The Rabbi's Column

Never Too Busy For You!

When people ask why I am so happy being a rabbi at the Orangetown Jewish Center, my answer always begins with loving the people here. I love knowing you: your stories, concerns, beliefs, joys and sorrows. When you entrust me with a spiritual concern or a family dilemma or one of the stories of your life, I feel like I am being asked to guard precious treasure. It is a responsibility that I take seriously, and it is this very responsibility that makes my rabbinate so meaningful. In other words, individual congregants and their needs—you—are the most important part of my work as a rabbi.

Very often, when you call Rabbi Scheff or me, you begin by saying, “I know how busy you are” or “I hate to bother you knowing what your schedule is like, but . . .” If you have been one of these callers, then you know that the answer you receive is, “Of course not! I am never too busy for you.” You have found that we do indeed have time. We have talked or made a meeting that very week. Still, I worry that some of you don’t believe us. I am concerned that some of you don’t call at all because you think it’s an imposition. The truth is, we are busy. Our days are filled with teaching, counseling, pastoral visits, community work, life cycle events, meetings and prayer . . . and of course, the study and preparation for all of these tasks. But what is our priority? You!

You—each precious, individual one of you—are our very work. Knowing you, listening to you, teaching you and counseling you—this is our rabbinate. The rest finds its place. Jewish tradition addresses the tension between the needs of the community and the individual. Countless examples seem to insist that the needs of the individual are subsumed by those of the community. One unusual statement by Hillel, however, offers an alternative ethic:

“If I am here, everything is here; but if I am not here, who is here?” (Talmud Bavli, Sukkah 53a)

Not exactly crystal clear, I know. One interpretation, however, is that each person contains all things within him- or herself. In other words, each congregant represents the synagogue as a whole. A great Torah leyner, a daily davener committed to minyan, a consistent student, a wise teacher, a mensch who daily performs deeds of loving kindness—each person is the OJC. We all feel pride in such a person and feel that he or she represents the best in our community. Likewise, every congregant in need, each person who is unwell or lonely or finding it hard to connect to our community—each of these people too is the OJC. We are only as good as our ability to support and encourage our strongest members and our weakest ones. The way that Rabbi Scheff and I envision our roles at the OJC is that we meet the needs of the greater community through meeting the needs of each individual. We want to know you.

You don’t have to have a problem to call. Maybe you just want to have a talk with one of your rabbis about a Torah question or an insight into one of the holidays. Perhaps you have difficult questions about the nature of the human condition. We do not always have answers but we always listen. Sometimes that’s enough. Perhaps you will call one of us to have a cup of tea, a walk over to the park, or an extended conversation sitting in a quiet, empty sanctuary. We have one additional offer to be with you panim el panim, face to face. At the end of this summer into the early fall, we will be offering a unique way to prepare for the High Holy Days. Most of us do not neglect our annual checkups with our doctor, optometrist and dentist. (Well, maybe I do tend to avoid the dentist…) Rabbi Scheff and I will be offering you an opportunity to meet with one of us for a Spiritual Checkup. We will ask you questions and listen with open hearts to help you ascertain the health of your soul! This is one more way that we hope to impress upon you the truth that we are never too busy for you! When we embrace the sanctuary full of two hundred and ninety of you, how much more meaningful it is when we look from face to face and feel that we know you. That’s what a community means to us.

Kol tuv, all the best,

Rabbi Paula Mack Drill