.ללמוד מן העבר Learning from the past. .לחיות את ההווה Living the present. .לעבוד בשביל העתיד Working for the future. |
Someone asked me recently what it means to me to be a rabbi
... It is difficult to define. One of my teachers taught me that before being a rabbi, we must be Jews and before being Jews, we should be men - At that time I never met a woman rabbi. What an ambitious program! A rabbi prays, sings, meditates, remains silent and shakes in awe. A rabbi looks serious and reserved, but plays with children of all ages. A rabbi is confident, but also doubts. A rabbi dives into the texts and runs away to cry and laugh. A rabbi is engulfed by misfortunes but keeps aflote pulling others out of the water. A rabbi rejoices with those who are happy without forgetting the suffering of others. It's never the same and it is always the same. Go and see why one decides to become a rabbi. I am still asking myself this question. And yet I am a rabbi, and I am loving it! |
Professional Experience
If you desire more information about Rabbi Gendra's rabbinical experience please checkout his complete resume available online.
- Rabbi, Temple Beth Shalom, Mechanicsburg, PA July 2006 - Present
- Rabbi, Congregation T´chyia, Detroit, MI September 2005 – June 2006
- Rabbi, Temple B´nei Israel, Burlington, NJ September 2002 - June 2006
If you desire more information about Rabbi Gendra's rabbinical experience please checkout his complete resume available online.
Spiritual direction
Our contemporary life styles challenge us to look for deep real connection with others and with that something larger than us. We might experience this during services at the synagogue or at certain moments when we seem to be tuned to those type of connections, but when caught in traffic or at the supermarket, how can we remain tuned to? What are the specific circumstances in which we find ourselves?
Discerning means to grasp these connections in our lives, not in a abstract theoretical live, rather in a live embodied in a culture. This experience is “mystical” and therefore is meforash, indescribable.
If you want to learn more about Spiritual direction and how to find a spiritual companion please check Spiritual Directors International website
R. Gendra has experience as a directee and as a spiritual companion in Jewish and inter-faith settings. He is a member of Spritual Directors International and he is available for spiritual guidance. If interested please keep in touch.
Discerning means to grasp these connections in our lives, not in a abstract theoretical live, rather in a live embodied in a culture. This experience is “mystical” and therefore is meforash, indescribable.
If you want to learn more about Spiritual direction and how to find a spiritual companion please check Spiritual Directors International website
R. Gendra has experience as a directee and as a spiritual companion in Jewish and inter-faith settings. He is a member of Spritual Directors International and he is available for spiritual guidance. If interested please keep in touch.
Jewish belief
To be a Jew in that sense is to be imbued with a Jewish consciousness that reaches down into the secret places of the unconscious
– Mordecai Kaplan
As Jews, we have a legacy of faith. It was faith that gave life to our ancestors. If we can stand here today, it is through the strong and personal faith of preceding generations. However, our faith is often threatened. We are surrounded by many factors that seem to conspire against it: the deafening noise of a world that does not let us listen to that still, small voice; the voracious stress of daily life that does not leave us a second for reflection and meditation; our inevitable quest for material well-being that often makes us forget that humans do not live on bread alone.
Faith is not our steadfast, secure possession. In fact, we could lose it any time. There are moments when we doubt and when we lack of hope. To have faith is, therefore, an adventure, a pilgrimage and a fight.
I want my rabbinate not be a mere subscription to an intellectual current or to a well-designed philosophy but to serve others, to be open to the mystery, in awe and reverence.
To be a Jew in that sense is to be imbued with a Jewish consciousness that reaches down into the secret places of the unconscious
– Mordecai Kaplan
As Jews, we have a legacy of faith. It was faith that gave life to our ancestors. If we can stand here today, it is through the strong and personal faith of preceding generations. However, our faith is often threatened. We are surrounded by many factors that seem to conspire against it: the deafening noise of a world that does not let us listen to that still, small voice; the voracious stress of daily life that does not leave us a second for reflection and meditation; our inevitable quest for material well-being that often makes us forget that humans do not live on bread alone.
Faith is not our steadfast, secure possession. In fact, we could lose it any time. There are moments when we doubt and when we lack of hope. To have faith is, therefore, an adventure, a pilgrimage and a fight.
I want my rabbinate not be a mere subscription to an intellectual current or to a well-designed philosophy but to serve others, to be open to the mystery, in awe and reverence.
