Month: November 2015

The Rabbi As Professional Super-Jew

Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer has an article in the Winter 5776/2015 edition of the OU’s Jewish Action titled “Reclaiming the Dignity of the Rabbinate: What in the World Happened and What Can be Done?” He points to the changing role of the Rabbi as one of the main causes of the loss of Rabbinic dignity.

Rabbi Gordimer points out that in prior eras, the Rabbi was chiefly a halachic decisor. Today, in addition to being a halachic decisor, the Rabbi often finds himself in the roles of:

educator
religious counselor
personal counselor
mentor
fundraiser
synagogue manager
congregational policy guide
lifecycle event officiator
prayer service leader
public orator
synagogue fund manager
public relations voice
communal and political activist

…a professional Super-Jew

Among Rabbi Gordimer’s suggestions is that Rabbis should narrow their non-Rabbinic duties. I would like to share my personal experience. Although our Rabbi is not active in all the above roles, many members of our shul do view him as a Super-Jew, and regularly consult him on a variety of religious, personal, shul and communal matters. The line after a Maariv in November can be so long that you might think it’s time to sell your Chametz.

Our Rav also respects the administration and Board of Director’s roles in operating the shul. He works with us and is careful to respect the separation of duties. However, as the wisest Torah-oriented person we know, we seek his advice on almost everything – with the possible exception of where to buy the soda or which brand of tissues to purchase. Sometimes the line of responsibilities gets crossed, but it’s a small price to pay.

As it turns out, there are a few other professional Super-Jews in our neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills. I was talking to a friend in another shul recently, who is currently being out-priced for a home in KGH, and was considering moving to another comparable community. One of his major concerns is that people in that community aren’t as close to their Rebbeim as we are here. In other words, the Rebbeim there are not functioning as Super-Jews, and he is hesitant to move to a community and lose that important part of his life.

Rabbi Gordimer’s article is an important read and he makes the appropriate disclaimers that each Rabbi and community needs to consider any steps it needs to take. However at the end of the day, I think we need to work towards producing more Super-Jews, and not try to confine their amazing powers.

Messages From My Grandson’s Bris

The remnants from the Shalom Zucher were scattered around the dining room during Shabbos lunch as my son-in-law casually remarked: “We would like you to be the Sandek at the Bris”. My heart filled with joy and I could only muster a three letter interjection in response: “Wow”. After gaining some composure, I thanked my children and said it would be a tremendous honor.

The next day I contacted two friends who were previously Sandekim and asked them how they prepared. They told me what their research had uncovered, including a trip to the mikvah. At the mikvah, a third friend shared some additional insights. Most of the ideas shared are applicable for any person attending any bris, so I wanted to share them with you.

The first idea is that the Bris is considered the spiritual birth of the boy baby. It is the first spiritual act in which the baby is involved and we should pray that the baby will continually pursue their purpose, which is a life focused and filled with spirituality. It is also an opportunity for us to commit more fully to a spiritually focused life.

During the actual Bris, the cries of the baby and the Mesiras Nefesh involved activates Hashem’s attributes of loving-kindness and mercy. This creates an opportune time to daven to Hashem for our special needs and the needs of our friends and family.

Finally, the Bris is a sign that focusing on the spiritual over the physical is especially necessary in those areas which have tremendous physical pull. We can use the occasion to re-energize our own committment in these challenging areas.

Being the Sandek at my grandson’s bris was a tremendous event, but focusing on the ideas behind every bris helps make our life’s spiritual purpose a more central part of our lives.

Tzedakah Collectors and the Unintended Tyranny of Policy

Shul policies are absolutely necessary to resolve conflicts between different interests. In the case of Tzedakah collectors coming around during davening, the conflict is between people praying, who would prefer to not be disturbed, and the collectors, who want to go around the shul asking for donations.

There are basically three policies regarding collections:
a) Collectors can go around any time, but should use common sense to avoid disrupting the daveners
b) Collectors are asked to only go around during certain times
c) Collectors may not go around, but may go to the Rav or the Gabbai

In addition, collectors sometimes request to make a short public appeal
There are basically three policies regarding this:
x) Public appeals can be made after davening
y) Public appeals are made only with the permission of the Rav or Gabbai
z) No public appeals with a few exceptions

In my Shabbos and sometime weekday minyan, they’ve adopted policies b) and y).
The current weekday minyan that I daven at has adopted policues a) and z).

Recently during the weekday minyan a gentleman came in to request to make a public appeal. He was told no by one gabbai, but waited for the second gabbai to finish davening to ask him. He was told again that he could not make the appeal but could go around the shul collecting like everybody else. He was not happy with that and left without even going around the Shul. He didn’t talk loud, but in the small space we daven in, most people were aware of what happened.

As it turns out, the shul sometimes does makes exceptions for appeals, but in this case they stood by the policy. It’s a hard call to make, both in terms of setting policy and enforcing it. There is a need to keep decorum and there’s a need to make exceptions. When and where is in the hands of the Rav or the Gabbai and when they stand firm on policy, the collectors come face to face with the Unintended Tyranny of Policy.

Originally Published 12/27/2012