313131">Can you please be more specific?</font></blockquote><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#35459B"><b>I was quoting R' Micha who emailed me and stated that specifically it is a halacha.</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#35459B"><b>I was not aware of any such halacha, so perhaps R' Micha could be more specific.</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#35459B"><b>Frankly, if it is a halacha, I would consider it a </b></font><i><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#35459B"><b>chok</b></font></i><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#35459B"><b>.</b></font><br><b><br></b></div><div><blockquote type="cite"><b>There is a very important distinction which needs to be made.<br></b></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><b>Firing a rabbi implies terminating a contract prior to its conclusion</b>.<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#02030E">Agreed. What if the rabbi is incompetent or is in some other way affecting</font></blockquote>the way the shul/community is run negatively.</div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>I'm not the one to ask that question, as I did not know it was a halacha to begin with.</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>Common sense tells me one thing, but since the halacha does not make</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>sense to me in the context of the culture and times in which we live, I cannot </b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>give you an answer. I can tell you though, that I am the Chairman of the Ethics</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>Committee of the Cantors Assembly and there have been some cases of incompetence</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#4A548C"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>and worse, where the hazzan was either fired or did not have his contract renewed.</b></font></font><br><blockquote type="cite"><br></blockquote>Who says that we can make a contract with a Rabbi? Doesn't that defeat the<br>purpose of the Rabbi if he is constantly worried about how different<br>congregants(sp?) are going to view his positions? Where is the original<br>source of the modern professional rabbinate? ie- Why<br><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>It appears that you are not facing the reality of the 21st century. There is no halacha</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>that says we cannot make a contract with a rabbi, cantor, educational director, etc.</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>In today's world most religious leaders have contracts, at least in the beginning. And</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>the very purpose of the contract is to protect both parties. If a rabbi or other leader is competent</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>then it is less likely he has to worry about renewal. However, if the rabbi is "incompetent", which</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>is the very word you used above for your argument regarding halacha, then the contract becomes</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>very useful, so that the baal habatim are not cornered in to have to keep the rabbi for the rest of his</b></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#3952BC"><b>life. </b></font></div></body></html>