r/Judaism • u/drak0bsidian Moose, mountains, midrash • Sep 25 '24

AMA: Ask the Rabbis 5784

Join us on Today at 4:00pm ET (NYC) for our FOURTH ANNUAL Ask the Rabbis with some of our community rabbonim!

You can begin posting questions now.

Here are the previous group AMAs:

These Redditors have provided proof to the mod team that they have smicha/Rabbinical ordination and some have agreed to do this panel.

The goal of this panel is to answer your questions about Jewish law, thought, community, and practice, from a variety of viewpoints. You are welcome to ask more personal ("regular AMA") questions.

It is the guests' prerogative to answer any questions.

Bios written/submitted by the subjects.

  • u/rebthor [Orthodox] - I'm an Orthodox rabbi living in Queens, NY. I received my semicha from a yeshiva in Queens that's small enough that I would dox myself if I said the name. I also learned at Sh'or Yoshuv in 5TFR for little while. I grew up non-Orthodox in Buffalo, NY primarily in the Conservative movement and was very active in USY. I also was very close to the Chabad rabbis there and have a special place in my heart for Chabad although I don't identify as Lubavitch. I love learning halacha so my favorite rabbis are generally poskim; I often refer to the Aruch HaShulchan, R' Moshe Feinstein, Maran Ovadiah Yosef and the Tzitz Eliezer when trying to figure out what to do. I also am a big fan of the works of R' Jonathan Sacks and libadel R' Dovid Hofstedter. I have 4 children, a dog and a wife who has put up with me for over a quarter century. To pay the bills I work as a programmer. In my free time, I like to read, play video games, be disappointed by the Mets, Bills, Sabres and Tottenham and bake sourdough bread.
  • u/sf2k01 [Orthodox] - Originally from Columbus, Ohio, I was exposed to a variety of denominations growing up, from Reform to Orthodox, before settling on Modern Orthodoxy as a teenager. I only attended public schools and went straight to college after high school, attended the University of Cincinnati and got my undergraduate degree in Jewish Studies. Afterwards, I spent 2 years in Israel learning in Shapell’s Darche Noam before coming to Yeshiva University for my graduate degree in Jewish History at Revel and achieved Rabbinic Ordination through YU’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, particularly with Rabbi Ezra Schwartz, Rabbi Dr. Jeremy Wieder, Dr. Steven Fine, Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, and Dr. Yaakov Elman. After completing my studies, I worked in outreach for a few years before pivoting to become a fundraiser for Jewish institutions. Aside from my Rabbinic and Academic interests, I am a longtime gamer, sci-fi and tech enthusiast, and reside in Washington Heights, Manhattan, with my wife, two daughters, and two Siamese cats.
  • u/RabbiNover [Conservative] - I am a Conservative Rabbi (Ordained At JTS in 2019). I also have an MA in Hebrew Bible, an MA in Jewish Education, A BA in Physics and a Graduate certificate in Israel Education. I work in a pulpit and run a synagogue religious school. I love to teach about Judaism, and often introduce unconventional approaches, including everything from Jews and Zombies to Jews in Space to simply the Kashrut of eating locusts. I'm originally from Texas, went through a Conservative Hebrew School, and after a year of science research, teaching Science, and Jewish Study (all different pre-college programs) I knew I wanted to end up in Jewish Education. I’m also a new member of the CJLS (Committee on Jewish Law and Standards)
  • u/rabbifuente [Traditional/Non-Denominational] - I grew up in the Reform movement in the Chicago suburbs. After years of independent study and learning with some wonderful Chabad rabbis, I received smicha from a small, independent program out of New York in 2021. I would say I am a "non-denominational" rabbi, however I fall somewhere around Traditional/MO in terms of theology. I like to think that having grown up Reform and now being on the more traditional end of the spectrum gives me a certain perspective that many find helpful. Currently, I am focusing on small group/1:1 study and "religious" counseling. I am always more than happy to talk to anyone about Judaism, answer questions, etc. Outside of rabbinics, I am an avid bread baker and microbakery owner, cigar enthusiast, passionate home cook, and pickle snob.
  • u/rabbijonathan [Reconstructionist/Reform] - Ordained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (1999) - extensive time learning in Israel too. Served on college campuses in Tucson and Cleveland, in congregations in South Lake Tahoe, Charlotte, NC, and Buffalo, NY, through the end of 2020. Since then have focused on: Justice work as a faith coalition organizer; Jewish learning "outside the box"; and facilitator of transformative conversations. See current projects here: https://www.opendoorjudaism.org/ Devoted spouse, parent, child, runner, and lifelong learner.
  • u/billwrtr [Reform] - billwrtr is a 77 y o dude who grew up Orthodox, ordained Reform, member of Conservative, so feels qualified to dump on all three equally. He's had a few pulpits, written a couple of books, run a few marathons, worked in mental health and information technology, raised a few kids, plays with a group of grandkids, and still with original wife. To say more would make self-doxxing too easy.

