Change or stay the same (or both)!
Two and a half days with 42 Rabbis at a conference in Lancaster PA; learning tools to be a better community leader, get better at maintaining relationships and being a better rabbi. This is how my week started.
We learned about many new ideas and tools to reach our goal. Statistics and stories were shared to support the theories. And then it hit me.
We did not learn anything new. Of course we learnt about new techniques and concepts, but nothing REALLY new. As much as things change, they stay the same. But if you want to stay the same, you must change.
We read about this idea in this week’s Torah portion: Moses wrote their departures according to their journeys… and these were their journeys according to their departures.
Your innovative ideas, your "departures", need to be anchored in the past, in the traditions. It is ok to be innovative in Judaism, as long as it remains within the confines of the Torah. Simultaneously, Judaism is not static; the tradition in Judaism is to depart, to innovate.
To be a better leader, one needs to have anchors and then innovate how to inspire.
To be a better relationship builder, recognize your own self-worth and then share it with others (you are greater than you think you are!) in meaningful new ways.
To be a better Jew, recognize that the Torah is the foundation and build, innovate and inspire with your foundation as the catalyst.
What would you do to inspire others in Torah traditions?
Have a great Shabbos,
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman
