Find Yourself a Teacher (Pirkei Avot 1:6)

A Hasid came to his Rabbi: “Rabbi, I had a dream that I was the revered teacher of over 300 devoted students!”

Answered the rabbi, “That’s nothing. Come back when 300 students have a dream that you are their teacher.”

In Judaism, learning is considered to be one of the highest acts. The Mishnah teaches that “studying Torah is equal to fufilling all of the commandments, because it leads to a life of mitzvah.” We are, after all, the People of the Book, and books are one of the important ways that we interface with our past and with our multivalent tradition.

Since we are a nation of learners, we hold teachers in high esteem. They are the ones directly responsible for passing Jewish tradition down to the next generation, and whose job it is to make Judaism relevant, meaningful, and fun for the rest of us. Those who teach in the religious school and the adult education programs at Temple Beth El are truly ensuring the Jewish future. With the school year beginning, we should all take a moment to thank our wonderful educators and teachers for the important work that they are doing.

Indeed, learning Torah is one of the foundations of Jewish life. Our tradition teaches, “The more Torah, the more life” – you can never have too much knowledge. In fact, even the greatest sages make it a point to set aside time for learning, and to seek out those who have knowledge to share. Even a rabbi needs a teacher.

As I begin my time at Beth El, I have many teachers. Rabbi Schindler and Cantor Bernard have much wisdom to share. The staff and board of the congregation, with their immense experience in synagogue life, are an invaluable resource. And I have already had the opportunity to learn with and from many of you in classes and lifecycle celebrations, while writing B’nai Mitzvah speeches, and in various other settings.

This month, when I am installed in my position as Associate Rabbi at Temple Beth El, I will be honored by the presence of my teacher, Rabbi Mark Washofsky. Dr. Washofsky serves as Solomon B. Freehof Professor of Jewish Law and Practice at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. He is an expert in Talmud and Jewish law who serves as Chair of the Reform Movement’s Responsa Committee, the body that deliberates on matters of practice and tradition in a Reform context. He has published hundreds of responsa (legal studies) and other papers on issues of Jewish law.

It was during my required Introduction to Talmud class that I was first privileged to study with Dr. Washofsky. I still remember sitting at a desk with a somewhat indecipherable page of Hebrew and Aramaic in front of me, listening to his opening lecture. He said that studying texts, wrestling with the opinions of the past in order to formulate our opinions, is one of the most important ways that Jews traditionally make meaning. He argued that Jewish law is a living and vibrant system that is as relevant to Reform Jewish life as to any other stream of Judaism, though we approach the texts of the past differently than other Jews. I have never forgotten those words, and they have influenced my approach to Judaism and to the rabbinate ever since.

Over the past four years I studied with Dr. Washofsky nearly every semester – sometimes in a classroom setting and sometimes in the independent study courses that I dreamed up. We sat across the table from one another over Mishnah and Talmud, over holiday practice and the laws of Shabbat, over the complexities of conversion to Judaism and the minutia of making Kiddush - over the writings of rabbis and scholars from nearly every era, from ancient Babylonia to modern-day Cleveland.

I was privileged during my rabbinical school years to have the opportunity to study with so accomplished a scholar (and a fellow Louisiana Jew, no less!), and I am honored that he will travel to Charlotte this month for my installation.

May we always continue to learn and to grow in our understanding of Jewish tradition and may our learning lead us to teach others.