Help me with my homework?

[liv]

So next/this year I'm assigned to Wimbledon, a kind of apprenticeship or internship where hopefully I will learn how to actually do the job of a rabbi as a whole, rather than individual pieces of it. They have asked me to write an article introducing myself for their magazine. And I'm really struggling to write something not boring; what I have reads like a list of the places I've lived, worked and volunteered with the Jewish community, like a very pedestrian covering letter. So, if you were a member of a synagogue and there was a new intern about to join, what would you want to know about them? I've included the (slightly redacted) draft below the cut.

My name is Rachel B. I’m currently a rabbinic student at Leo Baeck College and I’m very much looking forward to working with Wimbledon for my fourth year placement.

Like many of us student rabbis, I’m coming to the rabbinate as a second career. Before I joined the college I was a molecular biologist, working on cancer research and medical and scientific education. Working in and around academia meant travelling around between different cities looking for jobs, and I often found myself in the position of helping small Jewish communities in the different places I’ve lived.

I did my PhD in Dundee in Scotland, where I helped to run the small, notionally Orthodox Jewish community after their lay leader died. Then I moved to Stockholm, Sweden for a few years, where there is a unique community where the different denominations share an organization, buildings and finances but run services separately. I helped to establish a Progressive community as part of this overarching organization. I worked for many years at the then newly established medical school at Keele University in the Midlands of England, which again meant being part of a technically Orthodox community. In the most recent few years, I lived and worked in Cambridge, where my family are based, and I’m very much involved in Beth Shalom, the lay-led Reform community in Cambridge.

With all the geographical travelling, Reform Judaism has always been my spiritual home. My parents were members of Bromley when I was little, and we spent many happy years at Harlow before moving to Cambridge when I was a teenager. I’m the oldest of four siblings and with both my parents being active in small communities, we were expected to show up most weeks. That’s where I got familiar enough with the service and reading Hebrew to be useful to other communities, even outside the Reform context. I’ve always loved teaching, whether it was helping my younger siblings to learn to read, being an assistant at cheder and a madrichah with RSY, running adult education and conversion classes in the my synagogues, or teaching at university, and helping other professionals to improve their teaching and training skills.

This all got to the point where I was spending so much of my time doing Jewish community related volunteering that I decided I’d better switch tracks and make it my day job! I’m lucky enough to have the support of three “rebbitzins” or rabbinic partners: my husband, J, whom I married in 2012, in a ceremony we invented ourselves since mixed faith blessings weren’t an option for Reform Jews at that time. And our two partners, C and K, who have been part of our family though with no official legal status for 12 years. C & K have four children, one who is an adult in his 20s, and three still living at home aged 6-17. I hope you’ll have a chance to meet some of my family at synagogue events over the coming year.

One of my next year teachers has set us for our pre-class homework over the summer "read a book". Like, literally pick up a book and read it. Presumably there's a point to this, I was planning to read some books anyway, but I assume there's more to it than just ticking the box to say, yup, I read a book. Suggestions welcome! If an eminent professor of Bible told you to read a book, what would you pick? I know the prof is an SF fan, she's trying to start a theological SF reading group.

Comments

[wychwood]

Obvs not Jewish, but that sounds like a decent bio to me - you're explaining your faith background and experiences, that seems like the relevant part to me. Maybe also a line at the end about interests / hobbies / other things like that? You do have one typo - unnecessary "the" in "running adult education and conversion classes in the my synagogues".

I would have guessed that your teacher wanted you to read a book as a way to do something nice for yourself, so I vote for picking a book you have been looking forward to :)

[liv]

Good catch on the typo, thanks!

The problem is that I don't really have any hobbies. You've known me since the 90s (!) and seen how I basically made Jewish community volunteering my main extracurricular activity all my adult life (and honestly even when I was a teenager). Now it's my actual job and I haven't really found anything to replace it. I don't want to say 'blogging' because then congregants will search for my writing. Not unrelated to the other half of the discussion I don't really define myself by reading lots of books any more. Maybe I should put in board games and jigsaw puzzles, though I'm not sure that makes me sound less boring.

[wychwood]

Yeah, I was thinking something like "I'm a keen fiction reader and boardgamer", but if that's not how you feel about yourself then don't say that! It's just something a bit more personal to you, that's all I was thinking. "I love goth music and cancer research", idk. I don't think you need it, it was just the only thing I did think could be useful to add.

Not strictly speaking the 90s, I matriculated in 2000! But still, more than a quarter-century :)

[jenett]

On this one, something that signals 'stuff you'd be happy to chat with folks about' that isn't the actual work? (So maybe "Most of my time has been going to my studies and my communities, but when I'm not doing that, I enjoy board games, jigsaw puzzles," and maybe something else?

