Tuesday, June 1, 2010

and a time for renewal...

Adonai spoke to Moses in Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to Adonai. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its fruit, but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest to the land, a sabbath for the Lord; you shall not sow your field, nor prune your vineyard.’” Lev. 25:1-4

From this idea in Leviticus comes the concept of the sabbatical - a time for rest and renewal. This congregation has long had a tradition of granting its rabbis sabbatical leave and, in my current contract, the Temple has granted me six months of sabbatical over the five years of the contract. At the moment, I plan to take those months individually, when there are no B’nai Mitzvah, holidays, or other major events going on at the Temple. My first month-long sabbatical leave will be this July, 2010. (The next is planned for December-January 2010-11.)

I thought that it would be wrong to head off on sabbatical without taking a moment to thank you, as my congregation, for granting this time; letting you know that I would be away; what arrangements have been made; and, as well, an idea of what I hope to accomplish during this month, and the remaining five months to come.

First of all, I will admit that I was at a loss as to what to do for my sabbatical. Again, how to take a sabbatical is not one of the courses taught at HUC. However, a few years ago, Rabbi Nudell, at Congregation Beth Israel, took a sabbatical and shared some of his wisdom as to what the goals of a sabbatical should be. He suggested a good sabbatical must have three elements: rest, study, and new experiences. I have tweaked this a little. My goals for each sabbatical period, as well as the whole, are to: 1) rest and refresh myself; 2) engage in meaningful study; and 3) find new perspectives on the rabbinate through trying different rabbinic roles. I plan to meet these goals in the following ways: 1) Rest - Although seemingly the most easy, I am looking forward to the opportunity to celebrate Shabbat with my family and not rush to services every week. 2) Study – First, I hope to brush up on my Hebrew skills; it has been over ten years since rabbinic school and my study skills could use a refresher. Second, I hope to outline a course of study over the next sabbatical periods, possibly guided by a Doctor of Hebrew Letters program through Hebrew Union College in “Modern American Judaisms”. 3) New Perspectives – I will be working with the national office of the Central Conference of American Rabbis on a few projects. Doing this work, I hope to contact other rabbis and build connections as well as learn about their careers, joys, and challenges. And, if all of that were not enough, I will be working on a book project with the CCAR Press, related to a journal version of Mishkan T’filah. (See how #1 may be harder than it looks?)

Leading up to my sabbatical, the Executive Committee and a Sabbatical Coverage Committee (led by Mark Nussenfeld and Bob Enda) have worked with me and the Temple staff to determine what the coverage needs might be. As of now, volunteers will be leading services in July, as has been done in the past, and Mark has a list of nearby clergy who are available to cover lifecycle emergencies. In case you have any need, you can call the Temple, as always, and get phone numbers of who to call, twenty-four hours a day.

I hope that each of you has at least a little opportunity for rest, study and new experiences over the summer. I look forward to sharing our experiences at the renewal of the year – Rosh haShanah begins on the evening of Wednesday, September 8, 2010.