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Personal Statement
An angel of the Eternal One appeared to Moses in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. Moses said, “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?” When the Eternal One saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Hineini” (Here I am).”– Exodus 3:2-4
Throughout Torah, God engages in a holy call-and-response with the Jewish people. At critical moments, God calls out to Abraham, to Jacob, and to Moses. God calls them by name and they each respond, “Hineini,” which can be translated as “Here I am,” or “I am ready,” or “I am coming.” God speaks to our ancestors in this way to get their attention, or to call them to take an important action. Hineini is a means by which the Jewish people entered into and affirmed their relationship with God. This declaration of presence and intention, modeled for us by our ancestors, remains available to each of us today. As I consider my entry into the rabbinate, hineini is the intention that fills my heart. Hineini is the wellspring from which I draw the energy to engage in this holy work.
Before I began my journey to the rabbinate, I was working as a helping professional in the non-profit health and mental health care sector, and this work was highly satisfying. In my personal life, I was becoming deeply involved in my synagogue community, something that was new for me. I was working on committees, leading services, and eventually serving on the synagogue board. From the seeds scattered by my community’s boundless hospitality, I became inspired to discover that I had a greater capacity for service and leadership within synagogue life. I began to feel a hunger that would not be sated. My work, while satisfying and meaningful, began to occupy a different place in my heart. I grew restless. I sought out my rabbi to talk about this experience. “I don’t know what’s going on. I am feeling drawn somewhere that I don’t understand,” I told him. “I have been a counselor, a teacher, a non-profit leader, and I have a great job. But I’m also feeling like I want to ‘do Jewish’ all the time. I want to be able to bring these different parts of me together, and I want to work with the Jewish people.”
My rabbi was quiet for a moment, and then he said, “You know, that sounds a lot like what I do.” There it was, sitting in the space between us, out in the open. I began to see my feelings of restlessness as something I needed to notice and pay attention to. I understand this now as a hineini moment. I said to myself, and also to God, “Here I am.”
Saying “hineini” led me to rabbinical school. As I have studied and developed the professional skills of a rabbi, I have found myself over and over again in situations where I have been called to open myself and declare my presence, to be ready to serve, to be ready to provide care. For a community coming together to pray on Shabbat, I am ready to lead inspiring worship. For young people preparing for their b’nai mitzvah, I am ready to listen closely to discern the sparks of Jewish identity inside of them and to guide them to greater awareness of how Judaism is and will be a part of their life. For a congregant in the hospital, I am present to provide supportive spiritual care during difficult and frightening moments. For a group of adults ready to engage in learning, I am there to offer Jewish texts, traditions, and ideas to nourish their intellect and their souls.
For me, the blessing of hineini is expressed most fully when I am able to help others hear and discern the call to engage in Jewish life, in holy community. I will support and challenge active Jews and affiliated congregants to listen carefully and look deeply into the possibilities and responsibilities that Jewish tradition offers them. I will welcome and include those who are new to Jewish life or who may find themselves on the margins of Jewish community: interfaith families, people who are exploring conversion, LGBQ+ and trans people, Jews of color, every person who is or wants to be a part of us. My life was transformed by the abundant hospitality offered to me by a holy Jewish community, and it is my mission and my privilege to extend this hospitality to others, so that they too can say, “Hineini.”
As I enter the rabbinate, I am prepared to listen to the call of Jewish communities. What is important to them? How do they want to be together? How is Jewishness relevant to their lives? How do they wish to express their Judaism? What impact do they aspire to have on the world? I am prepared to listen, and to respond. I am ready. I am here. Hineini.
Throughout Torah, God engages in a holy call-and-response with the Jewish people. At critical moments, God calls out to Abraham, to Jacob, and to Moses. God calls them by name and they each respond, “Hineini,” which can be translated as “Here I am,” or “I am ready,” or “I am coming.” God speaks to our ancestors in this way to get their attention, or to call them to take an important action. Hineini is a means by which the Jewish people entered into and affirmed their relationship with God. This declaration of presence and intention, modeled for us by our ancestors, remains available to each of us today. As I consider my entry into the rabbinate, hineini is the intention that fills my heart. Hineini is the wellspring from which I draw the energy to engage in this holy work.
Before I began my journey to the rabbinate, I was working as a helping professional in the non-profit health and mental health care sector, and this work was highly satisfying. In my personal life, I was becoming deeply involved in my synagogue community, something that was new for me. I was working on committees, leading services, and eventually serving on the synagogue board. From the seeds scattered by my community’s boundless hospitality, I became inspired to discover that I had a greater capacity for service and leadership within synagogue life. I began to feel a hunger that would not be sated. My work, while satisfying and meaningful, began to occupy a different place in my heart. I grew restless. I sought out my rabbi to talk about this experience. “I don’t know what’s going on. I am feeling drawn somewhere that I don’t understand,” I told him. “I have been a counselor, a teacher, a non-profit leader, and I have a great job. But I’m also feeling like I want to ‘do Jewish’ all the time. I want to be able to bring these different parts of me together, and I want to work with the Jewish people.”
My rabbi was quiet for a moment, and then he said, “You know, that sounds a lot like what I do.” There it was, sitting in the space between us, out in the open. I began to see my feelings of restlessness as something I needed to notice and pay attention to. I understand this now as a hineini moment. I said to myself, and also to God, “Here I am.”
Saying “hineini” led me to rabbinical school. As I have studied and developed the professional skills of a rabbi, I have found myself over and over again in situations where I have been called to open myself and declare my presence, to be ready to serve, to be ready to provide care. For a community coming together to pray on Shabbat, I am ready to lead inspiring worship. For young people preparing for their b’nai mitzvah, I am ready to listen closely to discern the sparks of Jewish identity inside of them and to guide them to greater awareness of how Judaism is and will be a part of their life. For a congregant in the hospital, I am present to provide supportive spiritual care during difficult and frightening moments. For a group of adults ready to engage in learning, I am there to offer Jewish texts, traditions, and ideas to nourish their intellect and their souls.
For me, the blessing of hineini is expressed most fully when I am able to help others hear and discern the call to engage in Jewish life, in holy community. I will support and challenge active Jews and affiliated congregants to listen carefully and look deeply into the possibilities and responsibilities that Jewish tradition offers them. I will welcome and include those who are new to Jewish life or who may find themselves on the margins of Jewish community: interfaith families, people who are exploring conversion, LGBQ+ and trans people, Jews of color, every person who is or wants to be a part of us. My life was transformed by the abundant hospitality offered to me by a holy Jewish community, and it is my mission and my privilege to extend this hospitality to others, so that they too can say, “Hineini.”
As I enter the rabbinate, I am prepared to listen to the call of Jewish communities. What is important to them? How do they want to be together? How is Jewishness relevant to their lives? How do they wish to express their Judaism? What impact do they aspire to have on the world? I am prepared to listen, and to respond. I am ready. I am here. Hineini.