Female Rabbis, Nazarties, and Priests - OH MY!

                It is official – women and Reform Jews can be recognized as Rabbis by the government of Israel.  This past week the Israeli Supreme Court has ruled to recognize Rabbi Miri Gold as the first female and first Reform rabbi to be recognized as the spiritual leader of a neighborhood community.  In Israel, neighborhoods can recognize a rabbi to be the spiritual leader in the area, and such rabbis’ salaries are paid by the State of Israel.  With the Attorney General’s acceptance of the Supreme Court decision, Rabbi Gold, who is the rabbi of Kibbutz Gezer, will be recognized and paid by the State of Israel at a rate equal to the over 4000 Orthodox Rabbis already recognized.  You can read more about this decision via the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, by clicking here or by reading Rabbi Gold’s own words here.  This has been quite a long road for Rabbi Gold, as I had the privilege of attending a Supreme Court session with some of my classmates in which the court heard Rabbi Gold's case and once again pushed the decision-making to a later date . . . and that was 2008!

It is appropriate that all of Rabbi Gold’s work and sacrifice paid off this of all weeks, as in our Torah portion, we learn about the biblical equivalent of achieving long-term, groundbreaking goals.  While Rabbi Gold had the support of IRAC (Israel Religious Action Center – the Reform Movement’s Israel advocacy branch) pushing the case through the venue of the Israeli court system in order to make her groundbreaking mark on our world, the Torah puts forth a system for change called the Nazarite vow.  One seeking to make a huge change would take this vow, dedicating oneself to the completion of the task and abstaining from shaving, alcohol (or any contact with grapes), and any other self-identified restrictions until the goal has been accomplished (See Numbers, Chapter 6).  In this biblical system, we learn that the Nazir, one who has taken such a vow, commits him or herself (the Torah makes clear that both men and women can enter into such vows) to their ultimate goal and continues to work towards it until completion. 

This Nazarite vow comes as a biblical lesson teaching that great achievement takes sacrifice and dedication.  However, the rabbis of Talmudic times and today recognize that one need not make a formal vow in order to commit oneself with the dedication and resolve shown by Rabbi Gold or shown by so many of us who sacrifice so much in order to achieve our own goals today.    

What I find interesting about this section of Torah is that the Nazarite vow is juxtaposed with one of the most famous blessings of our tradition – the Priestly Blessing – which comes just after the rules of the Nazarite vows.  Rather than seeking change and large accomplishment, this tripartite blessing challenges us to find favor and contentedness in what we are faced with in this world. 

May God bless you and protect you

May the face of God shine upon you and comfort you

May the presence of God be ever with you and grant you peace. (Numbers 6:22-24)

Perhaps this blessing comes on the heels of the Nazarite vow to warn us that we should not get so one-track minded in our pursuits as to miss the blessings that surround us.  Or perhaps it comes after the Nazarite section to remind us the importance of giving thanks for what we have achieved, once we accomplish our goals and can be freed of the vows, commitments, sacrifices, dedications we made to our large goals. 

                In living up to the blessings that complement our Nazarite rules, may we each do three things this weekend: 

1) May we spend this Shabbat taking a moment to be thankful of what we have, even in the midst of our dedication to larger goals.  It’s not fair of me to ask this of you without doing it myself, so I will start: I know I have a lot to give thanks for in our TBO community – thank you all for allowing me to have the time to spend these last few weeks with the great miracle in my family’s life, our newest daughter, Adaya Faye.  Your support and love has been a great source of strength in the middle of our long nights, and the ability to be at home, growing into our new family has made a world of difference to our lives.

     2) And in recognition of Rabbi Miri Gold’s achievement and the efforts of IRAC, Anat Hoffman, the head of IRAC , has asked that letters of thanks be sent to the Israeli government. You can do so by writing to Prime Minister Netanyahu to inform him of our appreciation that Rabbi Miri Gold is finally able to serve her congregation and community as an equal to members of the Orthodox rabbinate.

     3) Find someone to whom we can offer this wonderful blessing, reminding them to take a moment to allow themselves to BE blessed.

May God bless you and protect you.  May the face of God shine upon you and comfort you.  May the presence of God be with you and grant you peace.