“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but in the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it, and what they leave let the wild beasts eat. You shall do the same with your vineyards and your olive groves.”
—Exodus 23:10-11
The tradition of the sabbatical year dates all the way back to the time of our biblical ancestors. The idea of letting the land rest gave rise to the custom of a sabbatical for people so that they, too, could be renewed and refreshed.
Our custom at Stephen Wise Temple is to grant sabbatical time to clergy after 10 years of service. In 2022, you honored me on the completion of my first decade at Wise, originally as your Head of School and then as Senior Rabbi. Next week, right after we celebrate the festive holiday of Purim, I will begin the first half of my sabbatical. Jacqueline and I will spend some time in New York, where I will begin working on a book about a family Torah commentary that miraculously survived the Holocaust, selections of which I have shared with you over the years. We will also travel to Israel for its 75th birthday and then will spend time volunteering with an inspiring organization in Kenya.
I am grateful to the congregation for this opportunity for study and growth. When I return in May in time for our Wise Gala, I look forward to sharing some of what I will have experienced and learned. Approximately a year and a half after my return, I will take the second half of my leave.
In my absence, the leadership of our temple and schools will be in the hands of our outstanding clergy, education, and administrative teams, in loving partnership with our extraordinary lay leadership, led by our president Steve Bram and our devoted Board of Directors. Our team has my full confidence, and I am grateful to them for their hard work and dedication to our congregation, which allows me to take this time for personal growth and rejuvenation.
I have been blessed to call myself your rabbi for more than a decade. Serving this community is an extraordinary honor for which I remain deeply grateful.
I hope to see you in the coming days for Shabbat worship, Torah study, and our wonderful Purim celebration.
Shabbat shalom,
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