In 1846, Spektor was chosen as rabbi of Nishvez, Minsk Governorate, but the community of Baresa was unwilling to let him go, and he left the town at night. He was paid four rubles a week, and when he accepted the rabbinate of Novohrodok (Kovno Governorate) in 1851 he secretly fled Nishvez at night, as he had left Baresa. He stayed in Novohrodok until 1864, when he was appointed chief rabbi of Kovno, a post he held until his death.
