It is said in the Talmud that a rabbi should always have a job that is not being a rabbi, so that they do not compromise Torah for the sake of their livelihood. I am blessed to have an amazing job working as a social worker. I now get to be a rabbi “l’shem shmayim” which means “for the sake of heaven”. I am not paid to be a rabbi. I started Reform Judaism in Atlantic Canada, because when I arrived here, there was NO Reform community east of Montreal (my home congregation where I grew up) and because there was a need for one. What I am doing now I do as a volunteer, out of a sense of deep spiritual calling. As the commercial goes: I answer to a higher authority.
When I lived in the United States, there were times when, as a non-American, due to the profound immigration injustices I experienced, and a variety of intersectional challenges that contributed to my feeling forced to remain closeted as someone who identified as transgender and nonbinary, I was unable to speak out as I would have liked, on a variety of issues. For example, I remember being forced to work with Sisterhoods and Jewish women’s groups, which not only did not align with my personal gender identity, but actually caused profound harm by inadvertently contributing to the erasure of gender diversity. Institutions like brotherhoods and sisterhoods maintain false binary divides that reflect a non-Jewish/colonized understanding of gender that causes deep harm. It caused harm to me and to those I served and supported. For example, I recall a congregant who did not identify with the gender assigned at birth and, who sought to participate in the gendered socialization of our synagogue that more closely aligned with their identity. I tried to advocate for them but was silenced. This is just one of the many problematic things I observed in my time serving as a rabbi in American synagogues that had not yet worked at being as inclusive as they state they want to be. The truth is that the journey to inclusion is an unending one, and when people bring up concerns, we need to learn to be less defensive and more open to thinking about how they might hold new insights that could be beneficial to us. Sadly, we live in such a reactive and divisive world that this is rare.
I am therefore grateful for the opportunity to begin to dream of what a new approach to the rabbinate and to the creation of an inclusive Jewish community might look like. I am grateful for the opportunity to be emerging from my gender closet and unlearning so much of what our world has taught us is true, while also working to create a new approach to Judaism that seeks to fix some of the problems that I observed while working within synagogues that sometimes focused more on maintaining the buildings that housed their communities than supporting the people who sought refuge therein. I became a social worker in large part because I recognized that many of the issues that concerned me were related to larger structural issues in our colonized/unjust world.
When I arrived in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia), I was contacted repeatedly by the Atlantic Jewish Council and other Jewish community leaders who asked me for help because there was no progressive or Reform community, and there was a growing number of Jews who were being rejected by the existing synagogues. They asked me to perform life cycle events for people who were Jewish but did not fit into the narrow categories that more traditional Jewish communities defined as worthy of their services. I am a Reform Jew because I believe that gender should not impact one’s Judaism, and that who one loves should not be a reason to be excluded. Thanks to the Reform Jewish Community of Canada and a growing number of progressive Jews across Atlantic Canada, Reform Judaism in Atlantic Canada was born in 2022.
I do this all “l’shem shamayim” (as a volunteer), simply because there is no one else here to do it and the need seems so urgent. I became a rabbi to serve G!d and the Jewish people, and do what I can to make this world better. It is not a job but a deep calling that is healing me even as I seek to heal others, and this broken world we all share. Over the last year and a half, I have been deeply inspired by the numbers of people flooding my inbox and seeking to be connected to this new approach to Judaism, especially in a very rural part of the country. Over the last several weeks, these numbers have increased dramatically as people seek nuanced ways of dealing with an increasingly polarizing world.
All are welcome to join our growing community of progressive Jews and those who love them (we warmly welcome those in interfaith families or who are interested in getting more connected with Judaism!). We welcome all Jews and those seeking to live a more meaningful life as informed by Jewish principles: those who believe in G!d and those who don’t, those who love Israel and those who are critical of Israel, those who are traditionally observant and those who don’t believe in organized religion. We are committed to building an inclusive communities that is open to all, regardless of where one lives or how much money one has, or how much Hebrew one speaks… one that is intentionally welcoming to people of all abilities, genders and sexualities and embraces intersectional diversity by focusing on making our services and experiences as inclusive as possible (being virtual helps!). We welcome those seeking to learn more about Judaism and those who grew up with it! We welcome those who speak Hebrew and those who don’t. We embrace the Big Tent philosophy of Reform Judaism which celebrates racial equity, diversity and inclusion, and that believes that, more important than what you put into your mouth (aka do you keep kosher) is what comes out of your mouth (how do you treat people). We are grounded in the social justice ideals of the Hebrew prophets and emphasized by the founders of Reform Judaism, and we are informed by the spiritual principles of the neo-hasidic Jewish Renewal movement. We are also inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation work that is happening in Canada, to understand the importance of neurodecolonization, as a psychologically healing process.
The Chavurah Collective is a growing group composed of multiple communities that I support, all l’shem shamayim (as a volunteer) including Reform Judaism in Atlantic Canada: Decolonizing Judaism in Mi’kma’ki and Beyond, as well as Kol Israel of Kentucky, which is a Jewish Renewal community that just started during the pandemic. In addition, I am proud and grateful to support a few other emerging communities across Turtle Island (North America) and excited that the Reform movement has begun to look at what we are co-creating with interest as a possible new model for the progressive Jewish communities of the future.
In the midst of so much that is tragic in our world, I draw hope and strength from the ways that Judaism is reinventing itself. Every transition is tumultuous, and our world is changing so fast that it is hard to breathe. We can embrace the changes with hope and faith, ready to bring our voices and vision into the world that we want to see, or we can pull back and give up. Reform Judaism as well as Jewish Renewal are both denominations of Judaism that believe that the Judaism that we inherited must be brought to life in a new way if we want it to be lifegiving and healing. As our world begins to understand some devastating truths about how it is structured, it is necessary for these insights to be translated into the way we organize ourselves religiously and spiritually, so that we can go from surviving to thriving.
Many progressive Jews who feel disconnected from existing organized Jewish mainstream options are starting to come together to form new and inclusive communities where diversity is welcome and critical thinking is celebrated. We believe that compassion and authenticity are necessary components of a spiritual experience, and that it is time for a new approach to Judaism that can heal us and help us to create a community that will be lifegiving and focused on social justice, spirituality and empathy.
Chavurah is a Hebrew word that means community of friends. Groups of people are starting to gather, here in unceded Mi’kma’ki and across Turtle Island, joining together over a vegetarian or vegan Shabbat potluck dinner to stream my deconstructed approach to services. But, doing a group thing is not for everyone! Lots of people join us, sitting on their sofa or while walking in the park or by a beach… there is NO RIGHT WAY TO JEW… just be true to you, and then it will be exactly as it needs to be! If you are curious about how we are working to reinvent our faith experience in a way that is inclusive and progressive, you are invited to join us at one of our upcoming events.
Emerging Torah as Rabbi Nachshon emerges 