Phone calls in the middle of the night, overexposure to the seedier realities of life, and the pressure of spiritual responsibilities are just some of the factors that heighten the stress level of our servants at the pulpit. Are there tools today’s rabbis can use when they feel like they’re in a pressure cooker?
It was 3:14 a.m. according to the neon numerals shining on the bedside clock when the rabbi woke up and reached for the ringing phone. It was a member of his shul apologizing for the late hour and explaining that this was an emergency. His wife’s grandmother had taken ill and he had a complicated sh’eilah involving end-of-life issues and his wife’s responsibilities.
“How does your wife feel about it?” asked the rabbi at one point.
“Oh my wife?” There was a moment’s hesitation. “Umm . ..I didn’t speak to her about it yet. I figured why wake her up if it can wait till morning?”
No Ivory Tower
Few professions are as vaguely defined as the rabbinate. The job description doesn’t really do justice to the workload and responsibilities the expectations of the various clients — in this case synagogue members — rarely match each other: this one likes a longer drashah and that one can’t handle it; one thinks the rabbi should pasken sh’eilos and stay out of their personal lives and another is insulted if the rabbi forgets to ask about his hernia operation; this one feels that the rabbi ought to be more tolerant and another would appreciate if he could be more outspoken.
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