The Next Step in an Interfaith Journey

Hello, friends!

Announcement, announcement, announcement: after a decade-long period of reflection, self-analysis, and vocational discernment (wuddup Catholics), several visits to different schools, more than a few conversations and internal debates with myself, and two helpful official Prospective Student visits, I have officially decided to attend rabbinical school in Philadelphia, beginning in the fall! In 5-6 years, I will (G-d-willing, inshallah) be a rabbi. In the meantime, I will once again be moving in August.

If you're reading this post, you probably have an inkling that I love interfaith dialogue. I have been fortunate to participate in interfaith dialogue as a lay person for a number of years now, and am humbled by the respect shown to me as someone trying to authentically represent the wide diversity of Jewish thought and belief without deep Jewish training behind me. I have certainly had some amazing Jewish experiences with folks from across the Jewish spectrum, and so can speak fairly well to the Jewish lived experience, but it's time for me to have some more formal Jewish and pastoral training. I am undertaking this course of education, though, primarily to strengthen my knowledge and ability to bring people together across lines of difference--both Jews and others.

Here is an excerpt from part of my application essay to give you a better sense of my intentions:

My rabbinate will be one of dialogue. It will be one of difference, of engagement, of respectful debate, and of learning...I am a stronger Jew because I have learned from non-Jews, and I am forever grateful for those opportunities...

We can no longer be content to stay in our insular communities. If we want to move our world towards peace, we need to take the responsibility on ourselves to promote greater understanding. Especially in a time like this, with such deep conflict, we absolutely must step outside our comfort zones to embrace and learn from our differences, and so make the world a more peaceful place. This is my life goal, and so too will this be the goal of my rabbinate.

I have been thinking about rabbinical school on some level for ten years, since my childhood rabbi (hi!) first suggested it to me at age 17. Now, I was never a particularly rebellious teenager, but if I didn't laugh out loud at that first suggestion from him, I definitely internally thought, "Nooooope, thank you, not for me." But life is funny and here we are, at a time when it feels like this is the right step in my life. 

After submitting my application, I was invited down to Philly for my in-person interview in April--and honestly, a large portion of the interview (with eight people!) was spent discussing my passion for interfaith dialogue, and since they let me in, it seems like the right environment for my rabbinical training. Oh yeah, I also had a Modern Hebrew interview and since I do not speak Modern Hebrew, most of what I said was, "I would like two cappuccinos, please" because this is what I remember from my time in Israel. Typical Allyson.

In all seriousness, an important thing I want to say: I did not make this decision lightly. I see this decision as one in which I am choosing to some extent to put service to others above myself. It is an obligation I am taking on to the Jewish people and to everyone, as someone willing to learn and live what I believe in so deeply: the power of dialogue and communication across lines of difference in order to strengthen peace in our world. I just need some more Jewish background and authority to move my work forward.

I figure some folks might have questions about this, and please feel free to ask away. Some things some of you might be wondering already: 

1. Yes, women can be rabbis. (Actually, the liberal schools now tend to have more women than men enrolled, I believe.) My understanding of the Divine and of Judaism supports the idea that all people are completely equal, so both men and women can be rabbis. 

2. Fun fact: "rabbi" as such generally translates to "teacher." It is not even necessary that a rabbi be present for a religious service to take place, and I have indeed attended services led by folks who were not rabbis. Instead, at least in my interpretation, it is  a marker of a level of authority in Judaism, signifying that the individual holds a specific standard of knowledge. (In some communities, it would generally mean that a man is qualified to give a ruling on strict Jewish law, halakhah.) 

My understanding is that I will receive training in Jewish knowledge (history, religion, culture, language) as well as training in being a good leader of people (how to care for those struggling, ethical reasoning, how to perform life cycle events like weddings, etc.).

2. The school which I will attend is a liberal school, and a very small one, near Philadelphia. Easily Google-able if you want to figure out which one it is. They tend to make innovative changes that then some of the other schools copy years and decades later.

3. Those more familiar with the rabbinical school scene may wonder why I chose this one in particular. The short answer is that they will not make me return to Israel right away for the first year, which I would need to do at certain other rabbinical schools; I am not ready for another stint in the Middle East yet. Also, they have this great page on their website that describes exactly how they want to train rabbis who are ready to meaningfully engage with people of other religions...aka interfaith dialogue. My kind of place. 

4. "Why is it going to take 5-6 years?!" is a great question. One easy answer to this is that I need to learn Hebrew--and not just one version of Hebrew, presumably biblical Hebrew (Torah), rabbinic Hebrew, and modern Hebrew. Hebrew 4eva. (Pray for me.) Another is that Jews have written a lot of stuff and I have to read some of it? IDK I'll find out more as I go.

Thank you, thank you to everyone who has helped me get to this point. Onward and upward! (And Ramadan Mubarak to everyone!)

Now go out and love one another.

<3,
Allyson