VOICES OF CONGREGANTS

Rachelle Weiss Crane

Rachelle Weiss Crane shared these thoughts on 'her Jewish journey' as she reflected upon her involvement at Temple as she concluded her term on the Temple Board.

If an angel were to show me all the mysteries of the Torah, it would give me little pleasure, because study is more important than knowledge. Only what we achieve through effort is dear to us. These words which are attributed to Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon, the Vilna Gaon, a famous Talmudist who lived in Poland in the 1700s. These words resonate with me.

A Jew by birth, I am very much a Jew by choice. The Judaism of my childhood revolved around festive meals, family visits and social action. In my assimilated family, knowledge, understanding, synagogue affiliation and ritual were glaringly absent. As a young adult, this was not satisfactory for me. Learning about Judaism became increasingly important to me, first as an individual and later as a parent.

The Hebrew expression ‘ba derech’ means ‘on the road’ and is sometimes used to indicate a path or journey of study or exploration. My derech has taken me from an ulpan to learn Hebrew in New York City, on several trips to Israel, to affiliation with the reform movement, an Adult Bat Mitzvah and leadership positions at Temple Sholom of Chicago and here at Temple Emanu-el, and Jewish Day School and URJ Greene Family Camp for my child.

At each step on my derech, there has been study and social action. Much of my work here at Temple has focused on adult education. The opportunity to serve Temple in this way has been extremely rewarding. It has also helped me to build skills for my professional life at the JCC which is focused on building Jewish literacy in our broader Dallas community.

As I prepared to speak today it occurred to me that my time as a board member is coming to a close. I am proud that my derech has given me the opportunity to serve Temple as a board member for these past few years. I look forward to serving Temple in another way and to more study since like the Vilna Gaon, I believe “Only what we achieve through effort is dear to us.”

On Jewish Life
Rachelle Weiss Crane