Dear all,
The photo above is from my very first student pulpit, Temple Beth Shalom in Ishpeming, Michigan, in 1993. When I got off the plane for my initial visit, the president of the congregation(the woman on the right) and her four-year-old daughter (the little girl in front of her) were there to greet me.
The daughter whispered something to her mother, who in turn began to laugh.
”What’s so funny?” I asked.”
”My daughter just questioned, ‘I didn’t know boys could be rabbis?!’
A little context: the student who had preceded me for two years in Ishpeming was a female colleague. For the president’s daughter, Rabbis were definitely not boys!
To this day, over 25 years later, I continue to smile when I recall the interaction. And it makes me realize that all of us, from the tiniest of tots to older adults, often draw conclusions based on personal exposure rather than a wide-angle lens.
I pray that recalling this moment in time: this SNAPSHOT in time, can inspire me to always widen my focus, challenge my assumptions, and expand my perspective. Moreover, I have a personal goal to prove that boys, indeed, can be rabbis after all!
With love and shalom,
Rabbi Zach Shapiro
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