Crazy Idea, or Is It?

[wrenb]

Last week I was at the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial convention. I had a wonderful time attending workshops, concerts, a play, and praying a whole lot (and, a.n.ers, meeting Karen for dinner and photos). In addition to the ideas I've got for improving my committee work, I've come home with a crazy idea percolating in my brain

Comments

[ukelele]

I think you'd love it. You gravitated toward the "everyone's mom" role in college. And you have logistical/organizational skills as well, which are useful in that sort of leadership capacity. (And I don't really see you being a secretary forever, either.)

Shy is a problem, but it can be overcome (look at what I've been doing, and for all I'm not shy around geeks, believe me, I am around normal people).

As you say, there are things you'd need to learn (maybe including self-care since overcoming shyness and shouldering a lot of people's problems is exhausting, though I don't know how you already are on the self-care front). But as you also say, you wouldn't want to implement this plan for a few years yet, so you have tons of time to explore and improve your skills -- learn more Hebrew, volunteer in a variety of roles at the synagogue, talk to some rabbis about pursuing this path, keep going to conventions, etc.

[clarkger]

I think it's a great idea. One of our congregations here (believe it or not, my old Yankee town in Connecticut has several different flavors of synagogue!) has a part-time woman rabbi who came to the clergy as a second career. Now her kids are older so she is working more, but she was pretty much eased into her study and work while her kids were small.

Are there options for lay ministry? Something you could start doing relatively soon?

[wrenb]

Are there options for lay ministry? Something you could start doing relatively soon?

Once a month we have a small lay-led service, and I'm in the rotation to do that. Drew plays the guitar and I lead. I also read Torah for that service about 4-6 times a year. I'm up again in January. But that's the extent of what I know I can do now.

If this idea remains exciting for a month I should go talk to the rabbi and see what else I can do. And get back onto the Religious Practices committee.

[onelargecat]

I think it's a great idea.

[lissie930]

Well, IANAJ, but it seems like it might be a great fit for you, and the thing that stands out most to me is that your excitement comes through the page here.

Am I dreaming far beyond my abilities and talents?

No such thing! Sounds like it at least would make sense to start information-gathering about the process!

[torrilin]

Well, not having voice training is not the end of the world for cantoring. See, you're in an area where you can get decent voice training. That *matters* for pretty much any sort of religious ministry, because voice training helps with public speaking as well as with public singing.

And well, if being a rabbi is something you feel drawn to, you should go for it. Not everyone has a vocation for religious service, but it's awful to have one and not live it.

[ukelele]

I want to second this (as someone who was basically tone deaf, fixed that with 10 years of viola lessons, was too chicken to join a choir for years, then at last discovered she had a decent voice and finally got some lessons...).

Having decent sound quality, you're born with or you're not. But listening to others, controlling what you have, even your range -- all of that is trainable. And most of what it takes to train it is listening closely to other singers and to people who know more than you do, and trying to imitate/obey. And you can learn a *huge* amount that way, and yes, it also helps a lot with public speaking (been there, done that, is my life, never get sore throats, have filled large rooms without a mic and without shouting).

[wrenb]

Vocal training I have. I sang in choirs between 8 and 18 with an additional semester in college. I did forensics for 6 years. I blew people away with my bat mitzvah speech, and could easily have done it without a mic.

But the program at HUC expects a cantor to have college-level musical education. While I enjoy singing, my joy and experience has always been at a decidedly amateur level. I've tried in the past to learn piano and guitar, but I've never had much skill. I'm more of a voice & tambourine kind of girl. :)

[torrilin]

*nod* The second instrument part of a BA in music is the hard part for a lot of people. I know why they require it, understand and agree completely, and... it's what kept me from going for a BA in music. I'm just enough of a classic dumb soprano that any instrument other than voice makes me crazy (and just enough *not* a dumb one that I can read music pretty competently). Tho, percussion like tambourine still counts as a second instrument ;).

I do get sore throats still sometimes, and I can't do without a mic... think it goes along with the structural stuff that resulted in me being a straight up soprano despite being tall and with a large chest cavity.