Professional Documents
Culture Documents
"A salesman knocks on the door. The man who answers says 'I don't need anything today'. The next day the salesman returns, 'Stay away', he's told. The very next day the salesman is back. The man yells 'You again! I warned you!' He gets so angry that he spits in the salesman's face. The salesman smiles, wipes the spit with a handkerchief, then looks to the skies and says, 'It must be raining.'" The moral of this story: rabbis are a little nave - they actually believe that they can change the world. But I'll tell you a secret: when we stop believing that we can change the world, our congregants stop believing in us. One of the reasons that I become somewhat reflective about the rabbinate at this time of year has to do with the parshiot we read from the Torah in the late spring and early summer. The book of Numbers is all about religious leadership and its discontents. In chapter after chapter we confront rebellions, revolts and complaints. Moses is frustrated to the point of giving up. The people repeatedly complain about being forced to live in the wilderness. They speak lovingly of Egypt, as a land "flowing with milk and honey!" The Israelites revolt following the visit of the spies to the land of Canaan. Even his brother and sister complain about his leadership style. And then, in this week's parashah, Moses faces his most serious challenge. Korah, a fellow Levite, challenges Moses and Aaron: "You've gone too far," he says, "the whole community is holy, all of them, and the Lord is in their midst. Why do you raise yourselves above the Lord's community?" This is not just any leader Korah is talking about; it's Moses! The man who confronted Pharaoh; the prophet who carried out the ten plagues; the guy who split the Red Sea. He is the man who spoke to God at Mount Sinai after the people said, "You speak for us and we'll obey; let not God speak to us, lest we die!" How could Korah possibly compare the people to Moses, the man of God? Yet there's a part of us that sympathizes with Korah. We live in a society that values democracy and celebrates the right to self expression. We believe that God is present in every person and that rabbis (and cantors) put on their pants one leg at a time just like the rest of us! So we often find ourselves conflicted: We want to think of clergy as special and yet we also believe in the power of the people and the importance of each individual. Of course, Korah had ulterior motives in this rebellion, as did the other participants. Their concern was not for the community as a whole as much as it was for their own self-aggrandizement. Korah's rebellion was a play for power rather than an honest desire to create a community of faith. Moses, after all, had once told Joshua that nothing would give him greater pleasure than to share his position with others. "Are you jealous on my account? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord put His spirit upon them!" Sometimes I think that rabbis should come with a user's manual. It would be entitled, "How to Get the Most Out of Your Rabbi." The introduction would go something like this: Congratulations! Your congregation is now in possession of a new rabbi. We hope you will have years of benefit and inspiration from this model. However, to get the most out of your rabbi we would like to offer a few simple suggestions. 1. Your rabbi does not belong to you. He/she is on loan to your congregation. First and foremost, the rabbi belongs to his/her family. Please respect the time he or she needs to be a good husband or wife,
parent and child. A rabbi is first and foremost a role model - and if the rabbi can't take care of herself and her household how can you expect her to take care of yours? 2. Remember that rabbi means teacher - thats why you've hired him. There's nothing that a rabbi does that you can't do for yourself. We have found that one of the greatest obstacles to the rabbinate is when the congregation thinks the rabbi is indispensible and the rabbi starts believing them. Instead of depending on your rabbi to practice Judaism for you, learn how to be a Jew independent from him. The best rabbis enable; they dont infantilize their congregants. 3. Remember that a rabbi's effectiveness cant be measured by the number of hours they work. Their battery tends to run down when you dont allow them time to recharge. This means not only time to relax but time to increase his or her knowledge. Rabbis also tend to be overachievers. If you allow them, they'll work seventy or eighty hours a week. Therefore it's not enough to give them time off you have to insist that they take it. 4. Remember that your rabbi doesnt work for you or your congregation. She serves a higher authority. You are not always going to like what he or she has to say. Her job is to interpret Torah to the best of her ability and to try and discern what it is God wants from us. You dont have to agree with your rabbi but you do have to respect her point of view. 5. Like your congregation, a rabbi's effectiveness can be measured by three standards: Torah study, Avodah - observance and worship, and Gemilut Hasadim, acts of kindness. Most rabbis tend to favor one area of Jewish life or another - but a full Jewish life must include all three. These are the things that make a rabbi, a rabbi. However if a rabbi only does these things because she is a rabbi than she is not doing her job. They are also the standards that make a Jew, a Jew. 6. Finally, if you dont know what you want then your rabbi cannot do his job. A congregation must have a vision of Jewish life - take the time what you want your Jewish life to look like and then communicate this vision to your rabbi. It will help prevent frustration and confusion. So Rabbi Kapner, thank you for all your years of service to the Jewish community. Thank you not just for being a great rabbi but for being a great Jew. And thank you for being a role model as a father and a husband, as one who not only teaches but lives Judaism, as a caring human being, and as a mensch. May we continue to learn from you - as we say - ad meah v'esrim - until 120 years old. Shabbat Shalom