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After Rabbi Rebecca Epstein, Rabbi Cari Bricklin, and Rabbi Erin Glazer finished interviewing for jobs at Hebrew Union College's Cincinnati campus this year, Epstein recalled how the trio of classmates bonded over ice cream. Though they didn't know it at the time, they were about to begin parallel careers in central New Jersey.

HUC's matching process placed Epstein at Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, Bricklin at Congregation Beth Chaim in Princeton Junction, and Glazer at Temple Emanu-El in Westfield.

The friends lived only a few blocks apart during their year in Jerusalem and stayed close throughout rabbinical school. Now, three members from a New York campus graduating class of 17 embark on new positions as assistant rabbis with the comfort of knowing that their trusted colleagues remain nearby.

"It's very exciting to have other female rabbis in the area starting at the same time, to compare notes with throughout our careers, and to have the possibility of continuing to study together and have the support network," Glazer said.

This month has been particularly rewarding for the group, as Glazer and Bricklin both celebrated their birthdays and began their new jobs July 1, while Epstein recently celebrated the birth of her newborn daughter, Noa Carmiya, and begins her position Aug. 1. Glazer got engaged in January.

"It's nice we have a personal relationship as well as a professional one," Bricklin said.

Glazer said the matching process was very difficult for HUC students this year, as economic conditions as well as staff restructuring at the Union for Reform Judaism left more than half of the graduates at the school's three campuses in New York, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati without jobs.

Therefore, as Glazer, Epstein, and Bricklin got the exciting news of their positions right before Passover, they had their other classmates in mind.

"While we were excited to be in our places, we were aware of our classmates who weren't matched," Glazer said.

Glazer grew up in Richmond, Va., but was born in Cherry Hill while her father was in podiatry school. She said that working in Westfield feels familiar after rabbinical school in New York due to the large number of people who commute to the city for work. As the synagogue has more than 1,100 member families, Glazer said learning about her congregation's personalities is an important part of her job initially.

"I'm eager to spend the first year listening to people's stories," Glazer said.

Before attending HUC, Bricklin was a youth director at Congregation Beth Israel in Charlottesville, Va., for students ranging from the ages of 2-18. That makes Beth Chaim an ideal landing spot for her, as the synagogue has an enrollment of 600 between its Sunday and Hebrew schools.

"It's how I first got into the idea of being a rabbi," Bricklin said of youth education.

Epstein will direct the religious school at Anshe Emeth. Even though many synagogues in New Brunswick have moved to adjacent towns such as Highland Park, Epstein said she takes pride in the fact that Anshe Emeth has remained in the same city for 150 years. In one running joke, members say that anyone who attends Anshe Emeth passes at least one other synagogue on the way there.

"Even though many of the synagogue members don't live in New Brunswick, they continue to be devoted to the synagogue," Epstein said.

Epstein and Glazer were chavruta study partners throughout their time at HUC, and began to invite Bricklin over for Shabbat meals. They said their graduating class was very tight-knit, particularly during their first year of school in Israel.

"You are away from all your family and your friends [in Israel], so people in your program become your family and your friends," Glazer said.

"Our class was so small that by the end you really spent your life full-time with your classmates," Bricklin said.

Bricklin said she aims to inspire teenage girls to consider the rabbinate as a career option. Anshe Emeth hasn't employed a female rabbi in at least 15 years, Epstein said, and many of the synagogue's young girls are excited to get to know one.

"They haven't seen a female role model in the rabbinate before," Epstein said.

Epstein said she is looking forward to having former classmates in the same region because it will allow hear about events at other synagogues, share ideas, and work together to make central New Jersey's Jewish communities stronger.

Judging by the fact that there were three job openings at the same time for assistant rabbis in the area, those communities are already strong, Bricklin said.

"I think it speaks to the vitality of Jewish life here in central New Jersey," Bricklin said. "It's clearly a very active population."