by Rabbinic Intern Shira Stutman  

As many of you know, May will be my last visit to Kol Ami. In preparation for saying goodbye, I have begun to review my notes from our fifteen visits together (not including the High Holy Days). From each of the visits, I’ve realized, comes a “take-home” message, something that I hope you remember from our studies, or something that I myself learned that I didn’t know before I began preparations. 

For those who missed a visit or who’ve forgotten, then, following is a one-sentence summary of what I hope we learned:

YEAR ONE

(Visit 1) Elul: Take the time to prepare to introspect. Recognize that it’s a difficult task. Figure out your goals, and pursue them until you’ve achieved them.  

(Visit 2) Biblical Criticism: Even if we don’t believe that the Bible is Fact, we can still believe that it is our Truth.

(Visit 3) Jews and American Politics: In the past, Jews may have voted against their economic interests, but they may not today. There is great diversity in our community.

(Visit 4) The Ethics of War: “Bamakom She-Ayn Eesh, Histadel Lihiyot Eesh.” In English—“In a place where there are no humans, strive to be a human” (Pirke Avot).

(Visit 5) Pluralism: There are many different ways to live a Jewish life. We should work towards acceptance, even if, sometimes, we don’t want to do so.

(Visit 6) Judaism and the Environment: Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!

(Visit 7) Ethics and Values: The community coming together to discuss how to live value-filled lives is more important than unthinkingly following halakha (Jewish law).

(Visit 8) Introduction to Reconstructionism: Recon Jews are the true “traditionalists.” We follow the paths of our ancestors, who made Judaism meaningful in their lifetimes.

Year Two:  Great Jewish Texts

(Visit 1) Midrash: Two thousand years ago, the rabbis used “Midrash” to reinterpret, and sometimes overturn, Biblical words. Today, we can do the same thing (or can we?).

(Visit 2) Talmud: Judaism has a long and proud history of arguing. It’s how we learn.

(Visit 3) Parshanut: There are 70 faces to the Torah. A dozen commentators can look at the same verse and come up with fifteen different interpretations—and so can we!

(Visit 4) Medieval Thought: Just as Maimonides felt it vital to find meaning in each Mitzvah, so too should we strive to find meaning in things that may seem “meaningless.”

(Visit 5) Kabbalah: It is our task to act as God’s agents in this world, bringing tikkun (healing/wholeness) to the places that are broken.

(Visit 6) Hasidism: Kavannah (intention) is more important than Keva (fixed requirements—for prayer, Jewish law, etc.)

(Visit 7) Modern Thought: We must strive to maximize the “I/Thou” interactions in our lives, and minimize the “I/It” ones.

I know that, even though May is my last official visit to Kol Ami in this iteration as your student rabbi, it will not be the last time that I come into contact with this fantastic congregation. Thank you again, for all the teaching, for all the learning, for all the laughter. L’hitraot—I’ll be seeing you!