Lighting the Spark
“The spark that I would like to be lit is their own inner soul.”
It's important to help people connect to their Judaism. It adds meaning to their life. It gives them something to hold on to. It gives them strength. What adults are looking for is community.
The spark that I would like to be lit and the spark that I would like to be lit is their own inner soul, is their spirituality. You can see it in their eyes, in their faces, that wonderment when they come across a concept they hadn't noticed before.
Now I see that all of this learning, it's all questioning and there's different opinions and there's different ideas. It's not as simplistic as I thought it was. I'm hoping that I can offer my students a glimpse of the possibilities of what Jewish life has to offer. It totally impacts all the decisions I make, everything I do. I do feel like I'm doing a small part to ensure the future of the Jewish community.
There is a global Jewish community, and each member has the opportunity to share its values with their immediate friends and neighbors. These are ideas held dear by Graduate School of Jewish Studies Class of 1989 graduate Rhonda Lillianthal, who now works as Director of The Center for Jewish Life at JCC Metrowest New Jersey. In that capacity, she also directs a site of the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Lillianthal spends each day helping Jews either rediscover or ignite their spirituality. Her teaching is an extension of the meaningful way that faith guides her own actions.
“I’m hoping I can offer my students a glimpse of the possibilities of what Jewish life has to offer,” says Lillianthal.
And by illuminating Judaism’s myriad concepts, and creating an atmosphere where questioning and curiosity are encouraged, there’s no doubt she’s offering that and more.
