A Message from Rabbi Donni
When I was a child, I belonged to a congregation that was housed in a beautiful old building. We children would play hide and seek after services throughout the building, and turned the coat room into our clubhouse. At the time I did not realize how important this experience was to me. We were the congregation’s kids. We were like a village. Everyone took care of each other.
That is where it all began for me - my passion for being a rabbi and serving the Jewish community. I imagined from then on being a rabbi up on that bimah and leading my congregants down a path of Torah, Avodah and Gmilut Chasadim (Torah, Service, and Acts of Kindness.) And, of course, seeing each child like I was seen by the members - a child of the congregation. Nothing could replace that feeling of belonging or be more important to a child’s Jewish identity formation.
My career since those days has taken me many places. Though each experience was fulfilling, I yearned to be a Rabbi in a congregation, but the needs of my children precluded it. Now that I am an empty-nester though, I am excited that my time to serve a community is here.
We did not have the terminology at the time, but in my childhood congregation, we valued all our diverse members. Those who were interfaith, (which included my own family), those who were single parents, (which my mother was). Anyone who walked through our doors was welcome. These experiences brought me to Hebrew Union College and fueled my passion for learning up to this day. I am a lifelong learner; it is something that excites me, and I want to share it with others. In addition, I have a passion for Tikkun Olam and being spiritually connected in all I do.
My life experiences before my rabbinical studies and my work experiences after it both helped me to understand that the key to an integrated, mutually loved, and mutually supported Jewish community is a positive love of education and culture built on Jewish values and traditions. I love to lead songs and bring Judaism to life through music, especially to children. I love to take the Jewish journey with the children and their families. I remember the rabbis and cantors who did that for me in my childhood, and now I want to do that for other families.
My approach to Jewish prayer and education is a balance between loving and learning. So often in our religious schools we want to love our children to keep them close to us, but if we do not also emphasize the learning, our children grow up resenting what they do not know about the world through a Jewish lens when they face tough challenges on the college campus and beyond as adults. The acknowledgement of youth programming as a part of the cultural connection to Judaism, and as a tool to a positive and thriving Jewish identity, is also very important in my experience and I am pleased to see that it is embraced at MCJC as well.
Finally, I want to acknowledge the priority of compassion and the mitzvah of hanotein laya-eif ko-ach, giving strength to the weary, in my personal rabbinate. Living with depression has given me an understanding of, and empathy for, those who suffer both publicly and in silence. All of us are burdened in some way, and too often our communities neglect to go the extra step to truly see someone, to acknowledge their struggles, and help them carry their load. For me as a rabbi, that pastoral aspect is a central part of my rabbinic calling, whether it is helping a child with learning disabilities feel successful in their b’nai mitzvah studies, reassuring a hospital patient when they feel vulnerable, holding the hand of one in grief, or helping someone to find a reason to celebrate in their life when they cannot see one on their own. My rabbinate is built upon the value of presence in the life of other Jews, and supporting them when they need it as well as celebrating them when they want it. I hope that my return to congregational work will allow me to help a congregation like MCJC to continue to learn and love all who seek it from their community.
Shana Tovah!