Zoe, it’s finally here! On Monday we’re flying to New York, and a week later, in a beautiful ceremony there surrounded by family and friends, I’ll officially become a rabbi.
It has taken five years of study, exams, interning, training and quashing imposter syndrome, and I’ve almost arrived.
It really is a surreal and amazing feeling and I am so proud. But I’ve recently been thinking about how I’m experiencing this exciting time in my life, while meanwhile, much of the world seems to be in a sad and awful place. How can I celebrate when so many people out there are suffering?
Where I’ve come to, is that I have to hold onto the good things that are happening in the world. Because there are lots of good trends. Global poverty and child mortality have dropped over the years. According to a recent study, 73% of people in the UK have friends of different faiths, which is true progress. And in my own very small corner of the world, more orthodox women are becoming rabbis.
Somewhere out there, there are girls looking at us women becoming rabbis, thinking “cool, maybe I want to do that one day”. Except they wouldn’t say the word “cool”. It would be “sick” or “slap” or that we’re “slaying”.
Whatever it is, that’s a really good thing that I can hold onto!
The Jewish theologian Tamar Ross talks about “cumulative revelation”, which is the idea that as history moves forwards, God shows us bit by bit what is true and right in the world. It’s a very optimistic approach, which sees things getting gradually clearer and better.
Yes, it’s easy to see all that is horrible in the world, and think that things are going progressively downhill, but we can also choose to see the things that are improving, and be part of making them even better.
My 93 year old grandma Shirley, said to me last week:
“Good luck darling - go sock it to them”.
I think that’s her generation’s version of “go and slay”. So for her, and for all the girls out there, I’ll give that my best shot.
Listen in full on the BBC Sounds website here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0hzcyf6
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