To all my dear friends,
I will be on my scheduled sabbatical from January 1 until March 31, so that is why you won’t see me around at TBS over the next three months. Although, I do expect to run into some of you around town! I wanted to share a little about what I hope to be doing, experiencing, and learning over these next three months, as well as how you can follow along with my journey. This sabbatical, the first I have ever had in my career, is one that will bring me both personal and professional growth. I will be working on a variety of different themed areas including: music and the arts, vocal development, reading enlightening books, traveling to some new and beloved places, personal growth in areas of health and fitness, and seeking out some adventures that I have yet to have the time to pursue.
We just returned from the URJ Biennial convention held in Chicago this past week. Every two years, thousands of members of the URJ descend upon this convention, and we experienced so many amazing moments of learning, prayer, enlightenment, and I was especially excited about all of the new music. I can’t wait to bring my experiences from the biennial forward in my plan to visit congregations in the area on Shabbat to experience their services in person, to gather new ideas and more new music, and ultimately share all of this with you. It is somewhat of an irony that we clergy as prayer leaders rarely get the opportunity to experience services at other congregations or in other worship spaces to open our eyes to new modes of prayer and service-leading. While these days, it is easy to watch a livestream of services around the country, nothing compares to the actual energy of being there in person.
I am looking forward to reading many books that have been sitting on my bookshelves to expand my mind to new horizons. I am eager to be with colleagues at the Palm Springs Mid-Winter Cantorial Conference to learn and network together. This conference is a dual Reform and Conservative gathering, so it enables me to make connections beyond our movement. While in Palm Springs, I also hope to catch a film or two at their international film festival. I will also be attending the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchandisers) music education days, to experience some workshops led by nationally recognized leaders and teachers. I am additionally excited about working with a local sound healer to study with her and learn about the principles of ancient sound healing and how I can incorporate this into my work.
I am perhaps most excited about a dream to travel to Bosnia to visit a family heirloom -- a Torah cover with my great-grandfather’s name on it. I will get to meet the members of the small Jewish community of Doboj and can’t wait to share all of the stories of my travels in Europe upon my return.
I have also left a considerable amount of time open to new adventures, some of which are still in the works, and I look forward to sharing many of these experiences right here on my Tropeful podcast website: www.tropeful.net
I hope to see many of you before I am on sabbatical. Let’s celebrate together at our pre-Chanukah service on Friday, Dec. 20th, and I will be at the chanukiah lightings in the Orange Circle on Dec. 22, 23, 26, 28, and 29, as well as at services through the end of the year. And, of course, I won’t miss out on eating a few pancakes with Brotherhood on Dec. 25th!
I am ever grateful to everyone at TBS for affording me this opportunity for personal and professional growth. I send my deep gratitude to my fellow staff and to temple volunteers who all are helping to cover for my absence and ensure that the needs of the temple and its programming continue uninterrupted.
Wishing you all a very Happy Hanukkah/Chanukkah/Chanukah/Januca ...
and everything good to come in 2020.