Tonight I’ll be off to the Rabbinical Assembly Convention in New York City.  This year the convention is being held at The Jewish Theological Seminary where, unsurprisingly the focus is on intensive Jewish learning for the participants of the convention.  Truth is, this is a big part of the reason that the 1500 members or so of the Rabbinical Assembly became rabbis: we have an intense love of lifelong Jewish learning that informs our rabbinates wherever we may serve.  I anticipate that because the setting of this convention at the place where so many of us spent so many years in fellowship and study that there will be more than the usual amount of reminiscing for those years when our main focus in life was Jewish text – and the actual dream of serving congregations or Jewish community a distant vision.

Perhaps it is fitting that I’ll be missing the first day of the convention due to unexpected duties here at B’nai Israel.  There is a very famous Mishneh that is included in the daily service that is meant to give us guidance in organizing the priorities of our lives.  We read in Mishneh Peah that “attending to the dead” is a special mitzvah of the highest order.  Jewish learning is of course another important mitzvah but it is the deeds ‘bein adam v’adam’ ‘between one person and another’ that deserve special recognition in our tradition.

Yesterday I spoke to a new member of the Chevra Kadisha (Burial Society) that will be joining us tomorrow in the preparation for the funeral.  I expressed to this individual that due to the nature of this committees work it is the single committee in the synagogue where no recognition, no external honor, no remuneration is possible.  We do this solely because it is a mitzvah of the highest order and for that reason it is especially sweet, meaningful and special for these committee members. 

In the days to come I’ll try and post some updates on the convention depending on internet access.  Stay tuned!