Personal Statement

If the world was crazy, you know what I’d do? I’d read the Torah in English and translate to Hebrew, I’d teach kids literature and make adults finger paint, I’d have Shabbat in pajamas and meetings where we ate. When I met somebody, I’d smile and say “go,” But when I walked away — I’d yell out “hello!” And the greatest congregants would be goofy and sing like Patrick Swayze. So I would not be a cookie cutter rabbi.. If the world was crazy.

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My life has been defined by moments where I stepped outside the box. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” At the age of six, I told my parents I would be going to a Jewish summer camp instead of asking. I defined how Judaism would fit into my life through many summers at Greene Family Camp. This was the place where I decided I did not want my parents' Judaism. I spent third grade struggling with the story of creation not understanding how my classmates could believe the Torah was fact and coming up with my own creative interpretations to make sense of human existence. I was angry that no one would say anything other than G-d wrote the Torah so all of it must be one hundred percent accurate.

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I pushed the boundaries when I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Food Business Management from The Culinary Institute of America. My training as a chef has helped me look at the world from a distinctive lens. I will forever say that the best preparation for rabbinical school is culinary school. I have taken many lessons from my chefs and applied them to the rabbi I want to become.

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In my second year of rabbinical school, I explored uncharted territory as one of my professors, Dr. David Aaron, said “nothing in the Torah is factual history and I will help you reconstruct it to make sense of the text.” I was finally being given explicit permission to challenge my beliefs. This is the vision of the Reform Movement: to transform Judaism, not to get rid of tradition which is valuable, but to create an experience that everyone can find themselves in. Judaism should be colorful. At its core it is an expression of who we are as a people and as individuals.

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 My grandmother Helen Papell published over 200 poems on feminist Jewish topics. A letter she sent to me when I was in middle school said “Since I’m a “feminist Jew”- ask your mom and dad what that means- I write a lot of poems that include women in places in the Bible where they were left out or were regarded only as victims. Changing the meanings in the Bible is ok. And it’s part of our Jewish heritage to question and to change.” My grandmother gave me the confidence to follow that teaching and the passion and desire to spread that message. The Torah is not a document that is set in stone, it is meant to be studied and reinterpreted which we will do together. 

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We live in a crazy world and I believe there is a lot of good that can come from crazy. Being crazy is about experimenting and not being afraid to fail. I can’t promise you that all of our ideas will be great, but what I do know is the process is just as important as the finished product. I want to be on this journey of the rabbinate because there is beauty when we read ourselves into the Torah. There are sparks of joy when you let go of perfection and embrace your inner artist. With Judaism in our hearts and on our hands there is so much meaning to be made in our world. We have the power to light a fire within ourselves to redefine Judaism so it is not the religion of our ancestors but the culture of the present. Now it is time to challenge the status quo together as we embark on a journey of authenticity, confidence, and courage.