Rabbi Chaim Brovender greets participants and  guests at the Joseph Straus Rabbinical  Seminary’s Chag Hasemicha.

Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Brovender too complimented the young men, and charged them with a mission. “You are leaving the Beit Midrash for the Beit Knesset,” he told them, “exchanging the experience of intense Torah learning for one of many faces, many responsibilities and diverse demands. Your job is to successfully bring the message of the Beit Midrash out into the world at large.”

His words were echoed by OTS Chancellor Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. “The Beit Midrash is not only your home, but in a very real sense it is the perpetual home of the Jewish people, which has nurtured us throughout the generations,” he said. “Paradoxically, you must leave this spiritual, ethereal, intellectual environment in order to expose its beauty to all of Clal Yisrael. You must leave here, in order to make Torah relevant to the world.”

Rising to the Challenge: A New Kind of Community Rabbi for the Diaspora

The newly-ordained Straus Rabbis are enthusiastic about their mission and eager to make an impact. In addition to their years of intensive study, many of them also participated in OTS’s Amiel: Rabbi Emanuel Rackman Practical Rabbinics Program, which prepares rabbis and educators to serve in Jewish communities abroad. Over the past few years, across North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, dynamic Amiel alumni have been igniting a quiet revolution in Jewish identity.

“Each Jew is part of Am Yisrael, and every Jew is our brother,” says Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum, director of the Amiel program. “We are training a new kind of community rabbi who not only deals with formal religious life and issues, but also knows how to relate to community members and build the bridges that can lead them to Jewish knowledge and identity.”

“The list of placements for this year’s participants reads like a world atlas,” relates Birnbaum. “But no matter where in the world they are going, they are all ready to rise to their respective challenges.”

Straus-ordained Rabbi David Mason took on the mantle of community rabbi at south London’s Kingston Synagogue in August. “The pulpit rabbi’s role can be described as two sides of the same coin,” reveals the 30-year-old Edinburgh native. “On the one side, he should be steeped in Jewish knowledge and constantly strive to continue his learning. But on the other, he must always exude warmth and accessibility to his congregants. They need to know that the rabbi is always there and that he cares.” An alumnus of the London School of Economics, Mason is responsible for all synagogue activity, from prayer to education. And being no stranger to Jewish communal involvement - he met his wife, Elisheva, while working for the Lauder Foundation Jewish education program in Lodz, Poland - Mason also took on pastoral responsibilities as Chaplain for the local hospital and prison, where he will be putting into use some of the counseling skills he acquired from the Amiel program.

Mason’s colleague Yehuda Pushkin has already marked the end of one year in Germany, where his double role includes serving as both the Assistant Rabbi of Hamburg, and the rabbi of the city’s four surrounding communities. For Pushkin, returning to the Straus Rabbinical Seminary to officially receive his semicha certificate represented the closing of a complete circle. “Rabbi Brovender first inspired me to learn twelve years ago, in Russia,” he recalls. “At the time, I knew very little about Judaism, and Rabbi Brovender urged me to spend time in Israel.” One year turned into another, and eventually Pushkin’s thirst for knowledge led him to rabbinical studies. Now married to Nelly and the father of a little boy, the 29-year-old credits the Straus Seminary for giving him the knowledge and understanding he needed, and the Amiel program in particular for giving him the tools to teach others. “Rabbi Brovender enlightened me, motivated me, and set me on my way,” he says. “Now it’s my turn to give back some of what I’ve learned and, in turn, inspire others.”

Dublin-born David Rifkin, who spoke at the Straus ordination ceremony as the representative of all the newly-ordained rabbis, acknowledged that he and his peers faced difficult hurdles in their respective future positions around the world. “But with the skills we take from the Straus Seminary, we will overcome all obstacles and accomplish our goal of sharing the beauty and importance of the Torah,” he declared.

