Discernment within Divine Presence, Gevurah ShebeShekhinah 5783
Today is forty-four days, which is six weeks and two days of the Omer in the year 5783. גבורה שבשכינה, Gevurah ShebeSchechinah, Strength of Divine Presence. Today, I was installed as Temple Israel of Alameda’s spiritual leader. Last year on this day, I received rabbinic ordination.
Being a Spiritual Leader
We moved to Alameda last summer.
I began working for Temple Israel at the end of June, formally starting on July 1.
It felt fortuitous that Rabbi Ismar Schorsch provided advice for leaders in his commentary on Parashat BeMidbar, based on the idea of tzimtzum from Lurianic Kabbalah.
1. "Acquire the habit of contraction in order to rid their minds of the endless barrage of distractions that assault them from all sides."
2. "Organizationally, leaders ought to delegate."
3. "On a psychological note, tzimtzum, is about shrinking the self. Power should not give us the illusion of being omnipotent or infallible, especially as religious leaders. In the ultimate scheme of things, our significance is modest and ephemeral."
Canon Without Closure: Torah Commentaries by Ismar Schorsch (Aviv Press), p477
Also quoted on my Sefaria BeMidbar Source Sheet for my Installation Bible Study class.
Holding Space for Myself and Others
The most important thing I’ve learned this year is simple:
If I stop having a personal spiritual life,
I have no Torah for anyone else.
I don’t need to live up to a spiritual ideal.
Nor do my congregants.
Together, we simply need space for our depths.
We need space to celebrate life’s joys and heart aches.
We need community to hold us and reflect our growth,
while supporting us through times of setback.
May we all discern the communities that help us live into our best selves.
Image by MITCH WRIGHT from Pixabay