Clergy Sermons

Despite having a daughter to loves fashion, I don’t think it has ever made it into a sermon. There is always a first time! Here is a shirt that my brother-in-law Dan bought me - and one for Mimi as well to celebrate sabbatical. (show shirt). The front shows furrows of earth – waiting for seeds and new growth.  The back is places we plan to visit – although the list continues to grow. Sometimes fashion tells the whole story!

 I am so grateful that this community has blessed me – and I also believe you – the community – with this opportunity for me (and other CBJ clergy at different times) to take a sabbatical. ;I know that very few people are able afforded this type of opportunity and I feel particularly moved and grateful to have this chance. I believe our congregation will benefit as well. New ideas will lift up from you in my absence that will make us better. Staff and congregants will step into new roles. New talent will emerge. As partners in making this synagogue thrive, you will be highlighted.

While I am looking forward to my sabbatical a great deal, I will miss you. I will miss this role which fills my soul. I know that works both ways – and that you will miss me. Leave-taking is bittersweet. Your heart-felt support and at this moment touch me.

Our religion has such incredible wisdom about sabbatical. The concept of sabbatical is rooted in the Bible (Lev. 25:2-5, p. 738) We sow and harvest 6 years, and in the seventh year “the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath of the Lord; you shall now sow your field or prune your vineyard...it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.”

We are not told why sabbatical is commanded – it is hinted at with the explanation “the land is God’s” – but what does that mean? This lack of clarity opens doors to exploring possible explanations. Rashi suggests that the land needs a chance to rest. As a man who raised grapes, he may have observed what we now understand scientifically – that land in fact does get depleted of nutrients as we continue to plant and harvest over the years and needs to rejuvenate. That is the essence of a professional sabbatical.

Like the land, we get depleted and must rest and rejuvenate. I must confess that the last 10 years of constant, intense crisis in the world - which of course plays out in our community, coupled with the daily demands of the job have left me in need of rest, renewal and recalibration. It isn’t just me – ask any clergy who serve community, and you’ll hear stories of feeling worn down. I know many of you feel the same. COVID, October 7, polarization, antisemitism, fear, a sense of loneliness as we wonder who our allies are and who we can rely upon, feeling powerless in the face of important issues at times feel like too much. We have walked together through these times – adapting, pivoting, checking in as best we can. It has not been easy – but we have demonstrated that we are resilient and strong. The power of coming together have defined recent years. Part of my going on sabbatical is knowing that we have the resources with me not present to continue to thrive. It is your wisdom of how we can be there for one another that I and other leaders turned to, and your Hineni that helped us navigate difficult circumstance. ;You will continue to create a thriving community. 

We will succeed because we stay focused on our North Stars – our connections, mitzvah, spirituality, love, history, wisdom, hope and vision. Rooted in our beautiful Jewish values you will continue in my absence to create meaningful, deep Jewish identities for yourselves and help others join you on their own paths. I will use sabbatical to rest and be open to whatever might emerge. I hope to more deeply connect to areas that bring my Jewish soul joy and meaning that I have not had a chance to visit recently – literature, mysticism, cosmology, meditation, awe, new ritual understandings and texts waiting to be re-opened. I know this learning and these practices will help me go to wherever I might need to go spiritually. I will visit places with Mimi I have not been to and open my heart to all they offer. Traveling with Mimi is one of the greatest joys of my life. When I return, as a community, we will weave together our wisdom and the result will be beautiful.

Past sabbaticals, I have been able to focus on health and well-being, building on the understanding of sabbatical being about restoration of the land. This sabbatical I hope to continue to study wellness and longevity and deepen my healthy habits so that well-being continues to grow. Once again, my wisdom and habits I hope to return with, will weave together with the wisdom I receive from you - and we will continue to build a community that instills care for body and spirit. 

