Three years into my role as the Spiritual Leader of Chochmat HaLev, on the occasion of my rabbinical ordination in the Jewish Renewal lineage, I “renew my vows” to this community and make these commitments to you:

I commit to being my full authentic self. I will try my best to share the various parts of my being with the community. I commit to being honest about my weaknesses and growth edges, as a way to invite all of you to embrace your own. I commit to sharing my struggles with you, as appropriate, so you know that I am far from perfect – and it’s okay for you to be too. I commit to humility – to acknowledging what I don’t know, and to bringing curiosity and openness to my interactions with you.

I commit to holding my position with integrity. I commit to drawing appropriate boundaries, regularly consulting with my ethics advisor, and continuing to learn about power dynamics and responsible leadership. I commit to soliciting regular feedback, taking responsibility for the intended and unintended consequences of my actions, and engaging in repair work when I cause harm. I commit to working to unearth my blindspots and biases, particularly around privilege – and finding trusted advisors who can help me with that.

I commit to investing in my own spiritual practice. I recognize that my spiritual leadership is as much in my being as it is in my doing. I commit to prioritizing my prayer, meditation, and movement practices, including regular retreats and unplugged time. I commit to continuing to work with a mashpi’a (spiritual director) to deepen my spiritual growth. I commit to my ongoing healing work, including regular therapy, to become more self-aware of my wounding, patterns, and projections, and the ways they interact with my spiritual leadership. I commit to working to keep my own ego in check and surrounding myself with allies who can support me in that. 

I commit to ongoing learning. Rabbinical ordination is the beginning of my learning journey, not the end. I commit to engaging in ongoing chevrutah/study partnerships, to seek out ongoing classes, peer groups, fellowships, and immersive study programs, as well as ongoing mentorship. I commit to learning from diverse faith and wisdom traditions and diverse teachers. I commit to broadening and deepening my areas of expertise so I can bring ever-expanding wisdom back to you. 

I commit to sustainability. I commit to serving in this role in a way that enables a healthy work-life balance and avoids burnout; I want to be in this job for the long haul. As a half-time rabbi, I commit to drawing boundaries around my time, and kindly declining requests that fall outside my job responsibilities; I commit to saying “no” so that I can say “yes” to what matters most. I commit to empowering other staff and volunteers in our organization to step into leadership, and to effectively delegating and stepping back from many of the operational roles I’ve taken on over the past three years so that I can focus on spiritual leadership. I commit to prioritizing my role as a parent and the needs of my son. I commit to prioritizing my health, including through sufficient sleep, exercise, healthy eating, and vacations. And I commit to fostering a work environment where our whole team can work sustainably – staff and volunteers alike.

I commit to dream big. I commit to being bold, audacious, innovative and entrepreneurial – not for the sake of getting attention or being an iconoclast (or as my mom would say, a davkanik), but for the sake of finding new ways to help more and more people connect to the Divine, to find deep meaning in our ancestral wisdom and texts and liturgy, to share a Judaism that is a vehicle for healing rather than for trauma. A Judaism that inspires and ignites YOU, a Judaism you can be proud of and be proud to pass down to future generations. I commit to staying true to our Jewish Renewal roots – to innovating in a way that is simultaneously backward compatible and future-focused. 

I commit to you. As Chochmat’s unique approach to Jewish spirituality gains attention and traction on a national and global stage, I commit to staying attentive to the needs of this community, on the individuals here, and ensuring that Chochmat remains a warm community where we can laugh and cry and celebrate and grieve and learn and grow, a community that supports its members through the ups and downs of life. While I may not have the capacity to spend as much deep one-on-one time with each you as I would like, I commit to finding opportunities to big and small to connect with you as individuals – perhaps in a class, after services, at an oneg, a smile while we’re dancing, in spiritual counseling, over email or Zoom – to connect with your heart. Because it’s those deep human connections that are my favorite part of being Chochmat’s spiritual leader.

Read Zvika’s remarks at Chochmat HaLev’s celebration of his rabbinical ordination, “On Becoming a Rabbi”. Watch a video and view photos of the celebration here.