A Personal View

Week of Study Theme:

The weeklong study conference with its theme, “Creating Kehillah Kedoshah: Bringing Jewish Values Into Our daily Lives” was developed by The Jewish Theological Seminary in cooperation with United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism and the North American Association of Synagogue Executives. It included sessions presented by renowned Seminary scholars Dr. Eliezer B. Diamond, our scholar-in-residence, and Rabbi William H. Lebeau, along with Dr. Shuly Rubin Schwartz, Rabbi Marc Wolf, Rabbi Joel Roth, Dr. Burton L. Visotsky, Rabbi Paul Drazen, Wendy Light, Rabbi Moshe Edelman, Rabbi Jerry Kalmanofsky, Dr. Anne Lapidus Lerner, Hazzan Henry Rosenblum, Dr. Judith Hauptman, Dr. David Kramer, and Dr. David Rosen.

For over sixteen years, the various topics explored at the NAASE Week of Study have provided an oasis for NAASE members, energizing and enlightening our Jewish souls. While our annual conferences tackle the mechanics of running a synagogue, the Week of Study underscores our commitment to kedusha (holiness) and addresses why as Executive Directors we are part of the Klay Kodesh (holy vessel).

       

This year’s theme was Creating a Kehillah Kedosha, A Sacred Community: Bringing Jewish Ethical Values into Our Daily Lives. Through text study and dialogue with various illustrious rabbis and Jewish educators, we uncovered the great psychology within Judaism that provides us with direction and the tools in our partnership with our Klay Kodesh, professional staff and congregants in building a holy community.

       

From our beloved Rabbi Lebeau, we learned, in Judaism, holiness requires relating to others, which is sometimes uncomfortable. Although we are not trained psychologists or rabbis, our studies evidenced that everything we need to know in performing our jobs is in our sacred text. Our review of the assorted midrashim demonstrated that our ancient rabbis were premier psychologists of our time – their insights and analyses of the Torah are not anachronistic but instead timely.

               

Through our study, we grew to appreciate that the concept of “pay it forward” is Jewish - our behavior has a domino effect on the people with whom we have direct and indirect contact. We learned to value that mitzvot and commandments serve as the string around our finger reminding us how to live a meaningful life.

       

The second bracha before the Kriat Sh’ma emphasizes our love for God and our desire to achieve holiness. The prayer relates to the choices we make as human beings to hold back the forces of chaos. It helps us appreciate that our laws are not restrictive but instead provide guidance and a reminder of our responsibility.

Every year, the NAASE Week of Study, creates an opportunity for us as Executive Directors to open our eyes to better understand and appreciate our mitzvot. It also accentuates how as Jews we have the amazing ability to make a difference in our own kehilla (community) and beyond. In Pirke Avot, Rabbi Gamliel’s motto was “And don’t say, ‘When I have leisure, I will study’-perhaps, you never will have that leisure.”