Sabbatical Reflections from Rabbi Rachel
By: Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, The Kavana Cooperative
It feels great to be back, following a three-month sabbatical. I can feel the passage of time acutely right now: as I stepped out of the Kavana office in the spring, we were still counting the Omer, and as I re-enter now, the New Year of 5784 is just around the corner!
The modern concept of a workplace sabbatical is, of course, modeled after the biblical rules about letting land lie fallow for one year in every seven-year cycle. The idea of punctuating our time with periods of profound rest and rejuvenation is deeply Jewish.
Rabbi Rachel leading Shabbat in the Park event with the Kavana community, following her return from Sabbatical.
Photo credit: Meryl Schenker
This notion is baked into the Torah's creation story, into ideas about agriculture and the remission of debts, and into our calendar as we count days, weeks, and years. As Ezra Klein and Judith Shulevitz name so articulately in a beautiful podcast ("Sabbath and the Art of Rest" - I highly recommend a listen!), “implicit in the practice of the Sabbath is a stinging critique of the speed at which we live our lives, the ways we choose to spend our time, and how we think about the idea of rest itself.”
My sabbatical was designed carefully, with intention (kavana), and the time was indeed restorative for me on a personal level. I managed to pack a lot into three months, including one-on-one weekend trips away with each of my three children and quality time with friends and family members across the country. While my kids were otherwise occupied at their respective Jewish summer camps in June/July, my husband Noam and I traveled to Scandinavia, where we explored Stockholm's great museums and beautiful archipelago of islands, and enjoyed Copenhagen's canals and urban design with good friends. Throughout the three months, I also read books just for pleasure, visited Jewish communities/synagogues in other cities, and sought out great food and coffee everywhere I went. I had hoped that stepping out from my usual day-to-day rhythm would help me gain new perspective, recharge my batteries, and re-enter my work at Kavana feeling reinvigorated. Truly, I gained all of this and more, as I found that reconnecting with people from every chapter of my life helped me reconnect to parts of myself I had been missing. Mission accomplished!
According to the Durfee Foundation, “sabbaticals not only provide needed respite to nonprofit leaders, they increase organizational capacity, aid succession planning, and strengthen governance.” This line certainly feels relevant to my experience of the last three months, as well. My sabbatical had been approved by Kavana's board several years ago, but we waited until the timing felt right -- meaning, the crisis moment of Covid had passed, and we finally had the staffing in place -- to make it actually happen. I am deeply grateful to the board for championing this idea, and even more grateful to the entire Kavana staff for stepping up in my absence. In particular, I couldn't have taken this time off were it not for Rabbi Jay LeVine, who provided rabbinic coverage (for lifecycle events, pastoral needs, holiday programs and more!), and for Liz Thompson, our Director of Operations who took on interim Executive Director responsibilities (budgeting, development, working with the board, etc). As I re-integrate into the Kavana staff team, we will be distributing some responsibilities differently, which will boost professional development for our staff and ultimately benefit the greater Kavana community. Lastly, I want to note once again that I am grateful to R&R for their grant funding, supportive guidance, and for the work they do to promote the idea of sabbaticals in the Jewish nonprofit world. Their permission for each grantee "to rest, travel, reflect or renew in whatever manner they propose" felt incredibly supportive as I planned my time away.
I re-enter now ready to recommit to this work, to this community, and to the shared vision we've developed over the past 17 years, for how Kavana can support the building of Jewish community and the creation of meaningful Jewish life and positive Jewish identity. And, it's a good thing I'm feeling ready, because this is a very busy time to be re-entering the Kavana office!
This week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, talks about how the Israelites will enter into the promised land when they finally arrive. For them, their choices feel stark, with potential blessings and curses proclaimed loudly from two mountains as they pass between them. Re'eh reviews the terms of the covenant between God and the Israelites, rehashing all sorts of laws that will inform the society they will build together... the foods they can eat, the festivals they must observe, and even laws governing the remission of indentured servants every seven years (there's that sabbatical cycle again!). As the Israelites prepare to enter into the next phase of their collective life, they are instructed to pause and consciously reaffirm their prior commitment. This kind of intentional recommitment resonates so deeply this week, as I return from sabbatical and affirm my role in the Kavana community. I actively choose this work over again.
I know that it may take some time for me -- and for our staff and organization -- to continue to glean the fruits and lessons of this sabbatical time…and I look forward to continuing to share reflections with you over the coming months. Meanwhile, I hope that this year, I'll be able to figure out ways to continue to reap the benefits of the spaciousness, reconnection and fun that these months of sabbatical brought. I also look forward to drafting a brand new sabbatical policy for our organization, so that all of our full-time staff members can look forward to similarly beneficial periods of renewal and reinvigoration. And, I will encourage rest - in cycles both small and large - for each member of our community, so that we all can benefit from opportunities to gain perspective on how we spend our time.
It's exciting to be stepping back in as Kavana embarks on our 18th year. Like the Israelites of Parashat Re'eh, we will move into Kavana's "chai" year reaffirming our vision and embracing life and blessing. I return with renewed energy, ready to work together with you to make the magic happen!
Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum is rabbi and executive director of Kavana Cooperative, based in Seattle, WA. This post was originally shared in the Kavana Cooperative newsletter on August 11.