I am very excited to share that I have been selected to be a member of the fourth cohort of the Rukin Rabbinic Fellowship, an 18-month, one-of-a-kind learning opportunity created and sponsored by 18Doors. I am sharing with you today the announcement from 18 Doors about the 4th cohort and the goals of the fellowship. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send me an email so we can talk!
18Doors is an entry point to Jewish life for interfaith couples and families, and a catalyst for connection. 18 Doors cultivate belonging and inclusion in Jewish spaces for people in interfaith relationships.
18Doors meets people “where they’re at”—based on the recognition that there’s no “one size fits all” approach to anyone on their personal journey or to any couple on their journey together. Check out 18Doors to learn more about our different pathways, from parents, families, couples and grandparents to professional development opportunities.
The Fellowship is an opportunity for a small group of rabbis who desire to be more comfortable and more skilled in working with people in interfaith relationships to come together to explore a wide array of topics related to interfaith issues.
The Goals of the Fellowship are:
- To increase the Fellows’ sensitive and skillful engagement of interfaith couples and families
- For Fellows to be part of a community of practice where they can comfortably share and learn together and ask questions
- For Fellows to learn about/be exposed to a wide variety of topics and experts relating to interfaith couples and families, enabling them to develop a deeper understanding of the lives and experiences of interfaith couples and families
- For Fellows to critically consider their own personal assumptions and biases when it comes to interfaith couples and families.
The Fellowship will push the Fellows to challenge their own boundaries and assumptions regarding interfaith couples and families. Note that it is NOT a goal of the Fellowship for Fellows to necessarily change their views on particular issues or what they’ll do as a rabbi (though this has often happened with Fellows), but rather to encourage the Fellows to be thoughtful and open minded and to be aware of and sensitive to the fact that there are many ways of viewing and doing things.
As a Rukin Rabbinic Fellow, I will learn alongside other rabbis to increase my knowledge of interfaith inclusion issues. Here’s what I’ll be taking part in:
- An in-person retreat from Sunday, October 15 to Wednesday, October 18, 2023
- Monthly webinars with experts in the field and related fields
- Small monthly discussion groups with other Fellows on a variety of topics to be selected by me, based on my situation and my interest
- Monthly chavruta with another Fellow
- A Capstone Project that I will select
- A closing retreat in March 2025
- Once I have completed the Fellowship, I’ll become part of a growing Fellowship alumni community that includes rabbis throughout North America
I’m part of a diverse cohort of 27 rabbis. The Fellows are from 20 different Metro Areas in the United States, and one is from Toronto.
The Fellows in my cohort were ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion (NY); AJU Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies; Hebrew College; Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; Jewish Theological Seminary; and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
By participating in the Fellowship, I will continually be exploring how to best serve people in interfaith relationships in a way that is authentic to my personal understanding of Judaism, my rabbinate and the community that I’m a part of. I will be exposed to a variety of experts on issues related to interfaith relationships and I’ll be challenged to evaluate my own opinions and policies. My colleagues in my cohort, and the 18Doors staff who work with the Fellowship, will serve as thought partners, not just for 18 months, but after I complete the Fellowship as well.