Ames Jewish Congregation, 3721 Calhoun Ave., is searching for a new ordained rabbi after having only a student rabbi all last semester.

Sally Lapan, religious school director at AJC, said AJC had a series of ordained rabbis for eight years before hiring a temporary student rabbi last year.

“Having a student rabbi was a temporary measure while we went into the job market,” she said.

Lapan said an ordained rabbi has had five years of education and holds a degree in rabbinical studies, while a student rabbi is still in school.

“In terms of training, it would be like going to a medical doctor instead of a medical student,” she said.

AJC is looking for a rabbi who would be a good match for the congregation, Lapan said.

“We’re looking for people who are knowledgeable in Judaism, who can communicate well with others,” she said. “We would want a rabbi who would be good at providing religious education for all ages, including adults, and also who’d represent us in the community.”

Leslie Kawaler, search committee member, said the members of the congregation were invited to join in focus groups to discuss what they were looking for in the new rabbi.

“A very high priority for us is life-long education, not just educating the children in the religious school; the adults have an interest in continuing the process of Jewish education.

“We’re also interested in having someone who’d be a good representative of our community to the religious community of Ames at large,” Kawaler said. “We’ve never had that opportunity because the rabbis have come to our congregation from very far away.”

One of the two applicants AJC is looking at is married to the new rabbi at B’nai Jeshurun, a synagogue in Des Moines. The other candidate would commute from Iowa City, where her husband works, Kawaler said. AJC’s two previous ordained rabbis flew in once a month from Omaha and Minneapolis.

“We’re excited about the prospect of having a rabbi close enough that they can participate in life-cycle events,” she said. “Like, if a baby’s born, they can participate in the naming ceremony, the briss.”

AJC has a multi-step process for selecting its next rabbi, Kawaler said.

“We did an initial telephone interview with the two candidates,” she said. “On the basis of those interviews, we invited them out for a typical ‘rabbi weekend.'”

The weekend consists of holding services Friday night, helping with adult education Saturday and visits to religious school Sunday, she said.

“Plus, we had a few social events planned so we can get to meet [the rabbi candidates] as a community and get to know them on a more social basis,” Kawaler said.

The first candidate came in late January, and the next one will be at AJC the weekend of Feb. 18.