Maintaining a Learner's Mindset

Lately, I’ve been playing a game of comparisons. My old place in Cincinnati had lilac bushes by the front door. Now my new block in Astoria smells of roses, owing to the talented gardeners who grow all varieties of colors and scents in their tiny patches of front yard. Both homes offer surprisingly wide slices of sky. I’ll admit, I never expected to see so much sky when I moved to New York, but Astoria continues to prove me wrong. Like a tourist, I find myself looking up as I walk. In Cincinnati, decent sushi was a half hour car ride away; here, I can have rolls at my door in twenty minutes. But I haven’t found anything here to rival the fried chicken they make at The Eagle in Over-the-Rhine.

These comparisons are the way in which I measure, in manageable ways, the great changes that have taken place in my life. Last month, I was a student at Hebrew Union College, and the Cincinnati campus was my sacred ground. Now, I begin work as the newest rabbi on staff at Central Synagogue in Manhattan. There will be spaces there—the iconic sanctuary, a new office with my name on the door—that I will soon consider my new stomping grounds. 

The transition from student to leader is one I am still grappling with. I have had the immense privilege for five years to be cared for and cultivated by some of the Reform Movement’s greatest minds. These teachers and mentors have shared their knowledge generously and taken the responsibility to shape my generation of rabbis. My duty over those five years was to be receptive and learn everything I could. The five years spent learning at the feet of these great chachamim (sages) have been the greatest of my life to date.

But now, a month into my rabbinate, my duty has changed. It is my turn now to take responsibility and to lead generously, to share the knowledge that has been shared with me. I have a new community to minister to and to teach. In addition to serving Central Synagogue on the bimah, I now also serve on the North American Board of WRJ, and I am learning my responsibilities to our Movement. In the span of one month, I’ve gone from student to teacher, yet I’ll need to maintain a learner’s mindset so I don’t hit a stopping point in my growth as a rabbi.

It is a responsibility and a transition that excites me and, if I’m being honest, scares me a little bit. It’s far easier to accept the new flowers on my block and new takeout choices than the change that has taken place inside of me, one I can’t quite quantify yet. But even in new surroundings, I remain surrounded by the support of the Jewish people and those who wish for our collective success. No matter where I am or where I go, I can still look up at the endless expanse of sky and feel that the possibilities are limitless.