Resh Lakish said: Scripture tells us that if you teach Torah to another’s child, it is as if you helped in their creation. Rav Eleazar said: As though you had created the words of the Torah. Raba said: As though you had created yourself. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 99b
This past month, I had the great honor of traveling to Oak Park, Michigan to install our former student Cantor, Darcie Naomi Sharlein. As you may know, after Darcie was invested as a Cantor last May, she became eligible to seek full-time employment as a Cantor in the Reform movement. After a number of interviews, she and Temple Emanu-El in Oak Park agreed that they were a match. Since July, Darcie and Jeff have been living nearby and Cantor Sharlein has been settling in to her new pulpit. Over the summer, she called me and asked if I would install her this fall. I was honored to be asked and flew in especially for the installation service on Shabbat Chayyei Sarah 5768 – November 21-22, 2008.
Installation is a strange ritual that we sometimes celebrate among Jewish clergy. In many non-Jewish houses of worship, clergy are either ordained in a ministry or called to a particular church. In Judaism, we take a moment (usually some time after the clergy has begun working) to celebrate and to officially mark the connection between clergy and congregation. Almost ten years ago, my father, Rabbi Michael L. Abraham, flew in from New Zealand for my installation. (It was a busy week – Avital was born on Thursday and our student Cantor at the time – Wendy Shermet – had laryngitis.) I was honored that of all the Rabbis and Cantors with whom Darcie had worked, she chose me for her installation.
After a very nice Temple dinner (with over 100 people in attendance) and a lovely service (complete with adult and children’s choir), I stood in a reception line with Cantor Sharlein and Rabbi Joseph Klein (her new Rabbi, not her father-in-law). Each and every one of the over 200 congregants and community members who attended the service made it a point to come through the line and to thank me. At first, I was tempted to move to Michigan and deliver all of my sermons at Temple Emanu-El – I have never received such praise. Soon, however, I realized that they were not thanking me for speaking, or even for coming out to participate, but for “giving them” Cantor Sharlein.
At first, I did take care to point out that Darcie had quite a bit of talent and knowledge before she got to Temple Sholom and that we had only served to provide her an opportunity to polish up – to experiment and improve her skills. Then, I remembered the quote from Sanhedrin above and realized that all of us at Temple Sholom deserve at least a small part of credit in “creating” Cantor Sharlein. Of course, a lot of the credit goes to Ron and Lanie Shapiro (who were also there and send their love) as well as to the faculty and students of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion’s School of Sacred Music. Her husband Jeff played no small part and the lion’s share of the work was done by Darcie herself.
However, we at Temple Sholom should remember to take great pride in the work that we do in training student Cantors. In the last ten years alone, we have had a large part in providing Cantor Wendy Shermet for Temple Israel in Omaha, Nebraska, Cantor Shira Nafshi for Congregation B’nai Or in Morristown, New Jersey, as well as a smaller part in preparing Cantor Hayley Kobilinsky for Congregation B’nai Yisrael in Armonk, New York. On behalf of Temple Sholom, I am often thanked by the Rabbis of these congregations for our role in the creation of their Cantors. We are justly regarded by the HUC-JIR community as one of the better places to intern as a student Cantor.
This year, we continue the tradition. We have welcomed a wonderful new student Cantor, Vicky Glikin, and her whole family into our congregation. Let us hope that we will continue our mutually beneficial relationship together until we, reluctantly but with great pride, are ready to send our latest co-creation into the world.
Rabbi Joel N. Abraham
(If you are interested in seeing pictures, or want to read what I said at the installation, follow the links on my blog – sholomrav.blogspot.com.)
