You could hear a pin drop as quiet overtook the room. I
watched in awe of their earnest faces scrunched in concentration. Most of them
stood with eyes closed. A few moved their lips silently. Some rocked back and
forth. Slowly but surely they each sat down and turned their peaceful faces towards me. I nodded to our cantor and
she moved us into song.
It was only afterwards that I realized something had shifted in that worship moment. I witnessed something so profound I dared not speak it out loud. I wondered to myself if I had led t’fillah differently to inspire such sincerity in prayer. My intention for the Amidah reminded them that this was their personal time with God: a time to share what they most needed God to know today. By taking their spiritual lives seriously, I had encouraged the God spark in each fourth grade worshipper that evening.
Jewish mysticism teaches that God’s spirit in our world assumes the form of a divine spark. These sparks are manifestations of God, or perhaps a Godly energy, which create the essential core that lies within each of us. I like to think they act as the moral and spiritual fire-starters for our best selves. These sparks of divinity live inside each of us with the potential to be kindled and rekindled over a lifetime. A human’s job on earth is to figure out how to use them in pursuit of love, justice, knowledge, and peace.
At its core, I believe the purpose of my rabbinate is to help others access their God sparks. As we learn in Genesis 1:27 “God created human beings in the Divine image." In my work as a rabbi, I discern this divinity in every person. These sparks illuminate worship moments when our voices join together in prayer. I see them crystallize learning for a Bar Mitzvah student when his understanding of a particular verse changes. They brighten the experience for a family in a lifecycle simcha moment. And I watch them provide the possibility of renewed clarity in an individual’s darkest moments of grief or personal challenge.
A few years ago, I found myself preparing to officiate at a funeral for a man who passed away unexpectedly. His family shared that he had long ago disconnected from Judaism. I spent many hours on the phone with his daughter, wrestling with traditional liturgy as we worked to create a service that would honor his memory yet also establish a Jewish anchor for her as she grieved the difficult loss. As the family debated reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish, I came to realize that their hesitancy reflected, in part, an embarrassment over not knowing how to say the words. In choosing to see the spark beneath their raw feelings, I created an opportunity for connection. I embraced their intention and led them through the Kaddish that afternoon. The wife and daughter held my hands as I stood between them. It is within these most painful, challenging moments of life that I am reminded that my truest self is called to see the sparks of divinity in others.
One of the best ways to nurture these sparks is to ground ourselves in a community of learners. It is my job as a rabbi to inspire and enrich active, cooperative learning for every member of our community. I value an environment that encourages each of us, individually, to own our Judaism – the ancient texts, complicated legal codes, diverse ritual practices and remarkable historical narrative. My experiences as a Jewish educator are a rich resource on which I draw, having taught Jews in all life stages and circumstances. I use this unique educational background to design creative learning opportunities that transform a Jewish idea from its historical, intellectual roots into an embodied way of life. For parents, this is an especially important task that requires us to examine the way we were raised and to clarify those values we want to transmit to our children. I designed a family education session, for example, to teach ideas about Jewish food and justice, as well as how these ideas influence our Jewish relationship with our bodies and the earth. In the experiential component, parents and their children become caretakers of a congregational garden. We literally plant Jewish values alongside our organic vegetables and imagine what actions the seeds of “shomrei adamah – guardians of the earth” and “ba’al tashchit – avoiding waste” will bring. As families tend the garden over the growing season, they decide together which values and practices are most important for them to continue. This active learning enlivens and inspires their ideas about food and justice, providing a framework for their continued Jewish growth.
As a rabbi, my role is to recognize and nurture the God spark in each and every Jew. I guide my community with a sophisticated knowledge of traditional and contemporary Jewish ideas, ideas that have held the Jewish community together since our earliest understandings, with an eye towards inquiry and experimentation. I honor the sparks of divinity by inviting others to join me in insightful learning, participatory worship, and warm, personal connections. In this way, I feel certain our God sparks will come together in pursuit of truly being an “or la’goyim – a light unto the nations,” a community inspired to see our individual God sparks and the God sparks of others as we work together to bring love, justice, knowledge and peace to ourselves and our world.
