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| The Shalom Hartman Institute's Beit Midrash |
Being recruited for the Hartman Religious Leadership Initiative fellowship program four years ago was one of those special moments in my rabbinate (eclipsed only when my teacher, Rabbi Donniel Hartman handed me my diploma). I can remember walking by the Hartman Institute in the late 90's one Shabbat afternoon while on an Israel Bonds Rabbinic and dreaming about studying at the Machon (the "Institute"). I had read every book that Rabbi David Hartman, z"l, had written and the thought of studying with him in his Beit Midrash was always a dream. Dreams really do come true. A decade later I found myself studying with Rabbi Hartman, one of the great Jewish thinkers of the 20th Century, with his son Rabbi Donnie Hartman, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute, and with the Machon's other remarkable scholars.
The RLI fellowship was without a doubt the most intense and transformative academic experience I have had. Like any top-tier postgraduate or post-doctoral program RLI pushed me and my colleagues to explore and think about Jewish ideas in a deeper and more expansive way, and to aspire to an even higher sense of purpose. Not long ago I was pessimistic and intimidated by what lay ahead for me as Jewish religious leader. Hit hard by an economic crisis, divided by our views related to Israel and Zionism, confronted by a new generation of American Jews who think about their connections with and ties to the Jewish community in radically different ways, I feared we were in a downward spiral and about to crash. As a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Hartman Institute I now feel better equipped to respond to the many systemic and existential challenges we face as our community rapidly changes and evolves. My RLI experience has fundamentally changed both my perspective and approach. I now see these developments not as threats to our Jewish survival, but as opportunities for our Jewish future, one that can be shaped by our notion of Jewish peoplehood, a reorientation from a crisis narrative to a values narrative, and a rededication to the pursuit of a respectful and pluralistic Jewish communal discourse.
While I may have graduated from my RLI program I intend to continue to study and remain connected with the Hartman Institute. Participating in RLI reminded me of how quickly a Rabbis' intellectual, emotional and spiritual tank can become empty if it isn't replenished by serious and substantive study of Torah. So I will continue to make my summer (albeit shorter) pilgrimages to Jerusalem so that I participate in the Machon's Rabbi Torah Seminar ("an annual 10-day study program that enriches rabbis of all denominations and nurtures their capacity to inspire their communities, excite them by the Jewish tradition, and motivate them in their quest for meaning."). And as a member of the Hartman Institute's Rabbinic Advisory Board I will have the opportunity to work with 18 other rabbinic colleagues to advise the Machon in developing innovative and creative educational programs for the Rabbis who study at the Institute. The Shalom Hartman Institute is "my field of dreams."
