TORONTO — Rabbi Chaim Strauchler, of Toronto’s Shaarei Shomayim Congregation, hosted about two dozen of his modern Orthodox rabbinic colleagues for a two-day conference earlier this month.
Rabbi Chaim Strauchler, standing, left, hosted rabbinic colleagues for a conference in Toronto this month.
TORONTO — Rabbi Chaim Strauchler, of Toronto’s Shaarei Shomayim Congregation, hosted about two dozen of his modern Orthodox rabbinic colleagues for a two-day conference earlier this month.
West Coast Rav, originally a group of young rabbis on the west coast of the United States and Canada, started about nine years ago and has expanded throughout North America, Rabbi Strauchler told The CJN. The group meets once a year to talk shop and meet with mentors.
A former age limit was lifted, and now the conference is geared to “rabbis who still see themselves as developing… There’s no limit on that.”
Along with Rabbi Strauchler, participants from Canada included Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt of Vancouver and rabbis Joe Kanofsky and Rafi Lipner of Toronto.
Among other issues, the rabbis discussed connecting with their congregants and the wider community through Twitter and Facebook. Rabbi Strauchler hasn’t used either with his congregation, but for the past two years he’s been e-mailing weekly personal reflections and divrei Torah through an e-mail service that maintains a list of contacts.
“It’s a means of touching more people… and it’s a vehicle for teaching as well,” he said. There are 700 addresses on his list.
As well, the rabbis discussed how to protect their personal prayer and study time, Rabbi Strauchler said. He noted that, when teaching Jewish text, there’s a greater push toward having students more engaged in the learning.
The role of women in Orthodoxy wasn’t an official agenda item, but is “something we’re thinking a lot about as rabbis now,” he said.
“The ability to come together and share experiences strengthened us all,” said Rabbi Strauchler.
He said it’s “a useful model” for the Jewish community to see rabbis – of all denominations – as people. “I don’t think that’s intuitive for our community.”
Seeing rabbis as real people is better because “the truth is always better,” Rabbi Strauchler said. “Rabbis are going to make mistakes, be human. If you expect them to be something other than human, it can cause problems of faith. [This way,] rabbis are able to connect better and do their job better.”
