This coming May will mark 13 years since my ordination as a Rabbi at The Jewish Theological Seminary. I keep thinking it is like becoming a Bar Mitzvah all over again, and I find myself constantly repeating a mantra that I share with Bar and Bat Mitzvah youngsters almost every Shabbat: “This is the beginning… not the end!”

It is an ironic comparison because just like a Bar or Bat Mitzvah feels he/she has worked so hard in preparing to be able to chant The Haftarah or to read from The Torah, I also feel that these first 13 years since I became a Rabbi have been nothing more than intense preparation for what is yet to come.

Today I find myself reflecting on this because I just officiated over a very special wedding in Providence, RI. When I was a student at The Seminary, I moonlighted as The Youth Director and Hebrew High school teacher at The Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City. I worked there for five years and during that period of time, I met many wonderful and, at the same time, very interesting people. Sixteen years have passed since I first started working there, and I still keep in touch with some of my students.

This past Saturday night I had the privilege of standing under The Huppah with one of them and his bride. By now I have been present at hundreds of weddings. Every wedding is beautiful and wonderful in its own right, but last night was tremendously special for me. I had never officiated at a wedding of one of my students and for a brief instant I felt that I played an important part in his life, in making sure that he made it to The Huppah and married a Jewish woman.

When I recite Birkat Eirusin (the first of the blessings under The Huppah), I always feel a tremendous sense of joy for the bride and groom but this time I had tears in my eyes. Thirteen years ago when I set out on this incredible journey of The Rabbinate, I had many questions; one of those questions was without a doubt if I would ever be able to impact someone’s life in a beautiful way. Last night that question was indeed answered for me.

Before my very eyes the boy who took my Talmud class, the boy whom I helped so many times deliver food to the homeless at The Port Authority in New York City, the boy who shared stories of his growing up with me — that boy became a man! At the same time, the dream of him one day becoming the future of our people had materialized into a reality. His parents jubilant, his in-laws joyous and his wife with love, trust and kindness — they all embraced this moment not only as a gift from God but also the promise of the new dreams that are yet to come.

I learned something tremendously important; never underestimate the positive influence you can have in other people’s lives. Never take for granted the moments of learning, growth and amazement! When your journey seems to have taken a detour to the world of trivial issues, disappointment and despair — look back at the things, the moments and the blessings that you have shared with others because those moments will bring you back to the center of the trail that you were supposed to follow. In this case my Rabbinate, which has been an unbelievable experience until now, just became an even more awe inspiring journey.

Share on Facebook

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 15th, 2009 at 1:20 pm and is filed under religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.