Thinking about it as a "what conversation openers do I want to make easy" has sometimes helped me with this kind of bio.

[shreena]

Y'know, I might actually say that?

What this lacks I think is a bit of you - that's why people are suggesting the extra curriculars - but it could be added through some lightness

Something like -

For many years, I was a scientist with Jewish community volunteering. Now I have made that my job, so I guess I need to find myself a new hobby!

[matsushima]

I think your bio pretty much covers it. You mentioned that you're going to be learning to do the job holistically but I think, as a parishioner, I would (selfishly, maybe?) wonder what, specifically, you'll be doing in your internship here. If the answer is "everything," maybe mention one or two programs you'll be supporting or starting at the synagogue or something you're particularly looking forward to being involved with?

If an eminent professor of Bible told you to read a book, what would you pick? I know the prof is an SF fan, she's trying to start a theological SF reading group.
That's tough and I'll be checking back to see what others recommend and what you decide on. If rereading is allowed, I might read The Golden Compass (or, if I had the time, the entire His Dark Materials trilogy) again because it's something I love and I would be very curious to hear a Bible scholar's take on it, particularly from a Jewish perspective.

[liv]

Thank you, that's super helpful. I don't yet know what exactly I'm going to be doing at this synagogue, I think it's going to depend a bit on the first few visits and what the rabbi thinks works best for the community and my training.

I'm not a big fan of Pullman, I'm afraid. Possibly I was just too old when HDM came out, and I can see some of what's great about it, but the balanced tipped towards 'nope' for me when I got to the sexual relationship between 12yos. Like, it's not only because of evil oppressive religion that we discourage children from partnered sexual activity, and I particularly don't want to read an adult man's take on a young girl's sexuality. And it's not that Pullman's critiques of religion and the religious establishment are worthless, I think he actually has some great points, but I couldn't get past that.

[matsushima]

I think I was just the right age for it - and, the first several times I read it, I didn't realize how sexual it was? It's all flowery and metaphorical (and the U.S. editions are much less explicit).

If I'd read it as an adult (especially if I'd read the U.K. rather than American editions), I don't think I would've liked it for the same reasons you mentioned at the same reasons I did not enjoy the sequel book, The Secret Commonwealth. (In fact, I hated that one so much I still have not read the third book in the new trilogy, The Rose Fields, a book I have been waiting for for ~20 years since he first started talking about The Book of Dust trilogy.)

[yrieithydd]

Yes Secret Commonwealth is weird and Rose Field disappointing. They don't develop the interesting things from HDM. But to be fair, they do make clear that Will and Lyra never went beyond a kiss.

I've pondered blogging about them but haven't made the time! (and I'd need to read them again (as I didn't make notes on the last read) and I'm not sure I can be bothered

From a non-Jewish perspective

[emperor]

Seems like a solid sort of new-minister bio to me, although it is all "work" and no "play". Say something about what you like to do in your off-time? And/or think of a "I'd love community members who are into [thing] so we can talk about our shared interest" point?

I think I'd pick a book that was new to me, that I wanted to read anyway, but that I hoped/though would have some interesting ethical points in it.

Re: From a non-Jewish perspective

[liv]

Thank you, this is helpful. The problem is that I turned my main "hobby", running Jewish communities and Jewish learning, into my day job, and didn't fill in the space with anything else. What I do when I'm not being a proto-rabbi is, um, spend time with my family? But you're quite right, offering something that might become a shared interest is key.

A new book with interesting ethical points, this sounds like quite a lot of my to-read pile, thank you for the suggestion.

[shewhostaples]

My immediate thought (after "Keele, my mum was there!") was "that's a lot of interesting places!" So maybe something about what you liked about living in them beyond your involvement in the Jewish communities there if you really think you need to add something? And your previous job also sounds interesting! I don't think you need to worry about sounding boring. There's plenty there to help a member of your new community start a conversation.

[liv]

That's a good plan, I should say more about my places, not just the communities there. There's bound to be someone who has a Scottish or Swedish connection and making it an article and not just a list would be an improvement.

[adrian_turtle]

I kinda like the bio. It doesn't seem like a context that calls for a lot of pizzazz. Where you're coming from , why you're doing this, a note about your unconventional family.

As for the book, I recommend "A Half-Built Garden" if you haven't read it already.

[liv]

Thank you for validating my boringness! I definitely want family in there; it's a very rainbow community but I still want to minimize how many times I have to come out.

Thank you for the rec, that does sound like the kind of thing I would be happy to discuss in class with brilliant people.

[lomedet]

oooh! I have thoughts!

