Elul, 5765 (September, 2005)

“So, Rabbi, what did you do on your sabbatical?”  

What a great question! Do you have a few hours? 

My sabbatical provided me with a wonderful opportunity to “get away from it all” for six months and re-charge my batteries. Let me try to sum up what I did. (Details follow below.) I had three fundamental goals: First, to do some research and writing on topics that I've long been interested in but have not had the time to explore. Second, to immerse myself in torah lishmah (Jewish learning for its own sake) to stretch the mind and shake out the cobwebs. Third, to spend good, quality time in Israel: walking the streets, encountering people, observing life as it is lived there. I was able, I believe, to fulfill each of these goals. Here’s how: 

RESEARCH AND WRITING 

As a Conservative Rabbi, I naturally spend a lot of my time thinking about the nature of our movement. Recently, as many of us are aware, the movement has been contemplating where it is going. Even though many individual congregations, schools and camps are thriving, recent studies have shown an overall drop in our numbers—even as the number of both Orthodox and Reform Jews continues to rise, a phenomenon we can observe locally as well. I was invited by Professor Jack Wertheimer of the Jewish Theological Seminary to reflect on what I thought the movement should focus on in the years ahead. My response will shortly be published in Judaism magazine. Its essence can be succinctly stated: The Conservative movement needs to focus on its values and principles, such as torah, mitzvot (Jewish practice), klal yisrael (the unity of the Jewish community), the Hebrew language, the state of Israel, and the quest for the sacred. These are ultimately the basis of the movement’s identity and appeal. They are enormously compelling, but they need to be explicated and translated. Otherwise people will be at a loss to explain what we stand for (a common lament) and will fail to be inspired by and therefore committed to the movement. As a practical matter, congregations need to serve “seekers” as well as “regulars.” They need to serve their long-standing core constituency but also reach beyond them as well. In my article, which I invite you to read when it is published, I give several practical recommendations as well as overall strategic ones. 

Speaking of reaching beyond our movement’s core constituency, a specific area of rabbinic practice that has long engaged me is working with interfaith families. I do a lot of work with prospective Jews by Choice and with other non-Jewish adults who, though not pursuing conversion to Judaism, would like to explore and/or deepen their connection with the Jewish community. Lately, the Conservative movement has explored new ways of reaching out to interfaith families, both affiliated and not, and helping them feel more accepted and appreciated within our congregations. Together with my wife, Elana, a social worker who directs the Jewish Family and Children's Service Interfaith Family Resource Center, I wrote two reviews during my sabbatical of works written to help Conservative congregations be more successful in this area. These reviews are available on-line at www.interfaithfamily.com.

Biblical texts can be enormously spiritual. Unfortunately, too often—even when translated—they still seem inaccessible and thus their power is lost on us. Recently, a friend and colleague, Rabbi Martin Cohen, authored a new edition of the Book of Psalms. Our Haven and Our Strength is a handsome volume which contains a refreshing translation of the psalms as well as a devotional commentary. This is a book that individuals and groups can use as a basis for spiritual practice. I was asked by the Rabbinical Assembly to write a teacher’s guide for the book. It has been posted on its website at www.rabbinicalassembly.org. 

TORAH LISHMAH (Torah Study for its Own Sake) 

I feel blessed. During much of my sabbatical, I had the privilege of studying in Israel. And when I say, studying, I mean studying. After a few weeks trying out a wide variety of courses and seminars at several educational institutions, I settled into a routine.  

My home base was the Hartman Institute, which kindly provided me a working space and access to their library and computers. I enrolled there in a weekly graduate seminar in modern Jewish literature with Professor David Roskies. Its subject matter was Jewish Literature written in 1943. What a fascinating course! Contrary to popular belief, it appears that there was far greater consciousness of the disaster we today call the Holocaust (the “shoah” in Hebrew) even as early as 1943, and Jews were writing responses to it in, among other languages, Hebrew, Yiddish, and English. Yale University Press will be publishing Dr. Roskies’ materials in about a year or so.  

I took about four courses at Machon Schechter, the Schechter Insittute of Jewish Studies. This school was, at one time, the Jerusalem branch of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Today it is a thriving independent institution. Many of its students today are teachers in secular Israeli schools earning graduate degrees and seeking to enrich their background in Judaic Studies. If there is one Conservative institution that is poised to have the greatest impact on Israeli society, it is Machon Schechter, for through its graduate school and TALI program (providing enrichment in Jewish studies within secular schools) it is influencing hundreds and hundreds of classrooms throughout Israel. I took two Bible classes there with Professor George Savran, a bright and engaging teacher (whom I hope one day to invite to speak at our congregation). I also enrolled in two courses in Jewish law, one of which was taught by Professor David Golinkin, the president of the school—someone with whom I first studied twenty five years ago.  

I also took a weekly advanced seminar in Jewish law at the Conservative Yeshiva, which is a wonderfully warm and inspiring place to study. Many of the students are Americans who are taking a year or two after college to enrich their Jewish backgrounds, though some are rabbis or scholars who are doing advanced research. The Conservative Yeshiva adjoins the Fuchsberg Center for Conservative Judaism in Israel. On your next trip to Israel, I encourage you to pay a visit there and see how impressive the new buildings and facilities are. 

Finally, I also managed to find the time to attend interesting lectures and seminars at other institutions, such as the Van Leer Institute, which offers a wonderful Parashat HaShavua lecture series (attended by several hundred people). I must say, even apart from the content of each of these courses and seminars, it was wonderful to take so many of them in Hebrew, exercising a part of the brain that might otherwise remain dormant.  

LIVING IN ISRAEL

Perhaps the most joyful feature of my sabbatical was the opportunity to live in Israel. It is impossible to capture the essence of that experience in just a few short words—so I wrote many of them! During my stay in Israel I wrote about a dozen reflections on my experience there. I considered setting up a blog, but decided against it. (I felt hesitant about posting diary entries without taking the time to reflect on and edit them.) So, although these essays describe events that took place last spring (and thus might seem a bit dated now), they do bring to life many aspects of life in Israel. These will be posted on our congregational website shortly.  

Although it was a relatively safe time to be in Israel, there was tension in the air arising from the government’s controversial decision to disengage from the Gaza Strip. This tension led to highly inflammatory rhetoric on both sides of the political divide. In response to example of that, I wrote an article entitled, “Orwellian Settler-Speak” that was published in the Jerusalem Post on July 19, 2005. 

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS  

All in all, my sabbatical was a highly enriching and invigorating experience. As wonderful as it was, though, I’m glad to be back! I look forward to greeting each and every one of you. In the meantime, since you’ll probably be receiving this just after the first of Elul, let me wish you and the entire “household of Israel”—i.e., the entire Jewish People—a shanah tovah u’m’tukah, a good and sweet year. May the coming year be a safer and more secure one for Israel and for the Jewish People. May Israel gain respect and admiration among her neighbors and may Jews throughout the world hold their heads up high during the coming year. May 5766 be a year of prosperity, good health and well-being and, most of all, peace—for all of us.

Amen.