In teaching about the sabbatical year, Maimonides reflects on the connections that it creates between people. Everyone has access to the fields and there is enough for everyone. Barriers break down, judgement and categories are re-thought as we interact with one another.This interpretation brings several aspects of our community North Stars together that I know will continue to thrive and go to new heights while I am gone. We will continue to invest in caring for our neighbors - gift drives, serving meals, Tzedakah are pieces of what make this community special. We thrive through the work YOU do. I love the vision of everyone crossing paths in the biblical field. Staying connected to CBJ and the broader community is a piece of the magic at CBJ that you have partnered with me to create. We will continue the work of staying connected across the political divides and amidst intense divergent opinions not by avoiding tough conversations - but by living with respect and curiosity as we pursue the moral paths our tradition calls upon us to follow – even if it disagrees with activisms others are pulled to follow. As a community, we will reject the flagrant disregard for truth and decency that plague our country and continue to create with courage that which our country desperately needs – connection. On sabbatical, I will study more deeply what might continue to pull us together. We are living at a time when the foundation of our country is being threatened. Amidst this fragility, we will claim our voice of activism, moral clarity and connections.

Another explanation of sabbatical that touches me is that it teaches humility. The land is not ours – ownership breeds arrogance and insularity. The land belongs to God and is subject to God’s law – and that law says not to touch it for a year. Sabbatical reminds us of God. For all that my life revolves around living each day and moment as I understand God to have taught – that deep sense of feeling Divine Presence and hearing that still, small voice in my soul guides me. This is something I want to deepen. I want to listen more deeply, to appreciate more intensely, to reflect more mindfully on the Divine who I know is here – yet Who I often lose sight of. Rest, recalibration, travel, study, fresh perspectives, friendship will bring me to awareness of Divine for which my soul yearns. I know those insights that I hope to be open to will inform our future learning and allow all of us to continue to grow in faith and connection.

For all that sabbatical in the Torah has universal applications – the need for rest, the power of connecting with people from different walks of live – it is also particular. Sabbatical laws only apply in the land of Israel. For us, the land of Israel has a holiness that connects our souls to that land. I ask you to deepen the work of our connection to the land. That does mean we have to support government decisions. It means we create a Zionism rooted in love of and connection to the land. Join in our efforts to create Adam V’Adama, a series of high school programs where young Israelis create the pioneering spirit of building agricultural communities that defined the founding spirit of Israel. These young people will help rebuild the Gaza envelope and provide needed food and young leadership. We will get to know them. They will visit here and hopefully we will visit there. Our high school students will talk with these students by Zoom and those connections will make Israel real in ways different than the political animus which defines so much of our community engagement there. 

Sabbatical is a time to reflect on dreams. This morning’s portion is about Joseph and dreams.At first his dreams are ego-centric – gaining power and being worshipped by family – who certainly resent being told of these dreams. Modern commentator Avivah Zornberg sees him as an adolescent “behaving with the narcissism of youth, with a dangerous unawareness of the feelings of others.” But life matures him. He learns to listen to others’ dreams – rather than just focus on himself. His amazing gift of interpreting the wine bearer, the baker and Pharoah’s dreams came from his ability to carefully analyze each detail. He weaves into his interpretations what might be. Sabbatical is a time for me to dream – both as your Rabbi, and for me just as Nat – a person not defined solely by being a rabbi.

When you look at the circumstances and interpretations carefully, Joseph foretells the capacity to move from suffering to restoration or change. When Joseph interprets Pharoah’s dreams, it is with an eye towards saving humanity from world-wide famine. Dreams are meant to envision creating for a greater good. Together, we can dream together about what might be - what will create an amazing Jewish community for us, and our children. As a rabbi, crisis leadership has stood in the way of visionary leadership. I know I want to continue to imagine what might be and ask this community to explore these questions in my absence: How do we create a community relevant and vibrant for all ages? Sabbatical allow dreams germinate and when I return, we will reflect on how those dreams can grow in fertile soil. 

My confidence in our capacity to dream comes from the amazing talent of professional, board and lay leadership in this community. We dream. We experiment. We listen. We adopt. We celebrate the old and the new.Take a look at these furrows of earth on this shirt. Picture the beautiful produce that will grow for all of us because of this sabbatical. Know that a piece of what grows comes from you. Another piece comes from the love we share. Know that as I leave on sabbatical, I feel your love deepen and it inspires and sustains me. May this sabbatical yield beautiful harvest for all of us.