Rifkin, 36, was one of 10 participants in the Straus Seminary’s Yachad Program, dedicated to the promotion of Jewish unity and continuity within secular Israel. “In today’s Israeli society, a significant part of the population feels deeply alienated from its own cultural roots,” explains Yachad director Rabbi Chashi Freedman, “which has in turn led to a sense of resentment towards Judaism on the whole.” Funded by the Posen Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago/Unity Campaign, the Yachad program aims to impart to its participants the tools necessary to reverse this trend, by empowering the general Israeli population to repossess and reclaim their Jewish heritage on their own terms. “This includes the acquisition of Jewish knowledge, familiarization with Jewish history, experiencing the richness of Jewish culture, and the understanding of Judaism’s relevance to the challenges of modern life,” says Freedman. “The Yachad graduates will reveal Jewish culture to Israelis as interesting and exciting, as well as a source of pride, meaning and guidance.”

In September, Rifkin and his classmates will begin working toward this goal at Jewish Community Centers throughout Israel. “As Jewish Renewal Facilitators, they will strive to make Judaism accessible to all Israelis, strengthening their connection to their culture and heritage,” relates Eli Gur, Director of the Jewish Renewal Department at the Israeli Company of Community Centers. “The JCCs are the natural place to achieve this, since they are centrally located and non-political in nature,” asserts Gur. Through imaginative programs like “Kabbalat Shabbat,” “The Learning Community”, a Rosh Chodesh forum, Bar and Bat Mitzvah programs, or communal holiday celebrations, the Yachad alumni will help the JCC evolve into a place where individuals and families alike can forge their Jewish identity. “We have much confidence in the Yachad graduates,” says Gur, “and look forward to creating cohesive communities where Judaism is meaningful to everyone.”

In addition, Yachad graduates in the JCCs will be involved in burning social issues and stand at the forefront of social betterment and change. Freedman points out that Rabbi Israel Salanter, the leading voice of the mussar [religious ethics] movement of the 19th century used to say “A pious Jew is not one who worries about his fellow man's soul and his own stomach; a pious Jew worries about his own soul and his fellow man's stomach.” In keeping with this tradition, the Yachad program puts as much of an emphasis on the arena of social justice as on true spiritual practice, spending as much time visiting shelters and soup kitchens as on traditional leadership training.

“These young men are shining examples of what Judaism can be,” enthuses Rabbi Riskin. “By serving as spiritual facilitators for Israeli society at large, they will expose Israelis to all of the most positive elements that Jewish culture has to offer, and spark within them a deep respect for, understanding of and engagement with Jewish tradition. Through creative and innovative communal programming, Israeli families will be able to rediscover their Jewish traditions.”

At the age of 10, Rabbi Avi Mansura's family immigrated from Kansas City to Jerusalem. 20 years later, he is returning to his native land with his wife, Chani, and two sons of their own: Mansura has accepted the position of rabbi at the Bar Yochai Sephardic Minyan in Sunnyvale, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. "The shul is made up of about 100 families, characterized by a tremendous thirst for knowledge," and Mansura's main goal is to provide non-stop Jewish education classes for every age, level and background. "At the same time, many expatriate Israelis have made their home in the community, and I hope to introduce them to the beauty inherent in Judaism, which they unfortunately never experienced in Israel," relates Mansura. He and Chani feel confident and well-equipped for the tasks at hand. "And," he adds, "I know that we can count on Rabbi Birnbaum to continue to support and inspire us."

 

While serving as emissaries to Hungary five years ago, Canadian-born Rabbi Nathan Asmoucha and his wife, Kati resolved to dedicate their lives to the world Jewish community. "But when we returned to Israel," Asmoucha relates, "I realized that I lacked the practical tools necessary to really make an impact." So the 32-year-old father of three enrolled in the Amiel program, and in September, the family will pack their bags for Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where Asmoucha will be the local rabbi, educator and schochet. "It's a wonderfully warm, tight-knit community," says Asmoucha, "that is threatened with uncertainty, government irregularities and even violence. But we believe that communities in risky areas need and deserve Jewish leadership too." Pictured: Rabbi Asmoucha receives his certificate from Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Shlomo Amar at a graduation ceremony for the 41 young rabbis who completed the Amiel and Yachad programs this year.

 

Newly-ordained Michael Laitner receives his semicha certificate from David Falk Kollel head Rabbi Shuki Reich. The popular, longtime madrich of the Yeshivat Hamivtar Orot Lev overseas program, Laitner will be especially missed on campus once he takes up his new position at London's South Hampstead Synagogue.

 

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