Hadran Alach, Temple Beth Or: A Farewell to “Texts” (Temple Beth Or)
Good texts change us. Their words and ideals stick in our minds; they challenge our expectations, forcing us to grow; they make us think differently about the world. So, it only makes sense that the Jewish tradition encourages us to recite special verbal formulae when we reach the conclusion of such formative experiences.
Most people in our community are probably familiar with the words we say after finishing a book of Torah: chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek, “be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened.” Perhaps less well known may be a parallel tradition for the Talmud—a set of words, called the hadran, one says after reading a tractate: “We shall return to you (‘hadran alach’), and you shall return to us. Our thoughts are with you, and your thoughts are with us. We will not forget you, and you will not forget us!” This prayer encapsulates the feeling that, though we have completed reading a section of Talmud, we are never really done with it. In other words: “yes, we’re moving on, but our thoughts will linger behind.” For especially excellent texts, how couldn’t that be the case? We are—and will forever remain—altered by our literary encounter.
Temple Beth Or is a lot like a great text. There is poetry in this community. We have depth to our relationships, rhythm to our seasons and celebrations, and profound, symbolic meaning contained within our words. As with a good text, Temple Beth Or pushes us to be better.
In that vein, it is with much sadness that I announce that I will soon be saying hadran about Temple Beth Or: At the end of June, I will step down as assistant rabbi in order to focus on new opportunities at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, as a member of HUC’s recruitment and admissions team.
My time as a member of this community has been an extraordinary blessing. I have now been at Temple Beth Or for five years—the same amount of time I spent studying in rabbinical school—and, in many ways, I feel I have become a rabbi just as much during my five years here as I did in my schooling. This congregation is an amazing place. We give children and adults alike a spiritual home and help them to cultivate their Jewish identities. We are the beneficiaries of the second-to-none leadership and support of Rabbi Chessin, someone I feel lucky to call a true mentor and friend. And we, as our mission statement envisions, are a “caring, welcoming, and inclusive Reform Jewish congregation that provides for the religious, educational, cultural, and social needs of its congregants and is responsive to the community-at-large.”
Though I know I’m nearing this “text’s” final words, and it is almost time for me to “set down the book,” as it were, there remains much for us all to learn together in the months to come, and I look forward to it all. I intend to savor the remainder of my time here—as the last years already have, these coming months undoubtedly will change me.
To paraphrase the hadran, know that my heart and mind shall surely return to you, and I could never forget the time I’ve been privileged to serve at Temple Beth Or. Thank you to everyone in the congregation for all you do. I am so proud to have been a part of this community!