Talmudic and halachic brilliance has its place, but the pace and intensity of the synagogue rabbinate, as well as tending to congregational needs, present challenges and opportunities
Rabbi Adam Cutler
Beth Tzedec Congregation, Toronto
Rabbi Adam Scheier
Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, Montreal
Rabbi Scheier: There’s a great saying attributed to Rebbe Uri of Strelisk (also known as HaSaraf, 1757-1826): “None of us serves our generation alone. For example, David continues to inspire the downcast with his fiery passion, generation after generation. And Sampson’s heroics continue to give courage to the meek until this day.”
In my journey of learning, I’ve been blessed to encounter many “greats” whose teachings and attributes I attempt to share with my community. In addition to the great attributes of out ancestors, there are contemporary Jewish heroes who inspire and influence. If only I could convey Rabbi Avi Weiss’ love of Jews, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ brilliant articulation of Jewish values and ideas, and the late Rabbi David Hartman’s passionate struggle with, and love for, our tradition.
Who are the greats you invite to accompany you as you serve our generation?
Rabbi Cutler: In my rabbinic life, the creative tensions between the teachings of rabbis and professors Joel Roth, Neil Gillman and Gordon Tucker at the Jewish Theological Seminary continue to influence the way I think and teach about Judaism.
In my personal life, I have been drawn to the character of Elisha ben Avuya, as he is portrayed in rabbinic literature and Rabbi Milton Steinberg’s classic book As A Driven Leaf. The pull he felt between tradition and modernity, between the Jewish world and the secular world, is a theme that inspires the way I choose to live my life.
Certainly, when I think of rabbis whose best characteristics I try to emulate, I think of my childhood rabbi, the late Joseph Kelman of Toronto’s Beth Emeth Synagogue, and his foundational role in establishing programs for Jewish adults with developmental challenges. I am also fortunate to serve alongside a wonderful senior rabbi, Baruch Frydman-Kohl, whose tirelessness and remarkable devotion has taught me much.
It’s interesting to me that two of the three rabbis you list spent much of their career outside of the pulpit rabbinate. It was after they left the pulpit that rabbis Hartman and Sacks gained their international reputations and exerted their strongest influences. Is there something about the pulpit rabbinate that makes certain types of Jewish expressions or scholarship challenging? Does moving beyond our synagogues open up space for greater influence or the expression of values that are otherwise hidden?
Rabbi Scheier: When I was deciding which rabbinical school to attend, it was important to me to be exposed not only to great talmudic and halachic brilliance, but also to role models in the practical rabbinic pulpit.
My rabbinical school, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, did just that, beginning with the founder, Rabbi Avi Weiss. Further, of the many rabbis and scholars I learned from, the one who had the greatest impact on my life (in terms of ethics and weltanschauung) was a pulpit rabbi: it was the concern for humanity and genuine interest in his parishioners’ lives that I observed in Rabbi Aryeh Sokoloff (formerly of my hometown, Rochester, N.Y.) that made me believe in the potential power of the pulpit rabbinate.
Everything about the pace and intensity of the pulpit, along with the responsibility of tending to institutional and pastoral needs, challenges the primacy of Torah study in a rabbi’s life. The great paradox is that a rabbi’s hectic schedule often makes finding personal time for Torah study one of the rabbi’s greatest challenges.
Rabbi Cutler: What I continue to love about the pulpit rabbinate is that every day presents new challenges and opportunities. Many often think of pulpit rabbis as specialists, but we know that we’re general practitioners. We get to preach, foster institutional change, teach, counsel, manage budgets, lead communal prayer and much, much more. Five-and-a-half years out of seminary, I continue to get excited when my phone rings, never knowing what the next question or task will bring. The sheer diversity of what I do keeps me excited to come to shul every day.
More than any other Jewish institution, synagogues are the key to fostering a vibrant, meaningful Jewish life. We connect to more people at more key points in life and offer a larger variety of services than any other single institution. Synagogues are playing a central role in the creation of a positive future.