It was only afterwards that I realized something had shifted in that worship moment. I witnessed something so profound I dared not speak it out loud. I wondered to myself if I had led t’fillah differently to inspire such sincerity in prayer. My intention for the Amidah reminded them that this was their personal time with God: a time to share what they most needed God to know today. By taking their spiritual lives seriously, I had encouraged the God spark in each fourth grade worshipper that evening.
Jewish mysticism teaches that God’s spirit in our world assumes the form of a divine spark. These sparks are manifestations of God, or perhaps a Godly energy, which create the essential core that lies within each of us. I like to think they act as the moral and spiritual fire-starters for our best selves. These sparks of divinity live inside each of us with the potential to be kindled and rekindled over a lifetime. A human’s job on earth is to figure out how to use them in pursuit of love, justice, knowledge, and peace.
At its core, I believe the purpose of my rabbinate is to help others access their God sparks. As we learn in Genesis 1:27 “God created human beings in the Divine image." In my work as a rabbi, I discern this divinity in every person. These sparks illuminate worship moments when our voices join together in prayer. I see them crystallize learning for a Bar Mitzvah student when his understanding of a particular verse changes. They brighten the experience for a family in a lifecycle simcha moment. And I watch them provide the possibility of renewed clarity in an individual’s darkest moments of grief or personal challenge.
A few years ago, I found myself preparing to officiate at a funeral for a man who passed away unexpectedly. His family shared that he had long ago disconnected from Judaism. I spent many hours on the phone with his daughter, wrestling with traditional liturgy as we worked to create a service that would honor his memory yet also establish a Jewish anchor for her as she grieved the difficult loss. As the family debated reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish, I came to realize that their hesitancy reflected, in part, an embarrassment over not knowing how to say the words. In choosing to see the spark beneath their raw feelings, I created an opportunity for connection. I embraced their intention and led them through the Kaddish that afternoon. The wife and daughter held my hands as I stood between them. It is within these most painful, challenging moments of life that I am reminded that my truest self is called to see the sparks of divinity in others.
One of the best ways to nurture these sparks is to ground ourselves in a community of learners. It is my job as a rabbi to inspire and enrich active, cooperative learning for every member of our community. I value an environment that encourages each of us, individually, to own our Judaism – the ancient texts, complicated legal codes, diverse ritual practices and remarkable historical narrative. My experiences as a Jewish educator are a rich resource on which I draw, having taught Jews in all life stages and circumstances. I use this unique educational background to design creative learning opportunities that transform a Jewish idea from its historical, intellectual roots into an embodied way of life. For parents, this is an especially important task that requires us to examine the way we were raised and to clarify those values we want to transmit to our children. I designed a family education session, for example, to teach ideas about Jewish food and justice, as well as how these ideas influence our Jewish relationship with our bodies and the earth. In the experiential component, parents and their children become caretakers of a congregational garden. We literally plant Jewish values alongside our organic vegetables and imagine what actions the seeds of “shomrei adamah – guardians of the earth” and “ba’al tashchit – avoiding waste” will bring. As families tend the garden over the growing season, they decide together which values and practices are most important for them to continue. This active learning enlivens and inspires their ideas about food and justice, providing a framework for their continued Jewish growth.
As a rabbi, my role is to recognize and nurture the God spark in each and every Jew. I guide my community with a sophisticated knowledge of traditional and contemporary Jewish ideas, ideas that have held the Jewish community together since our earliest understandings, with an eye towards inquiry and experimentation. I honor the sparks of divinity by inviting others to join me in insightful learning, participatory worship, and warm, personal connections. In this way, I feel certain our God sparks will come together in pursuit of truly being an “or la’goyim – a light unto the nations,” a community inspired to see our individual God sparks and the God sparks of others as we work together to bring love, justice, knowledge and peace to ourselves and our world.
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