Letters
A rabbi’s job is to lead
In 2018, after NBA superstar Lebron James publicly criticized Donald Trump, Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham famously told him to “shut up and dribble.” The not-at-all subtle insinuation was that James had, as it were, stepped out of his lane, and should stick to what he was trained to do. He wasn’t trained to have a brain and think.
In his September 12 opinion piece titled “American Rabbis Need to Step Up and Love Israel,” Ari Berman essentially said the same thing to American rabbis. He suggested that they (“almost exclusively non-Orthodox rabbis”) “should focus on why they were ordained in the first place — to bring more Torah into the world and ensure the continuity of the Jewish people.” In other words, shut up, and (if you’ll pardon the mixed religious metaphor), preach the gospel about Israel.
There are many reasons to be offended by Mr. Berman’s tone, which was snarky and condescending from beginning to end. But as a rabbi with over 40 years experience in the Conservative rabbinate and a former president of the Rabbinical Assembly, what struck me most was his narrow understanding of what rabbis are trained to do, regardless of denomination. We are trained to be religious leaders, who interpret the world through the lens of Torah as we understand it, and transmit those lessons to those who look to us for guidance.
Throughout my rabbinate, there were certainly instances when my understanding of how a timeless Torah might see contemporary events did not sit well with all of my congregants. Fair enough. But I would consistently remind them that they had hired me to be a leader, and that being a leader would occasionally require me to say that which they were not necessarily anxious to hear. That was my job. Leadership requires courage, and the willingness to challenge even widely held opinions. Of course, on particularly difficult subjects like Israel, one needs to be exceedingly cautious about the way one shares opinions, so as not to contribute to what is surely a world all too ready to vilify Israel regardless of right or wrong. But to imply that any comment about Israel, even if offered in a loving context, is an offense against one’s rabbinate and the Jewish people is a harsh and foolish statement.
Mr. Berman is surely entitled to his view. But in the spirit of what he has written, he might have done better to write his opinion piece and place it in a drawer, where he could read it whenever he feels it necessary to enhance his sense of self.
Rabbi Gerald C. Skolnik
West Orange
Rabbi Emeritus
Forest Hills Jewish Center
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ari M. Berman, who wrote the opinion piece mentioned in this letter, is a lawyer who lives in West Caldwell. He is not Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, the president of Yeshiva University.
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