A Rabbi Must Be For All Congregants

President Joe Biden has been outspoken in saying that he intends to be the president of all Americans, those who voted for him and those who didn’t.

Similarly, rabbis need to be rabbis to all their congregants. However, based on the criticisms of the rabbis who wrote letters of support for Elliot Broidy and others, it needs saying how the role of a rabbi is different from that of a congregant, or even a politician.

Rabbis are not there to sit in judgement of their congregants. They are there to meet them wherever they are and to use their knowledge of tradition, scripture, Jewish law and their knowledge of humanity to educate, inform and inspire them.

Just as a rabbi is called upon to hospital rooms and funerals, to bris(es), naming ceremonies and bnei mitzvahs, they are also called to their congregants should they be in prison, no matter the crime. They are the rabbi to both congregants who divorce. They are not there to choose sides (although the congregants may).

In all this, a rabbi is something of an optimist. They believe the best is possible even in the worst of situations, even in the worst of people or the worst circumstances they may find themselves in. It is as Simon Wiesenthal once said, “A Jew who believes in miracles is, based on history, a realist.”

A rabbi is called upon to write letters to schools and colleges but also to Judges and even to parole boards. They are not writing to certify a person’s goodness, but rather to attest that repentance, recovery and change are possible.

RABBIS ARE NOT WRITING TO CERTIFY A PERSON’S GOODNESS, BUT RATHER TO ATTEST THAT REPENTANCE, RECOVERY AND CHANGE ARE POSSIBLE.

A rabbi does not give absolution and is not there to give anyone a pass. But rabbis know that we are but human and that despite our mistakes, our failings and our wrongdoings, we are made in the image of a God who not only sees the good in us but also sees that we can be good.

People want their rabbis to take political stands, to publicly call out bad behavior, to lead action for social change and social good. They all do so in greater or lesser amounts, but their obligation is not to elected officials, to political causes or even to specific social change. A rabbi’s obligation is to each and every congregant, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with their politics or even their actions.

Like every Jew, rabbis are commanded to repair the world and follow the commandments, but they do so as individuals. In their capacity as rabbis, they are our spiritual leaders and our officiants leading services and ceremonies. They are there to teach us, inspire us, to enhance our spiritual journey and how we experience life — but, in the end, not to judge us. Rather, as optimists, they are there to comfort us and to demonstrate their own belief that we can be better people and better Jews.

Tom Teicholz is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author in Los Angeles.