The New Rabbi of the 21st Century

Mon, 02/11/2013 - 10:49am

Below is a brief excerpt from an interesting column in the Huffington Post by Rabbi Jason Miller, a member of the Rabbinic Cabinet of The Jewish Federations of North America. We encourage you to read the full version there.

I'm currently taking part in a Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) Rabbinic Cabinet Mission to Ukraine and Israel, and writing this blog post on a plane headed from Kiev to Tel Aviv along with a few dozen of my colleagues from the multitude of denominations. One thing I've noticed on this mission is that when rabbis meet each other for the first time, in general, they no longer ask each other, "Which congregation do you lead?" Rather, the question is something along the lines of, "Where are you from and what do you do?" Rabbis today are exploring much different rabbinic paths of leadership than in previous generations. Growing up I always thought the role of the rabbi was solely in a synagogue. All of the rabbinic role models I had as a child were pulpit rabbis. Today, much has changed and the majority of rabbis do not work in congregations.

Talented rabbis are working in day schools, Jewish Community Centers, camping agencies, communal organizations, college campus institutions and philanthropic foundations. They are also cobbling together two and three part-time jobs in ways never imagined in previous generations. Several entrepreneurial rabbis are taking a page out of the Chabad emissary playbook and founding new congregations and small prayer communities where there is a need. While not an easy task, these rabbis are finding the "start-up" experience to be exhilarating, significant and spiritually fulfilling. Rabbis are also freelancing their skills more often. As the number of Jewish families and singles unaffiliated with a congregation rises, there is an increased need for rabbis to perform life-cycle leadership roles. With the growth of the Internet, it has become easy for people to identify rabbis to officiate at a baby naming ceremony, wedding, funeral or unveiling.

[Read the full column by Rabbi Miller on HuffPo]