Maeera Shreiber

Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.   

Dante Alighieri, Inferno Canto I

I had long harbored rabbinic fantasies. Recently, a colleague saw my Bat Mitzvah picture (circa 1970’s) and said “ you see, you were always meant to be a Rabbi.” But it took many years until I was able to claim my own Rabbinic longings. It took COVID and a terrifying turn in politics – both here and in the Middle East for me to realize that I had lost my way following the “straightforward pathway” – through Academia- and that I had to find a new way of being in these dark times.

I have enjoyed being an English professor (with side hustle in Jewish Studies), but realized that I was no longer content to relegate my passion for spiritual vitality and Jewish leadership to the margins of my life – largely by volunteering for local Jewish organizations. It was time to go deep. It was time to at long last acquire the davening skills, the leadership skills necessary to becoming a spiritual leader– and to admit that I wanted to discover more about my own spiritual depths and learn how to help others discover theirs.

In The Inferno , Dante finds a wise guide in Virgil. My journey through the AOP has been blessed by not one guide, but by several teachers who have challenged me, expanded my understanding of Yiddishkeit, and encouraged me to open -not only my mind, but my heart. On this occasion, I want to honor Reb Elliot Ginsberg, my beloved mentor who introduced me both- with his signature brand of joy- to the world of Kabbalah and Hassidut; I want to honor Reb Aubrey Glazer, who guided as together we journeyed  into an extraordinary world of contemporary Hebrew mystical verse; I want to honor Rabbi SaraLeya , who compelled me to let go of my rigid assumptions about Halacha (Jewish Law) and to embrace a more dynamic understanding of the process; I want to honor Rabbi Nancy Fuches-Kramer, who challenged my provincial ideas about (and resistances) about the value of interfaith dialogue, and inspired me to explore my own activist inclinations. Finally, I want to honor Rabbi Lavey Derby and Reb  Marcia Praeger who looked into my soul, and saw something that I didn’t know was there. 

With abundant Gratitude – Maeera