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| A Day In The Life Of A Rabbi
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For a rabbi, no two days are the same. Rabbis may have regular weekly meetings planned and may set aside a day to write that week’s sermon, but only G_d knows when a baby will be born or when a person will die. And when such events happen, the rabbi needs to be there. Right away!
What follows is one day in the life of Rabbi Feldman, a Rabbi who lives and works in the United States of America.
Rabbi Feldman wakes up after a short night's rest and rolls out of bed. Stretching, he tries to think through what he has to do today – meetings, a funeral, baseball practice. He can't remember the rest but knows these are just some of the items on a long list of activities that will occupy the next 18 hours of his life. While getting dressed, he glances at the clock - 5:55. With his tie thrown around his neck, he bolts out the door.
Rabbi Feldman drives over to the house of a member of his congregation, Mr Stoltz. Every morning, the pair of them study the Torah together for 45 minutes. "If a Jewish guy owns a supermarket, can it open on Shabbat?" asks Mr Stoltz. The discussion continues from there.
Rabbi Feldman leaves Mr. Stoltz’s house and drives over to the synagogue for morning prayers. On the way, he collects his 14 year old son, David.
Rabbi Feldman has to leave the prayer service early in order to take David and his other children to school. On the way, they collect more children and as the friends all chat and joke together, the Rabbi finishes saying his morning prayers.
Rabbi Feldman has his breakfast in the school’s car park.
On the way back from school, Rabbi Feldman uses his hands-free mobile phone to call the daughter of a woman who has recently died. The rabbi will be performing her funeral in less than four hours time. He memorizes the names of all the relatives who will be attending the funeral.
Showered, Rabbi Feldman returns to the synagogue for a meeting with a member of his congregation who is feeling depressed. The Rabbi offers comfort and advice.
On his way to the funeral, Rabbi Feldman thinks through what he is going to say about the woman who has died. He has known her since he was a small boy.
11:35 a.m. The Speech
Midday: By the Grave side
Many of the grieving relatives thank Rabbi Feldman for the way in which he conducted the funeral and for his moving speech.
Rabbi Feldman gets back in his car and checks his messages. There are 12. One is from a man who got sacked from his job earlier that day. Another is from a man seeking advice on getting married.
On his way back to the synagogue, Rabbi Feldman makes a quick stop at a pizza restaurant. He eats his pizza in his car, whilst answering some of his voice mails.
At the synagogue, Rabbi Feldman makes a decision, on behalf of his congregation, to support two charities by sending each a large cheque. He prays that G_d has helped him make the right decision.
The Rabbi meets with another member of his congregation. The man criticizes the Rabbi’s choice of charities. “Too late,” says the Rabbi, “the cheques are already in the post.”
Rabbi Feldman starts to plan a road safety class after one of the children was almost struck by a car after synagogue last week.
Rabbi Feldman has a meeting with his doctor to ask him for funds to support the work of the synagogue. The doctor agrees immediately, but advises the Rabbi not to work so hard and to eat properly. He is pleased that the Rabbi takes regular exercise.
After driving in traffic, Feldman arrives at the house of the woman whom he buried that morning. A lot of people from the funeral are there. He talks to many of them about how G_d can help people to overcome their grief.
Rabbi Feldman arrives home, talks to his children for a few minutes, before changing and setting off, with David, for baseball practice. The Rabbi is the oldest player in his synagogue team, but David is the best.
At home, after baseball practice, the Rabbi has a shower and, though a bit late, says his afternoon prayers. After a quick bite to eat, he goes to the synagogue and says evening prayers in his office.
For the next two hours, Rabbi Feldman meets privately with a couple to discuss career and family decisions. It's been a long day, but the rabbi makes sure to give them the attention they need.
Exhausted, the rabbi arrives home.
After talking with his wife about the day's events and getting ready for bed, the rabbi settles under the covers and reads a bit.
Worn out, the rabbi falls asleep, thinking about all the voice mails that he didn’t answer. He promises himself that he’ll do them tomorrow, whenever he gets a moment.
Based on a factual account that first appeared in the Atlanta Jewish Times. Every effort has been made to secure copyright permission.
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