Dear Friends:
Until fairly recently, the questionnaire that Conservative congregations filled out when they were looking to hire a new rabbi contained the following question: “In addition to leading religious services, what are the three next most important priorities for your rabbi?”
That question is not found in the current questionnaire, which is probably a good thing. While congregants might indeed think that “leading religious services” is the primary task of a rabbi, the truth is that no one chooses to become a rabbi because they love “leading religious services.” Historically, people became rabbis because they loved studying and teaching Torah (in its broadest definition). Today, we might add to that a desire to be of service through things like pastoral counseling, helping people deal with illness and bereavement, and involvement in the Jewish and general communities.
(As an aside, I found out yesterday that one of the last remaining non-egalitarian Conservative congregations is now led by an Orthodox-ordained female rabbi. This means that by definition she cannot lead the congregation’s services as neither her principles nor those of the congregation would permit her to do so, since she would not count in the minyan and one who cannot count for a minyan cannot lead services.)
I was delighted to note last night that participation in my class Wisdom from our Sages: Pirkei Avot is growing. I am really enjoying teaching this class. It’s allowed me to go back and study in depth a text with which of course I am familiar but one which I have not really studied for quite some time. The insights of our congregants in the class have been really interesting and on target. I’d encourage you to consider joining this class. The text we are studying is available here and videos of the four previous classes can be found in this YouTube playlist.
Next Thursday night I am going to present a session of my occasional series on “Contemporary Jewish Controversies” exploring the breakdown of the American Jewish consensus on Israel. There have been a number of indications in the past few weeks that this consensus has indeed broken down. As a few examples: a number of mainstream Jewish organizations (including the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue) earlier this week issued a statement opposing any Israeli attempt to reestablish Jewish settlements in Gaza; last month, nineteen senators -- including a number of Jewish senators -- voted for an unsuccessful resolution to withhold offensive weapons from Israel because of civilian deaths and injuries in Gaza; and just yesterday, 77 House members -- many of them Jewish, including Jamie Raskin -- sent a letter to Secretary of State Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin encouraging them to force Israel to allow more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. As of this writing I have not seen anything from the JCRC, ADL, or the American Jewish Committee, condemning the House members who signed this letter. Please note that my intention here is neither to criticize nor endorse any of the above-cited examples but simply to point out how things have changed in the last few months.
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment; if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by.
Additionally, if you know of a Kehilat Shalom congregant or another member of our Jewish community who could use a phone call, please let me know.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian
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