Rabbi Ahud Sela Rabbi Ahud Sela had his life planned out. He was going to graduate from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in biochemistry and work as a scientist. But in the winter of his senior year, his life suddenly ground to a halt: He was diagnosed with cancer.
“The physical toll was one thing, but the mental and emotional toll was another,” he said.
His first reaction was, understandably, why did bad things happen to good people?
“I didn’t have a good answer,” he said. “I sought help from a number of different people I talked to, like the Hillel rabbi in Santa Barbara and an Episcopalian priest.”
The latter was the mother of one of his high school classmates who had died of cancer during their sophomore year. Even though Sela, who grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, wasn’t particularly close with his classmate, he visited her in the hospital, writing notes to her up until two days before she died.
“To this day, I’m not sure what possessed me to write this, but I wrote her one note about how difficult it must be to have cancer and how if I could trade places with her, I would,” he said. “I didn’t know what it meant at the time. I thought I could take a turn and deal with the cancer for a little bit to give her a break because I was young and strong.”
When he was in his freshman year in college and studying in Israel, Sela decided he’d call the priest on the yahrzeit of her daughter’s death. At the time, the priest was dealing with a crisis in faith. She’d talked to her own priest about how she was praying for a sign from God so that she wouldn’t lose her connection with her daughter. However, the sign wasn’t coming.
“She then told her priest that a classmate who wasn’t so close with her daughter had called her from Israel,” he said. “Her priest said, ‘Hold on. You got a call in the middle of the night from the holy city of Jerusalem from someone who wasn’t even close to your daughter because he was thinking of her? You wanted a sign from God? That’s a sign.’”
Sela and the Episcopalian priest stayed in touch, and when he got sick, he reached out to her for help.
“She was a wonderful pastor for me when I was going through treatment for seven months,” he said. “When I was set to go back to college, she asked me what the experience meant for me. I said I thought I wanted to be a scientist, but I didn’t know if I was cut out for the lifestyle. She asked me if I thought about becoming a rabbi because she knew how committed I was to my Jewish identity. That’s when it first came to mind for me.”
Sela would go on to study and receive his rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York while earning his Master’s in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania. He then served as assistant rabbi at Sinai Temple under Rabbi David Wolpe before starting in his current position as rabbi of Temple Ramat Zion in Northridge in 2010.
While he was interviewing for the job, Sela was once again faced with his own mortality. At 33, he learned he had heart disease. This time, however, it was challenging in a different way since he was a husband to Alisha and a father to Yael, Gavi and Eitan at this point.
“It was much scarier because I had people who were dependent on me,” he said. “But I made it through and I’m healthy again, thank God.”
He wrote [in his book] that being sick “helped clarify for me what direction my life should take, but only with the help of other people, my angels in the shadow of death.”
In 2019, he wrote a book about his near-death experiences called, “Seeing Angels in the Shadow of Death: A Rabbi’s Journey Through Illness and Health.” He wrote that being sick “helped clarify for me what direction my life should take, but only with the help of other people, my angels in the shadow of death. They helped show me the light when all I saw was darkness. And now I try to be an angel myself, to help those who feel like they are living in death’s dark shadow.”
In his work, Sela finds it rewarding to help his congregants and community members who are struggling as well. One thing that he learned was how important it is to meet people on their level.
“I was very offended when someone said, ‘This will be a wonderful experience for you’ when I was first diagnosed,” he said. “I can’t assume that anyone will have a certain reaction or that there is one right away to react. I try to help them figure out what they need in that moment. It’s about compassion and love and care. I try to help them create some meaning out of this and a path forward.”
Along with working with congregants in a pastoral capacity, Sela enjoys teaching and giving people pride in their Jewish identity. To open their eyes to something in Jewish life they’ve never experienced is immensely gratifying.
“I love seeing the joy on someone’s face when they find that connection,” he said. “I can’t believe people pay me to help give them purpose and meaning and connection. It’s such a joy to be able to have that as my life’s work.” n
Fast Takes With Ahud Sela
Jewish Journal: What do you like best about living in Granada Hills?
Ahud Sela: It feels like a neighborhood. We like to walk to places, like our local Menchie’s for a frozen yogurt.
JJ: What’s your favorite Jewish food?
AS: Matzo ball soup.
JJ: What TV show are you binging right now?
AS: I just finished “Medici,” which is an interesting look at the Medici family in the 1400s in Florence.
JJ: Do you miss autumn in New England?
AS: I only miss the changing of the leaves. When I go back to visit my parents, I try to visit in November or May.
JJ: If you could have a vacation home anywhere, where would it be and why?
AS: An island off the coast of Israel so I could easily get to Israel. I’d like a nice Mediterranean getaway. And in Santa Barbara, where I went to college and met my wife.
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