A Chapter Ends, a New One Begins

Dear Temple Emanuel Community,

After much meditation and discussion with my family, I have made the decision to leave Temple Emanuel as a member of your clergy team, as of June 30, 2011.

This decision was not made lightly, and it's not easy to condense months of thought process into an email!  I want you to know that we plan to stay connected to Temple Emanuel, are planning to stay in the area, and hope our paths continue to cross.  (I write more extensively about the spiritual process that led to this decision in the upcoming June issue of Temple Topics.)

You helped me learn what it means to be a rabbi. Temple Emanuel has been my home and community for four years, first, as your rabbinic intern, and then as your rabbi after I was ordained in 2009. I am deeply touched by how warmly you have welcomed both my family and me into your homes and your hearts, in times of celebration and times of sadness. 

Whether leading you in prayer from the bima, sitting next to you in the community, greeting you at the door, working on the Purim Carnival or chavurot, welcoming you as new members, or getting to know those of you who have been here forever  - I appreciate every single occasion I have had to learn with you, and from you.

This decision was informed by the spiritual belief that I must listen to the call in my heart; the still small voice that has led to every significant leap I have ever made. When I made the choice to enter rabbinical school at the age of 47, it was because I believed that as a rabbi, I would be able to make a difference in the whirlwind of changes sweeping Jewish life.  As a "girl from Skokie Illinois" who had returned to Judaism as an adult, I had discovered the wisdom I had searched for my whole life in my own back yard!  I wanted to spend the rest of my life devoted to bringing others closer to what I had found in Jewish texts and practice, and helping reinvigorate Jewish life.

It was and is my deepest hope and interest to work with people on their Jewish spiritual journeys, and helping people find their own place in Jewish life that feels authentic and real every day.

My participation in the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, for the last four years, has profoundly impacted me and helped sharpen my focus on what I want my rabbinate to be all about:  mindfulness and the Jewish practices that help us slow down and reflect deeply, text study, especially the Jewish mystical and Hasidic texts that help us deepen our inner lives, and a serious exploration of how we need to reformulate aspects of Judaism that have become alienating to many people.

I hope you will join me on June 10 during the Shabbat Unplugged service, as I receive a blessing from my fellow clergy as I go on my way.

I am overwhelmingly grateful to you for the opportunity you have given me to serve you as your rabbi. And I look forward to sharing with you the next steps in my journey.

Rabbi Jill Zimmerman
RabbiZimmerman@tebh.org or jillbz@me.com