Into the present

One thing that I find odd is how peoples’ attitude towards me changed as soon as I had been accepted on the rabbinic course at LBC. Not only do I find it strange that some people started asking me for relationship advice; bearing in mind that I am a single grad-student who isn't going to start on the program in 2010, and they wouldn’t have asked beforehand. I sort of expected this from members of Movement but not really from people at synagogue, as I thought it would be hard for people who remember me as a naughty little boy to think of me as a potential rabbi.

But what I really did not expect was that this would apply to Orthodox friends as well because at least in theory don’t think of Reform Rabbis as rabbis at all.

I have also noticed that some people have started to defer to my opinions because ‘you’re going to be a rabbi’.

This speaks to a view of the rabbinate that I do not like. (While it is true that this is a near universal problem within Judaism) I think that it is especially true of progressive-Judaism and it is something that I think that we have to work against, as it is invidious to the health of our movement.

Also I don’t think that when I am a rabbi it will be my job to do peoples’ Judaism for them, the term I have been using and I know it has unpleasant connotations, is I want to ‘infect’ people with Judaism (well Jews really, I want to infect Jews with Judaism).

I am glad that I have this pause before going to LBC so I can think deeply about what I what the nature of what I want my Jewish leadership to be. I know that I could do that while actually on the course but this way when I start I can focus in on it and I can be, at least to some extent, rooted in my particular approach.

I think that I will just need to make two or three more post and then I will be up to date and then my postings will become less, I was going to say frequent, but I think that manic would be a better adjective. That is until I move to Israel for the start of my course then I will actually have something to write about.