Monday, March 1, 2010

#WhatRabbisDo

A while back I said I would start an infrequent feature called "What I do" - which is a tiny little insight into the life of a rabbi.  Then I started the hashtag #whatrabbisdo on Twitter, which offers insight into so many things that rabbis do, mundane and spiritual both!

Last week, a group of 6th graders from the local Catholic school came into the synagogue for a tour and discussion with The Rabbi. I showed them around and answered all of their questions, which seemed random but interesting: "what do you wear for your Mass?" "Can you get married?" "Why do Jewish people want to live in Israel if that's where Jesus lived?"

You get the idea.

I answered question after question, in no apparent order but they sat still for nearly an hour as I talked about all sorts of things from ritual garb to holidays to food to politics and history.

Today I got two envelopes stuffed full of thank you notes from the kids. Most were very simple - thanks for teaching us about Judasim.

I did, however, have two favorites:

Dear Rabbi Sommer,
Thank you for teaching us about Judaism. It was cool. You are really smart.
Thank you!
From,
W.T.

Thank you for all of those questions you answered. You answered them very accurately and clearly.
Sincerely,
C.F.

Aren't you glad to know that I answered all the questions accurately?


Me too.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great idea for an occasional column!!!

Aren't those Q and A sessions the best?!?

Robin said...

That is a riot, well done you accurate-answering rabbi you.

PS My kids don't meekly line up for photos either - I force them ;-).

Jew Wishes said...

LOL. Children are priceless in their comments.

Unknown said...

Great story...way cuter when those questions come from sixth graders than college students.

I wanted to thank you for starting the #whatrabbisdo hashtatg. I use it regularly and love reading it, but didn't know the b'shem omro. So thank you.

Minnesota Mamaleh said...

oh, i love this! the topic is great and the kids' notes are priceless! in reality, how *are* they supposed to know if you're smart if they don't have a chance to ask some questions, right? :) a rabbi once told me that a student of another faith was interviewing him about chanukah. first question? what do you do for christmas? priceless!

Anonymous said...

Great ones!