Rabbis give sermons all the time, and our homiletics classes prepare us for this weekly activity. But it’s not all the time that rabbis deliver sermons in front of a room full of rabbis, cantors, and Jewish educators, and no amount of preparation makes us fully ready for such a powerful occasion. Every HUC-JIR rabbinical student has the privilege to address his or her campus community in what we call a Senior Sermon. This is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their rhetorical skill, to teach Torah, and to share their passions with their classmates and teachers. For many, it is considered a pinnacle experience of rabbinical school. I delivered my senior sermon during parashat Bereishit, in October 2012 in…
“Controversial Title: A Panel Discussion on a current important issue, hosted by large LA-area synagogue” “Last chance to sign up for Awesome Retreat/Colloquium/Conference!” “Interested in [insert name of Jewish organization that wants rabbis to know about it/be participants/staff members for it]? Come hear more about us during lunch on Tuesday – lunch provided.” “Employment opportunity with Camp Ishkabibl in Somewhere, USA” The life of an HUC-JIR student is full of emails with subject titles like those above – opportunities to learn, to grow, to become involved with various institutions, and (most importantly for some) to receive free meals in exchange for said learning! The onslaught of emails could be overwhelming, but the myriad opportunities constantly pouring into my inbox has…
As a fifth year student in the rabbinical program, I have a unique vantage point to reflect on my time at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. I came into HUC-JIR following a “non-traditional” path, although at this point so many of my classmates and colleagues have a diverse portfolio of skills, interests and passions that it is hard to determine “traditional” from “non-traditional.” I came into rabbinical school focused on pastoral care, with a particular passion for issues of end-of-life care, hospice and palliative care. I now know more about living, having accompanied people on their journey into the hereafter – into life eternal or however they have named it. It is not dissonant to say my…
This week, I had the honor of attending the General Assembly meeting of the Jewish Federations of North America as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. My fellowship cohort is composed of 20 Jewish leaders from different denominations and career paths. We are rabbinical students attending Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and non-denominational schools; we are Jewish professionals and Ph.D students. We reflect the great diversity and complexity of the Jewish community today. The Federation “GA,” as it’s commonly called, provided a unique backdrop to highlight the pluralistic reality of both my Wexner cohort and the North American Jewish community. As a student in HUC-JIR’s rabbinical program, I was proud to be represented by URJ President, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, who was selected as the…
Hello future classmates, colleagues, and friends. If you’re interested in applying to HUC-JIR to be a rabbi, educator, or cantor, but something is holding you back, please keep reading. I’ve been in Israel now 4 months. My first year is already a third of the way over and it’s hard to believe that it’s gone by so fast! Now that I have some down time from classes, settling into Israel, and the High Holy Days, I’m able to reflect for a few minutes on my journey and what held me back for so long. Since I was a young child going to Sunday School, I’ve been fascinated by Judaism and intrigued about the idea of becoming a rabbi. I minored…
The week before my New York wedding, I boarded a train at Penn Station, Boston-bound, to immerse at Mayyim Hayyim. I was flustered and hurried, as brides often are in those logistics-packed pre-wedding days. The instructions in the prep rooms at the mikveh gently urged me to slow down, to reflect, and to clean under every fingernail. As I lathered my body with the soapy washcloth, I began crying big tears of release, of memory, of transition. The last time I had felt a soapy washcloth on my body was when my parents bathed me as a girl. Until that moment, I had been preoccupied mostly with place cards, flowers and seating arrangements. Standing in the shower at Mayyim Hayyim,…