Posted on May 28, 2025 by Rabbi David Katz
It’s been nearly a year. I take my leave mid-June, taking two weeks vacation time but, in fact, my tenure will have concluded. I’ll be around a bit after that, packing boxes and readying the rabbi’s study for Rabbi Diamondstein. I’ve said good-bye to our students and last week attended my final Board meeting. There are other farewells to attend to and of course, there is June 9, the reception for Nancy and me.
“What next?” is the question many have asked me. Where am I headed? Well, here’s the answer… “I’m going on Sabbatical.” No, not retiring….sabbatical. Last week we read these words in the portion B’har: “…in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath of the Lord, you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.” (Lev. 25:4)
That’s the land that rests but what is a Sabbatical for an interim rabbi? It’s time off to gather my thoughts, write the book I started 18 years ago but have had no time to write. (Only 50 pages are complete.) Travel. Enjoy the sunshine. Perhaps do some consulting in the field of synagogue engagement. Whatever and wherever my heart and mind take me.
Regarding whether or not Nancy and I will be moving from the area, we are staying put until we figure out where we’d like to settle permanently. For the last number of years we’ve not had a home base, so the world is open to us in terms of where we finally decide to plant roots. Most likely we will be close enough to travel to our children easily, one of whom lives in Manhattan – Emily, (with her husband Jamie and daughter Alice, aged 10,) and Ben, who lives in Brooklyn. Fair to say we’ll be near enough to attend a concert Ben is playing in or attend a school play of Alice’s.
You may bump into me at Wegmans but you won’t see me at services or attending events at the temple. Just like the rabbi emeritus, the rule, according to the CCAR, is for the interim rabbi to maintain a distance from the community for a year, in order give the new rabbi time to bond with the congregation – unless the new rabbi explicitly extends an invitation to enter the synagogue space.
Now – on another note, let me tell you why I want you to come to two Friday night services, one this coming Friday and the other on June 6. This Friday I will be delivering my “Senior Sermon,” the one I gave in my last year of Rabbinical school. I worked on the sermon for a year and a half. It’s about the way Jews look and is told completely in anecdotes, some of which are quite amusing. It caused a stir when I first delivered it in 1981, the year I was ordained, and I’ve told it every 5-6 years since. Friday may be the last time I deliver it.
On June 6, I’m going to reminisce about the experiences I’ve had in my 44 years as a rabbi… what it was like on 9/11 for my NYC congregation, the time I talked to Sandy Koufax about his not pitching in the World Series on Yom Kippur, and when at the end of a Kol Nidrei service, instead of saying, “Have an easy fast,” I accidentally said, “Have an easy feast.” I think you’ll appreciate my remarks.
I’m saving more profound sentiments for later messages and heartfelt comments for June 9, at the farewell reception for me and Nancy. See you then, too.
L’shalom,
Rabbi David Katz
