The Heart at Fifteen Years

The Heart at Fifteen Years
Rabbi Lisa Rubin

Thank you. What a special night. It is so fitting that I get to share this milestone with so many of you who have chosen Judaism. This is my favorite Shabbat of the year. Since I stood here last March, 134 of you chose Judaism. 134 New Jews. We are all the honorees this evening.

All 134 of you are the heart of tonight–you are the very purpose for which the Center was created. Simply put, there would be no role for me, no Center–without you. You have chosen Judaism at a tender and vulnerable moment for our community. Our gratitude for your courage and conviction knows no bounds. You have chosen Judaism for your own beautiful reasons, and we have delighted in embracing you. We are strengthened by who you are and all you bring. Thank you to your families for sharing you with us. We are overjoyed to welcome you and count you among many alumni present tonight.

As we discuss in our classes, the Torah never disappoints in its relevance and applicability to the current moment. We enter the story tonight at the end of the book of Exodus, when the Israelites are still building the first sanctuary in the wilderness. And the heart of this sanctuary will be the altar on which sacrifices will be offered to God. We read that Moses erects this altar and immediately starts sacrificing. Only afterward does he call for the courtyard and walls to be built around it.

The commentators are puzzled–why would he set up the inside of the sanctuary– the heart– before building the structure around it ? The eleventh century rabbi, Rashi, says, “What, is it customary to furnish the house before you’ve finished building it?”

But that’s exactly how we built the Center for Exploring Judaism. In 2010, I started here with a freelance contract: no office, no budget, no staff. But when people who weren’t Jewish called the synagogue, I’d invite them to our “Center,” and soon enough we had the heart. Five students interested in Judaism. Like Moses, perhaps we intuited that if the heart was in place, the structure would inevitably follow. To this day–you the students–are the heart. To build around you, in response to you, because of you–has been the greatest joy of my career. Your narratives have been the soundtrack of my professional life for 15 years.

Reflecting back, as anniversaries prompt us to do, I see why this was my destined path.

The work of welcoming and inclusivity is part of who I am. I was raised in Sandy Springs, Georgia and no one does hospitality as well as American southerners. Anytime a new family moved into the neighborhood, my mom would send me over to the house with homemade brownies. Inevitably, I’d be invited in and hear the story of the newcomers. I’ve always been a story collector. To this day, I have an eye on who might be new in the room with a story to share.

And, I know my own story. In 20th century Austria and Poland, my grandparents miraculously survived the Nazis. Judaism almost didn’t make it to my generation. And so I harbor a healthy interest in Jewish continuity and guaranteeing a Jewish future.

Further, one of the profound aspects of Jewish study is that it allows us to time travel. By inserting myself into ancient conversations, I learned that I’m one in a very long line of rabbis who believes that openness is a part of Judaism’s core mission. These rabbis who came before me believed the teachings of Judaism can edify anyone and the borders of our community are not fixed. I find myself at home in their ideology and see myself taking the baton that has been passed through the millennia.

I dreamt of being a teacher since I was a little girl, and when I became a rabbi, the time was right for this project. The intermarriage rate then was 60%--an amazing opportunity to welcome all those newcomers! There was no institution in New York City doing this work in the way I felt it could be done and I saw this gap in the marketplace as an invitation.

Nothing happens at Central Synagogue in a vacuum. Our successes are shared successes. I feel enormous gratitude, then, to the leadership and supporters of Central Synagogue. Lay leaders, fellow clergy and teachers, administrators, donors: Year after year, you supported my vision, trusted my leadership, and helped me shape the Center in every way. My longevity here is a testament to you and all of your guiding hands. I know about myself that I need plenty of autonomy and entrepreneurial space. You all gave that to me, and here we are, 15 years in, changing the landscape of liberal Judaism together. Thank you to the team at Central.

I also need to thank my wonderful husband and children for their patience with my career. I know it’s not always easy. And my parents–you raised me to love books and learning, you sent me to Jewish summer camp and to study in Israel in high school, you both modeled kindness and service to others and you were my first teachers. I’m so grateful to share my professional successes with you.

For all of us, may we always be inspired by each other’s stories and may we as a community go from strength to strength.

Aliyah Introduction

For our Torah reading this evening, we will hear chanted Exodus 39: vs 1-3.

We are so blessed to have a stellar team guiding all our students. For the aliyah, I’d like to first call up my partners in the Center for Exploring Judaism: Rachel LaQuercia, Michal Nachmany, Rabbi Darcie Crystal, Rabbi April Davis, and Rabbi Sivan Rotholz.

And now, to honor their entrance into our community, I ask all our new Jews who are in the sanctuary to join us on the bima for their first Aliyah. Please come up. For those livestreaming, we feel your presence and invite you to join us in the blessings from wherever you are.