To answer your second question first - if a rabbinical school professor is telling you to "read a book" with no additional context, I would take that as an instruction to read something that a) you will enjoy, b) has current cultural relevance and/or c) you think folks in your new community will have read. (another option - read something that might inspire your High Holiday sermons). A danger for those of us who go into this field because we love to geek out on Judaism is that we can have a harder time connecting to things the rest of the world is interested in or passionate about. This assignment seems like an attempt to re-connect you to the wider world.

Your bio is solid - I'd be excited to have you as my rabbinic intern! Questions it makes me ask (which might be prompts for changes to make to it, or just things to be prepared to talk with your new congregants about): Is there a throughline between your actual work as a scientist and your theology/Jewish practice/choice to become a Jewish professional? What gifts or experiences from outside the Reform world do you look forward to bringing to the communities you serve? What ou most excites you about being a rabbi? Are there things you are looking forward to doing in this community that you haven't gotten to do before?

[liv]

Thaaaaaank you, this is such a helpful insight. You're absolutely right that I'm often out of touch with the rest of the world, so maybe just reading something popular is the right answer. Prof's husband actually wrote a popular sociology book about just this, the way that most Jews have little connection with the sorts of things that rabbis think are important. But I am fairly sure she wasn't hinting that we should read her husband's book...

I love your questions. It's a really good idea to put in a couple of sentences about my opinions about the rabbinate as well as just facts. And I can say something specific about why I'm excited about this community, that would be friendly.

[aldabra]

I am not your target audience at all but I think that sounds great. Although I stalled at "This all got to the point where"; that's a long convoluted sentence compared with the others. Did you realise that on the back of the covid lockdowns? I don't remember but the timing makes sense. I would replace "This all got to the point where" with "Eventually" or "During covid" or "Then I realised" or "By now".

[Reading other replies...] You don't need your own extracurricular interests; you're in a family with children and you can appropriate theirs, in a clause at the end of that sentence. International cookery and pokemon and, I don't actually know, ballet or trombone or something.

[liv]

Good call on the long sentence with the unclear referent, definitely a bad habit of mine. And appropriating the children's interests is a brilliant plan. Just adding that partners and their kids live with a snake, a ferret, a cat, a dog and several chickens is more interesting than simply stating "three kids at home".

[redbird]

Can you ask the professor why the homework is "read a book"? Someone who is concerned that her students have been reading and analyzing lots of short works might think you'd benefit from taking the time to read (at least) one book all the way through, rather than hoping each of you would read a book that would shed light on next year's work.

You could plausibly ask either Why is she telling you to read "a book," or for loose guidance on picking the book: is rereading appropriate? Does it matter whether either she or your fellow students will recognize the book or author?

[liv]

That's a good plan. The instructions are pretty clear that it can be fiction or non-fiction; any length; any subject matter so it seems to be intentionally broad. My guess is that it's maybe a prompt for class discussion about meta topics like, why did you choose that particular book, where did the book come from, etc. But it probably can't hurt to ask for clarification.

[yrieithydd]

That sounds sensible. As someone who reads at least a book a week on average, it seems like a very odd task!

[fyreharper]

My first assumption from that assignment would be that it meant “take a moment to step outside of this all-consuming bubble and read something of your choosing that’s *not for class*”! But asking for clarification certainly wouldn’t hurt.

[sfred]

The bio looks great to me. I would add something like "To relax, I love playing board games with my family and [one other thing]"?

[sfred]

...and having read everyone else's comments after posting my own, I agree that including the animals in the family is a great idea.

[liv]

Thank you. Being a rab student is not very hard compared to many jobs but I really don't have much time to relax!

[sfred]

No, I sympathise greatly!

[zhelana]

Maybe a hobby or two? Or something about their city that makes you excited to live/work there? or a funny story from temple when you were younger? I know when we interviewed rabbis for TKE I always asked "why Atlanta?"

[liv]

The conclusion of this thread is probably that I really need a hobby! Jewish community stuff was my hobby for so long and now it's my main thing I never replaced it. I keep intending to take up recorder or knitting or programming or something and never quite manage it.

There's nothing much to say about the location, it's a London suburb. But I can be more specific about why I am excited about this particular community.

[zhelana]

It's hard to have hobbies when you're in university! `but yes, everyone should have a hobby.

[shreena]

This is a probably a bit of defensiveness as (other than reading), I don't have any hobbies. But I don't think it's particularly odd not to have any - I think it's quite common when your job is demanding and a vocation, and you have a number of partners and step children

[karen2205]

The hobby I think you're missing from this bio is spending time with friends who live all over the country and beyond - which is logical as a follow on from explaining how you've lived and worked all over the place.

Longer term, I don't know if there's advice for new Rabbis about good activities for getting a break from Jewish community stuff.

