|
|
January 5, 2001/Tevet 17, 5761, Vol. 53, No.14
'Real' rabbis bring life to faith
RABBI JENNIFER KRAUSE
Special to Jewish News
What is a rabbi for? A participant in a class I was teaching raised this question two weeks ago.
In exquisite talmudic fashion, the question and ensuing dialogue had absolutely nothing to do with the day's topic. It grew out of a story shared by a participant about a time when she had been in crisis and had gone to her rabbi for guidance. She noted that, before that moment, it had never once occurred to her to seek out her rabbi in such a way. In her mind, this was not what rabbis were for.
"So," another woman in the class asked, "what is the rabbi for?"
"The rabbi is for religion," answered one with complete authority. Said another with an equal amount of certainty, "No, the rabbi is for life."
As a rabbi, this debate was of particular interest to me. It was also timely, as I had just seen a new movie called "You Can Count on Me." Not only was it one of the best-written and well-acted films I have seen recently, but it also included one of the most daring portrayals of a clergy member to reach the big or small screen.
Belying stereotypes, the priest in the movie was not portrayed as a belligerent watchman of the faith, nor was he a pious know-it-all ultimately exposed as a hypocrite through some lewd or lascivious act. And thankfully, he was not a straw man. This clergyman was a real person serving real people struggling with the meaning of their lives and the ever-changing landscape of faith.
This more nuanced depiction of religious leaders seems to be a trend. In "Keeping the Faith," a rabbi and a priest demonstrate through their own struggles that a religious life is messy and that its messiness is its power. In "The Third Miracle," we meet a Catholic priest on the verge of leaving the priesthood because he cannot believe in miracles, although it is his job to investigate them on behalf of the church.
Perhaps there is a direct correlation between the portrayal of spiritual leaders and society's general understanding of religion. When religion is seen as an entity outside of life, separate from it, the rabbi or priest remains shipwrecked on some faraway island of total irrelevance. Yet when we view religion as something inside of life, when we see it as a living, breathing, evolving organism with as many heartbeats as there are people, the clerical figures are also given the breath of real life.
We are living in a time of tremendous spiritual and religious opportunity, a time of openness and exploration, of renewed excitement and interest. As the priest in "You Can Count on Me" listens to one of the main characters in the movie confess to having had an affair with her married boss, he teaches that a religious life is not one minus the "life."
When the priest offers a question rather than a punishment, she asks, "Wasn't it better when the priest was a mean man who would yell at you and tell you that you're going to burn in hell?" The priest replies, "No." Without neutralizing the seriousness of her actions, he attempts to create a context in which she can engage in the work of cheshbon nefesh - an inventory of her soul meant to inspire her to do things differently, to live with awareness, insight and commitment.
The portrayal of the priest reminds us that people have about as much use for cardboard religious leaders as they do for cardboard religion. Rabbis, priests and all spiritual leaders must, in the end, be "for life" because religion without life is about as real as a movie.
Rabbi Jennifer Krause is a Senior Fellow at CLAL - The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership.
|