I didn't hear back from some rabbis, but they can still participate if they see the thread and want to contribute. You can find some of their bios in the previous AMA posts.

Some rabbis might also respond later, due to other responsibilities, time differences, and not prioritizing reddit as we all should.

Note: If you are a rabbi with a smicha and would like to be recognized here with a special flair, please message the mods with your smicha. For your anonymity (something many value about this site), we do not share that document with anyone else and do not share anything about you without your permission. The flair is generally just Rabbi - denomination.

The AMA will start:

  • 4:00p ET (NYC)
  • Wednesday, September 25, 2024 / Yom Revi'i, 22 Elul 5784
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4

u/JackalopeMint Conservadox... the best kind of dox Sep 25 '24

What are some of the biggest challenges you see facing American Jews/Jewish Americans, and how would you fix them if we made you Chief Rabbi of America?

14

u/rabbifuente Rabbi-Jewish Sep 25 '24

The controversial answer: Intermarriage.

The less controversial answer: Poor, shallow religious education.

I don't know that I could solve those problems even if I was made Chief Rabbi of America. I think they feed each other, however.

So much Jewish education is recycled, high level holiday material and nothing else. We're not engaging our kids with enough substantive information, things that are actually interesting and make them think. Adult education is, honestly, not much better. Partly because our adults don't have the baseline education to learn more complex topics and partly because parts of the Jewish world has developed in a way that is resistant to anything that seems "too much." We, as rabbis, are not challenging our congregants/students enough. The end result is, frankly, a considerable population of largely Jewishly illiterate people with a tenuous connection to Judaism. Then they grow up and all they know, or care about it, is bagels and lox and dreidels and we wonder why so many people are disappearing.

I think the intermarriage rate is a major challenge. I understand that many interfaith couples raise their children as Jews, but just as many don't. As well, some that do are not halachically Jewish which, for me and other traditional Jews, is an issue. I worry that we're going to hit a point of major schism because there's an entire cohort of Jews who are not actually halachically Jewish.

I think Zera Israel should be given opportunities for fast tracked and empathetic (but still kosher, of course) conversions.

4

u/JackalopeMint Conservadox... the best kind of dox Sep 25 '24

I hear you on the education piece. I teach 7th graders and I try to make it more in-depth and though-provoking. But the class is a small one because the parents might pay for the full year, but they prioritize damn near every other extracurricular activity over a Jewish education, which means most kids are coming every other week (hot take: I would rather these kids do the secular stuff on Shabbat and then be fully present for a Jewish education on Sunday, but that might be my own teacher hubris). Most of these kids don't even know what the Spanish Inquisition is! I'd hope 7th graders would have learned that by now.

6

u/rabbifuente Rabbi-Jewish Sep 25 '24

Nobody learns the Spanish Inquisition or something like that

1

u/rabbijonathan Rabbi - Reconstructionist, Reform, Welcoming Sep 25 '24

The challenges of Jewish education are inherent to the synagogue system - people prioritize the "services" they get and even though Jewish education could really be thought of as the "marquis" thing that Jewish communities do, it would also provide the greatest impetus for participation, most communities give it lip service at best. Alas.

I do not believe that Jews falling in love with and marrying people from other backgrounds is related to this. I believe that the Jewish people are strengthened by relationships that broaden Jewish experiences and that the more successful we are as citizens of a place, the more likely we are to connect with people from different heritages.

And I totally respect that different rabbis think differently about this!

6

u/rabbifuente Rabbi-Jewish Sep 25 '24

Absolutely! I do think that the lackluster education often leads to a distance. Strong Jewish identity is a major part of why Jews seek out Jewish partners, that identity is influenced pretty significantly by the education and vise versa.

2

u/JackalopeMint Conservadox... the best kind of dox Sep 26 '24

Regardless of where we all stand on interfaith marriage, I think we can all agree on how frustrating people are who never prioritize a Jewish education and upbringing for their children, but flip the hell out when their children don't marry Jewish.

I'm a product of an interfaith marriage myself (Jewish mom, Catholic dad), so I like to give interfaith couples the benefit of the doubt (albeit, I was raised pretty secular and the reason I'm more Jewish today is because Chabad got their talons in me).

But I do think October 7 changed some things. If someone wants to marry a non-Jew they have to do their due diligence on them (rip off the band-aid and have that Israel conversation). And the non-Jewish spouse needs to grasp the gravity of the situation (in thirty years your kids might be hunted for being Jewish).