From the Rabbi

As a youngster, I loved Hebrew school, Young Judea, our community summer camp, Camp B’nai Brith, and Friday night services. I went to services on my own, or with friends. I had even asked to attend afternoon religious school!

My zayde, my mother’s father, and a pious Jew, was quietly proud that I persisted in a Jewish education, and could read Yiddish and Hebrew. So in addition to the gelt  that I would receive at Hanukkah or Pesah, my zayde’s “gift” was to pronounce me an ideal candidate to become — a rebbetzin/rabbi’s wife!!

For years, I dismissed this as a limit on what I could do Jewishly. I understand it now as a blessing. In this week’s torah portion, Parshat Vayehi, we read Jacob’s blessings to his sons and grandsons. They are complex, their meanings not readily apparent. And so it was with my grandfather’s blessing to me, which I now appreciate as a most beautiful gift.

Now that women can serve as rabbis, communal leaders, shlichey tzibbur/service leaders, dovrot torah/sermonizers, and torah readers, let us remain mindful of those on whose shoulders we stand — the imahot/foremothers, named and unnamed in Torah; countless learned daughters and wives who studied alongside their fathers, brothers and spouses through the ages; and those who serve in our communities, with or without formal titles, to sustain our synagogues, havurot, and places of Jewish learning. We celebrate their passion for Judaism, and courage in forging their place. Blessing bestowed and accepted!