HOW TO SPOT A JEWISH LEADER
בס"ד
Adapted From The Works Of Professor Shulamit Reinharz
1. A Jewish Leader knows enough Torah and other traditional texts to be able to draw on them in speeches (with reasonable pronunciation) and can write and deliver “divrei torah” comfortably and competently.
2. A Jewish leader knows enough Jewish history to be able to see what they are doing in the context of historical trends.
3. A Jewish leader keeps informed about what is going on in the Jewish world.
4. A Jewish leader visits Israel at least every four years.
5. A Jewish leader ensures children receive Hebrew names and a Jewish education.
6. A Jewish leader understands Jewish holidays and rituals.
7. A Jewish leader knows some Hebrew.
8. A Jewish leader can explain Jewish ideas to others.
9. A Jewish leader knows some basic facts about Jewish demography and geography here and abroad.
10. A Jewish leader is guided by the concept of “klal Yisrael” and has explored Jewish communities abroad and feels a sense of responsibility for their welfare.
11. A Jewish leader has a non-competitive approach to other Jewish organizations.
12. A Jewish leader is philanthropic.
13. A Jewish leader can sing a few songs and dance a few Israeli dances.
14. A Jewish leader has empathy for the whole range of Jews, young and old, sick and well, poor and rich, disabled and able-bodied, gay and straight, single and partnered, beautiful and plain, unaffiliated and religious, white and black, intermarried and in-married, rural and urban, Eastern or Western, Russian and Ethiopian, Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrachi, and born-Jewish and Jewish-by-choice.
15. A Jewish leader has a vision of the world wide Jewish community of the future and of our relation to non-Jews.
16. A Jewish leader understands the concept of mitzvot and tries to live by many of them without being self-righteous.
17. A Jewish leader helps others become Jewish leaders.
18. A Jewish leader…
…It’s up to you to fill in the 18th point!
posted by Soferet | 6:38:00 p.m.
![[ Registered ]](http://www.diarist.net/registry/button.gif){kind=small}
7 Comments:
בס"ד
Oh, I so hear you on that one, Danya. I had to take belly dancing to unlearn "dancing like a white guy".
You missed off "vision" - no leader can lead well without vision. If someone's passionate enough, the rest follows. Well, you should know that :)
Ooooops duh no you didn't. I'll just get back to work and stop being a twit :)
She should also be able to tell a joke, appropriate to the audience, and swear when necessary.
בס"ד
Yer a real smarty-pants, Jordie, that's what ye'are...
This list really bothers me. I can't quite pinpoint why, though.
I had a dream last night wherein I needed to translate the words "divrei Torah." I said TorahMatter — not matter in the sense of issue or idea, rather more like anti-Matter, mashu, something-ness.
Over and again I'm frustrated by the finitude of definitions of Torah (and yiddishkeit).
I think it's really the first point that irks me so much: "[ability to] draw on [Torah and texts] in speeches (with reasonable pronunciation) and can write and deliver [...] comfortably and competently." A pre-literate child can (and often does) speak words of Torah.
For me, the study, practice, and upholding of Torah is a path to the Infinite Divine. Much less a code book; more like a decoding ring.
I suppose this list would bother me less if it were titled How to Spot a Jewish Academic.
בס"ד
Over and again I'm frustrated by the finitude of definitions of Torah (and yiddishkeit).
Shir-Yaakov, I agree entirely. See this comment.
But I see Torah everywhere & it shines from every child.
Thanks for your input, Jewropean - I like this list enough to share with people & hoped it would stir up a little conversation, but I did not author it so I can't answer your questions.
Post a Comment
<< Home