This Rabbi - a Retirement Reflection - for the Temple Beth-El Las Cruces, NM July 2020 Adelante Newsletter

I have been thinking about

All of these years

As a rabbi.

They have not passed 

In the blink of an eye. 

Yet, I still can’t believe

That this journey 

As a congregational rabbi

Is coming to a close. 

With the unexpected flurry of activity

Which the pandemic 

Has added to this time of transition,

I feel fulfilled, and a bit exhausted

Gratified, and somewhat stressed

Satisfied, and sad that personal contact 

Has happened mainly on computer screens.

Every year has been different

One from another

In its specific challenges. 

Still, every year has featured 

The landmarks of the Jewish calendar

Shabbat, holidays

The repeating cycle of Religious School

Life events for members of all ages 

Programs clustered 

in the months of August through May

that included 

Study groups

Annual Meetings 

Jewish Food Festivals and other fundraisers

Community worship services and programs to mark Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King, Jr. day

Clergy gatherings 

And attendance at national conventions

Where i joined with rabbis and with colleagues in Jewish music and education

To learn, to absorb to grow.

There have been years putting forward 

the fruits of my personal expression 

in prose and in song 

Within the congregation and in the community.   

There are family photographs taken every year at Tashlich,   

The rabbi leading an enthusiastic congregation in his white robe on Sukkot and Simchat Torah and at Consecration and Confirmation services,  

And wearing a variety of hats while singing Purim songs before the Megillah reading or Purimspiel.

There were rabbinic and personal moments merged into one at weddings, birth ceremonies, bar/bat mitzvah services, Confirmation, and funerals.   

There were hellos, and goodbyes, and hellos.   

There were moments for speaking my mind and times when keeping silent was, sadly, necessary. 

There were people to meet, good people in the congregation and in communities,

Some becoming lifelong friends. 

There were encounters with governors, members of Congress, famous folksingers, noted authors, famous biblical scholar, the creator of Star Trek himself, and a future president. 

Moments of solemn remembrance, as well as collective protests against hatred, were turned into community gatherings to sing and share.

There were many episodes of challenge, too many, when alternative choices for behavior (whether on the part of others, or, admittedly, my own) could have changed an unfortunate outcome...or, perhaps not. 

Mainly, there were

Milestones celebrated, smiles shared

Harmonious voices joined in a unified chorus

Children and adults growing into themselves as Jews and as human beings

Values taught 

Lessons learned (sometimes the hard way)

Helping hands extended 

Love expressed, especially within and throughout the generations of my own family 

Communities built based on shared principles

And a hope 

That the foundations of all of these efforts

Will last for all those whose lives were touched 

And will persist and serve as seeds for renewal

In the heart and mind 

Of at least

This rabbi.