Time to reflect
As we reach the end of another academic year, I wanted to share with you the words of Rafi Josselson, a high school senior at The Leffell School who spent the last nine weeks of his academic year interning with me here at the synagogue. As I have shared with his school administration, Rafi has surpassed all our expectations. His work ethic and product have matched that of so many of our previous rabbinic interns, many of whom were at least a decade older in years and in academic pursuit. We have learned from Rafi. His youth was no impediment to his wisdom, his charm and his contributions. I am happy to be re-starting this blog after a year’s hiatus with Rafi’s words, and I look forward to welcoming Rabbi Claire Shoyer as a contributor. Thank you, Rafi. We wish you the very best in all your pursuits!
Dear OJC,
Thank you all for allowing me to serve as your synagogue intern this spring. It’s been one of the best experiences of my life. I’ve grown professionally and personally throughout this experience. This wasn’t a difficult transition. Since this is my synagogue, I was already heavily involved. And so, unlike my peers who interned for six weeks, I have been interning for about nine weeks.
Like you, I am a congregant. But, for these nine weeks, I stepped “behind the curtain” to see the work that happens behind the scenes. Our hours are inconsistent. I have had nights when I am working until 9 or 10:30. There are days when I have gone into the city, to a funeral, or to someone’s house to sit shiva with them. My internship wasn’t just about doing stuff; most of my time was spent showing up.
I focused a tremendous amount of my time refining my leyning and oration skills. I have delivered four sermons to the congregation. I am proud of each one of them, but I have worked hard to get better at my delivery, pacing, and length. I hope you’ve noticed my growth in that area. I’ve also worked tirelessly on improving my leyning. I have read Torah or Haftarah almost every Shabbat, and I pushed myself to learn something new: Megillat Ruth.
I had the opportunity to interact with our youth through Kulanu. Being a day school student, my interaction with Kulanu in the past was limited. During this internship, I was very involved with our B’nai Yisrael (3rd-5th Grade) class. The work and energy that is expended for our children’s education is magical. It was a pleasure to work alongside Rabbi Kniaz in her final weeks with our Kulanu students. My experience was enhanced by our teachers, our Kulanu Assistant Ms. Maudeena Jones, and our students, all of whom are critical parts of the educational experience. I was so proud of our B’nai Yisrael students when, for their final project, they compiled a new book of the Tanakh to transmit to future generations. They joyously presented it to Rabbi Kniaz at their moving-up ceremony.
I’ve also noticed, as many of you have, that we as a synagogue are moving into a new stage. Even though she technically starts in July, I can assure you that Rabbi Shoyer and the rest of the OJC team are already busy planning engaging programming for next year. I also got to attend her JTS ordination. Rabbi Shoyer has worked so hard to get to this moment. She has spent five years in rabbinical school, including hundreds of hours in internships. But, as I have heard from so many rabbis before, you don’t learn how to be a rabbi until you are a rabbi. Therefore, as Rabbi Shoyer continues to grow and learn, I ask you: please give her time and space to grow into the rabbi she is meant to be.
Speaking of rabbis’ experiences, throughout the internship, I interviewed 14 rabbis to get a sense of their experiences, careers, and reflections on the title of “Rabbi”. I interviewed both Rabbi Scheff and Rabbi Drill for this project, and I interviewed two of our previous Rabbinic Interns, Rabbi Jesse Nagelberg and Rabbi Ben Varon. These people are the gold standard of what rabbis should be: caring, empathetic, dedicated, and involved. I am glad I had the chance to talk to them, and the OJC is lucky to have been led by them. You can read my takeaways from my interview project here.
To conclude, I want to share why I did this internship. First, I wanted to gain an understanding of the field of rabbinic work. But secondly, I wanted to give back to you, the OJC, which I believe is one of the most magical places on Earth. We aren’t perfect. And we have a lot more ahead of us. But I am confident that, together, we’ll keep OJC a welcoming, safe, and inclusive home for everybody.
Rafi
Whatever the Weather
The rain falls in sheets in Tel Aviv in January. The skies can be blue for hours so that the suddenness of the rain is as surprising as its force. Other times, the entire atmosphere, from the sky above to the ground under my feet seems to be rain-filled so that I am walking inside of clouds.
The sunshine in January here is equally curious. I leave the apartment, expecting to feel the warmth of the sun, and all I feel is bone-deep cold. The temperatures are certainly not at the freezing level of back home in New Jersey, and yet I feel the wind as a raw, biting thing. I am walking inside of a melting iceberg.
As my grandmother, and probably your grandmother, used to say: “There is no bad weather, only the wrong clothing”. And so I pile on layers, put on a hat, and even wear gloves when it appears that no one in Tel Aviv even owns them. I wear wool socks and carry an umbrella everywhere.
For his part, Carmel seems oblivious to the weather that concerns his Bubbe. He kicks off the blanket I tuck in all around his legs, toddles around the playground in just his tread-bottomed socks, and sits behind the rain protector over his stroller like a king.
The weather, like life itself, is all about one’s perspective. When I called my cousin to see if she expected me at the Hertzliya Train Station at 12 or 12:30 to meet for our lunch, she told me she thought I was calling to cancel because it was raining. I laughed.
I am so deeply grateful to have been able to fly to Israel during my sabbatical, nothing will keep me inside. Except when I want to stay inside!
Both the pandemic and this sabbatical have taught me not to feel pressure to achieve some maximum amount in a given timeframe. I am relishing the freedom of focusing on one thing at a time. I pray quietly and with intense intentions. I practice yoga on my own, on a mat rolled out in Sarah and Sagi‘s living room, taking whatever shapes come into my mind. I take classes virtually, write in my journal, and take long walks through my beloved Tel Aviv. And I pick up Carmel from gan (childcare) every day at 4:00 and have wonderful adventures with him until we return home for dinner, bath, and bed.
I have always thought of time as a container to fill to the top with meaningful activity and accomplishment. Filling that container each day has kept me motivated, passionate, and fulfilled. It has also, however, kept me stressed, on edge, running from one thing to the next. My next appointment would begin before my last even finished. I never felt my To Do list was done.
I am finally learning that time is something that simply unfolds, much like the weather, and my task is to move along with it. I cannot control it. Why not just live inside of it?
So most days, I button up and go out into the world of Tel Aviv, to walk along Dizengoff Street or to stop at one of the outdoor cafés for a latte. Neither the weather nor the time of day matters. But on other days, like today, I just stay indoors, start the cooking for Shabbat, and write a blog post to let you all know that I am thinking of you.
In this week’s Torah portion, Yitro watches his son-in-law Moshe exhaust himself by counseling and judging the Israelites from morning to night all alone. He offers Moshe a reframe: “What you are doing is not good. You need to delegate responsibilities. You need to take a break.”
Rabbi Scheff and I were blessed many years ago with a loving relationship with Bernie Schiffmiller z”l, a congregant and Yitro of our own, who used to say to us, “You’ll be no good to anyone if you don’t take care of yourselves.”
And today, we have all of you, our OJC family, who grant your rabbis sabbaticals with the same loving generosity.
As for me, I am learning about the weather and about time. And this week, I am getting ready to receive Torah once again.
May your days all be sunny or rainy and may you relish whichever they are!
Rabbi Paula Mack Drill
Two Rabbis, One Voice, Three Opinions 
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