[liv]

Thank you! That was a lot more true before the pandemic and rab school, sadly. I have friends for whom rabbinic training killed their ability to pray, but my experience is the opposite, I'm having a great spiritual life at the moment, but I'm finding it really hard to be present for the people I love. I thought my strong connection to my friends was a big asset coming in to training, but it feels more like something I've sacrificed. I think I do need to seek some advice about not letting Jewish community consume me entirely; I think that's why I have struggled to start a new hobby, on the rare occasions I have time and energy I'd rather spend it seeing friends, or writing letters to them.

[yrieithydd]

I found the bio interesting - it told me things I didn't know about you.

As to book - have you read "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. It's harrowing in places (and the sequel Children of God is exceedingly harrowing) but a very interesting take on the Jesuits making first contact with 2 intelligent alien species who share a planet. One of the team who goes is a Jewish woman which gives another perspective.

[liv]

Oh that's good, it's partly why I put the draft here, because it's often worth updating my DW bio every few years, there's new people reading, and new ways for me to shape the narrative of my life.

The Sparrow could be a good choice (definitely the sequel is too much). Russell is particularly interesting as a writer because she's Jewish with Catholic heritage, and she really integrates multiple perspectives on Jesuits and Christian missionaries in general.

[alatefeline]

I think that if I as an educator, in a similar context (and take this with a grain of salt because adult education isn't may field), gave this assignment, it would be slightly about producing a piece of writing about reading the book, the content thereof, and the experience of reading it, but *largely* about giving the student the experience of constructing a written narrative that situates choosing a reading and reflecting on it in th context of their life experience.

In other words: pick whatever book that you want; if there are assignments with 'grades' subsequently, it'll be likely based not on choice of book, but on how you reflect on the experience of reading, and even so, honesty and breadth may be more important than polish or even originality. AKA "Do you care about reading, and about what reading says about people and the world, and your own capacity for changing your understanding thereof by being a reader? Justify your answer with evidence." (And don't sweat about the predictability of your response; the point is being here doing this.) Or that's how I would structure it, at least.

You may want to choose a favorite rereasd that truly moves you -- but one you can bear to hear discussed and dissected -- and keep a chapter-by-chapter reaction journal while reading it anew. Not to submit in its entirety, but as source material for composing a more coherent and streamlined narrative about you reading it. Which means you don't have to write down the 'right' answer, just the thoughts that organically come to you while reading, in order to end up with something to work with.

(I'd do Left Hand of Darkness personally. Or, in nonfiction, 1492. Texts that foundationally influenced my approach to other texts. But I am very much NOT a rabbi candidate.)

Or I may be wildly off base; goodness knows I make massive mistakes, constantly.

Good luck. Hope this helps. You got this.

[liv]

Yes, this is definitely close to my theory of what the task is for. We're going to be reading some Biblical books and maybe Prof wants to open a discussion about what it means to read. I like the idea of re-reading and keeping a journal; it's been a while since I reread LOTR which I used to return to all the time, though perhaps that's too obvious.

Also hiiiiii, it's lovely to hear from you and I hope you're doing well!

[davidgillon]

Possibly I'm being very Catholic here, but my reaction was 'where's the bit about vocation?' What's here is fine as a background to who you are as a person, but it reads rather as though you've fallen into being a rabbi, rather than being actively drawn to it spiritually. Obviously that's not the whole story and I think maybe you need to elaborate on the story of you to bring it out to an audience who don't know you.

[liv]

Heh. I often say in 'why did you become a rabbi' discussions that I'm not sure I believe in vocation. The way I phrased it at an interfaith event last year was, God doesn't love clergy more than people with boring jobs or or full-time carers or disabled people who aren't in a position to work. I would have said that stepping up to Jewish leadership roles literally since I was eight years old was as close to a "vocation" as I'm going to admit to, but I might well need to pull that out a bit more, it's probably too implicit in the current draft.

[davidgillon]

'It snuck up on me'? :)

[switterbeet]

I'm not your target audience, and I feel like there are likely geographic references that may mean something to your audience that I'm not picking up on, but:

Overall I think this is a solid, lovely bio to share with folks. A couple things I'd point at if you're looking for things to tweak would be:

- changing "after their lay leader died" to "passed away" (I don't know why, but the "died" phrasing just put me on edge and raised questions for me that likely aren't relevant)
- expanding slightly on the impacts/outcomes of your molecular biology life! Who did you teach, what did you research, what aspects of that life might resonate with the folks you're talking to now?
- similarly, expanding slightly on "Reform Judaism has always been my spiritual home." - it's unclear to me if the next sentences are actually related to this (but I do suspect that Bromley might be a reference I'm not getting...). What about Reform Judaism is home to you, on a spiritual level?