New Rabbis ‘Thrown to Deep End’

By Shirley Stein for COLlive

Johannesburg’s Sydenham Shul recently concluded a successful first year of its new Rabbinic Internship Program, a new model for rabbinic training in South Africa which added significant value to its own congregational life.

Two senior Yeshiva students with quality Semicha certifications joined the largest Orthodox Shul in the city as Rabbinic Interns in January 2015, working with 800 member families and in a constant buzz of activity with non-stop programming.

Ordained Rabbis Yitzchok Schmukler and Chanoch Wineberg from Crown Heights and Johannesburg respectively, were recently feted at an inspiring and emotional farewell event by scores of their faithful adult students.

During their internship, the young rabbis were guided, mentored, and trained by the highly respected rabbis of the Shul, senior Shliach and master of the pulpit, Rabbi Yossy Goldman, and Rabbi Yehuda Stern, the young, dynamic Shliach who is actively developing the Shul’s Young Adult community.

They also assisted the full-time rabbis with their rabbinic overload, often conducting Mincha and Maariv services and giving short shiurim in between.

In addition, they had many opportunities to develop their public speaking skills and eventually grew in confidence and spoke from the pulpits in both Rabbi Goldman’s big Shul and in Rabbi Stern’s Shtibl Minyan.

The Rabbinic Internship model is no different to the very same idea that operates in the professions where young doctors will do internships, and young lawyers and accountants will do articles, explains Rabbi Goldman, author of the book “From Where I Stand.”

“Regrettably, this system has not been that widely used for rabbinic graduates throughout the Jewish world. As a result, we often hear complaints that young, novice rabbis are lacking a sense of professionalism in their work. Having Semicha and a beard are not really good enough for this sacred profession. Yes, we need Torah scholars who are people of faith and can inspire, but they also need, at least, a basic level of experience and professionalism to do the job properly.”

He points to the text in most traditional Semicha ordination diplomas reads inter alia: “…do hereby confer upon him Semicha Ordination and after training with an experienced Rav will he be worthy of becoming a Spiritual Leader and Rabbi for a Jewish community.”

Just as a practicing Rov and Halachic Posek need shimush, so does a Shliach and Congregational Rabbi need training and experience before assuming a communal position, he says. “Sadly, the fact is that very few Semicha graduates ever receive this practical, hands-on, experiential training. Most are simply “thrown in the deep end” and some will swim better than others.”

Rabbi Goldman said the Rabbinic Internships Programme offers a new model for enhancing the professionalism and preparedness of the rabbinate.

“There need be no more ‘on the job training,’ or trial and error (often with far too many errors). Young graduate rabbis will be mentored, guided and given valuable training and experience before assuming positions of their own. The Internship Program will prepare them for Shlichus in general and the rabbinic profession in particular and will help them immeasurably to better interact with their future communities.”

At Sydenham, Rabbis Yitzchok and Chanoch added enormous value in Mivtza Torah, teaching everything from Hebrew reading to Talmud, Philosophy and Chassidus.

“Not only did it increase the number of learning opportunities at the Shul but they were able to reach out and touch many people who, otherwise, would be reluctant to go to a Shiur,” Rabbi Goldman said. “Many people who are still somewhat hesitant to engage with veteran rabbis are more amenable to a younger ‘non-threatening’ rabbi.”

TOUCHING SOULS

In addition, Rabbis Yitzchok and Chanoch conducted a highly successful Mivtza Mezuzah. Many homes were visited, Mezuzahs checked, repaired and or replaced and re-affixed.

One couple, Dr. Vic and Denise Liebmann thanked the Shul for this service. They said “the young rabbis were charming, knowledgeable, approachable and friendly. They made us feel at home in our own home! We feel privileged to have met such outstanding human beings.”

Robert Cohen, a prominent Johannesburg attorney, only recently resolved to come regularly to the Sydenham Shul on Shabbos and was paired with Rabbi Yitzchok after feeling “quite lost.”

“He taught me that Judaism is not just talk but deed,” Cohen said. “He showed me how to put on Tefillin. I was so moved that I bought my own pair. I think it is absolutely wonderful that a young man from America, half my age, has been instrumental in guiding me home.”

Rabbi Chanoch made inroads with community members in a weekly setting. “We were a group of seven gentlemen who had decided to have a weekly shiur, but it was simply a talk shop with no spiritual residual benefit whatsoever,” says Dr. Ivor Blumenthal, a business and educational consultant.

“Once Rabbi Chanoch had taken over and every Tuesday evening sat with us on a structured program towards a very definite objective of learning, engaging and internalising, our lives changed,” Blumenthal says.

He says that the 2 unmarried interns “literally changed many of our lives setting us on a very different course to the one we would have been on without them.” Upon concluding their internship, a Skype Shiur was set up with Rabbi Chanoch sitting in New York to continue learning.

WIN/WIN

The Interns themselves were deeply grateful for this unique opportunity. They said they have grown immeasurably in experience, confidence, in understanding people and how best to relate to them. They were tremendously empowered during this unique year of Shlichus. The difference in their personal stature was significant and tangible.

“By being put in the position of having to be a source of inspiration, I gained in my own self-confidence and assertiveness, learning to take initiative, and was inspired in my own Yiddishkeit by teaching it to others,” said Yitzchok Schmukler.

“At the same time we were provided with excellent guidance from Rabbis Goldman and Stern. The single, biggest positive change for me personally was that after one year at Sydenham Shul I really felt confident that I could go on Shlichus and succeed. This is something that I hadn’t felt before and it was a major positive shift for me.”

Chanoch Wineberg noted that they were invited to the Annual South African Rabbinical Conference and to observe the Johannesburg Beis Din at work in Gittin, Shechita, and Kashrus. “It was extremely interesting and enlightening,” he said.

“Learning and sharing with people that have so much to give was a most amazing opportunity,” he added about working with Rabbis Goldman and Stern. “And the responsibility of having to maintain and grow the high standards of a successful, vibrant community coupled with the support systems to ensure our success gave me a feeling of confidence and competence in many areas.”

The Rabbinic Internship is a unique opportunity for a ‘Win/Win’ year of Shlichus for young men in their Post-Semicha and pre-Shidduch gap year, Rabbi Goldman says.

It will be most beneficial for young men looking to gain valuable experience in Shlichus and in Practical Rabbincs, including teaching, outreach, speaking from the pulpit, officiating at life’s milestone events at what was described by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks as “one of the great Synagogues of the English-speaking world.”

At the same time, it provides a chance to make a valuable spiritual contribution and to change the lives of many individuals looking to learn Torah and have a personal relationship with a young rabbinic teacher, he points out.

The new Rabbinic Intern Programme at Sydenham Shul will commence mid-January 2016 until after Simchas Torah 5777. Interested candidates should send an email with their experience and references to Rabbi Yossy Goldman at rabbi@sydshul.co.za or Rabbi Yehuda Stern at rabbistern@sydshul.co.za.