Today I got the chance to do an informational interview with Rabbi Spilker. It was a very good opportunity to learn more about becoming a rabbi, being and rabbi and getting to know him a little bit better. Naturally the first question I ask him was how he became interested in becoming a rabbi. He described how it all started at age 14 when he started to attend his synagogue and wanted to be connected to the community. Than he went to college for premed and began talking a few religion classes, which led him to visit Israel where he became more connected to his Judaism. Also that first year, his rabbi took him out to lunch and said he should consider becoming a rabbi. He said he responded by laughing. Shortly after this he dropped his premed and became taking more religion classes and wanted to now become a professor. After graduating from Duke University, Rabbi Spilker attended Hebrew Union College in New York. At Hebrew Union he took the opportunity to go on a trip throughout Europe with Cantor Spilker. During this trip, he realized that he should become a rabbi because it incorporated all the things he loved to do.
Next I asked Rabbi Spilker what he particularly liked about his daily work. He had a few responses. First he said he liked how everyday was different. Another aspect he liked was being involved in people's lives during pivotal moments and seeing the differences you make in people's lives. Lastly he mentioned a few perks like studying and traveling to Israel.
Another question I asked him was what kind of advice could he give me as I am considering becoming a rabbi. His response was to go on a Hebrew Union College weekend and to expose myself to other types of Judaism. He also said to journey through Judaism yourself along with helping others.
I asked Rabbi Spilker a few more questions but I think that these were the most important questions.
Later today I ate at the Purim dinner. During the dinner, I sat by a few adults that I had just met. They asked me questions the typical questions how old am I, where am I going to school next year, etc. Than I talked about how I am mentoring the rabbis and they thought that was wonderful. Next we started talking about the differences between the Reform and Orthodox Movement. This one woman's response about Reform Judaism for her really sticks out in my mind. She was talking abou how for Orthodox Jews Judaism is the completely immersed in their everyday life; they breath Judaism everyday where as Reform Jews do not. I think this is true for some Reform Jews but certainly not for me. Now here's the kicker. She said the Reform Judaism for her is a HOBBY. I had never heard of practicing a religion as a hobby. Did she really think Judaism was just a way to keep her busy and some activity that could do when you felt like it? I was shocked. This statement offended me because Judaism is such a big part of my life. I believe Jewish people should have a desire and a love to practice their Judaism and not think of it as something to do.
After that conversation, I ushered before the spiel. This years theme was Morddy Potter and the Book of Potions. The characters were One who can-tor be named (Cantor Spilker) , Morddy Potter (Rabbi Spilker), EstherHermione (Rabbi Adler) and King Dor Vador (Amy Gavel). Some cute props they used were torah commentary for the book of potions, tallit for the invisibility cloak, grover for dolby the house elf and yads as the wands. Overall it was pretty good.
Tonight I also got to connect with the woman in charge of leading daily services. I was very excited to hear that I could come anytime to experience a service and can lead whenever I feel comfortable.
Well that was my mentoring experience for the day. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. I am glad it is getting better for me than it was before. In the beginning I was having trouble connecting with a woman who would have been helpful but she kept cancelling on me. I have decided to not go to her since she can not seem to take me seriously. That is all.
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