Rabbi as a Shabbat Animator

March 20, 2006

In starting Panim Hadashot one of my goals was to alter the role of the modern rabbi. The pulpit rabbi has many functions, but the most well known is his/her role as officiant at a religious service. The focus of Panim Hadashot shifted from the communal worship service to the home Shabbat table. The innovative idea of Panim Hadashot was to bring the rabbi into the home of a host to lead a seder-a ritual feast with a gathering of adults or families. Being present at different tables week after week summons a very different challenge for a rabbi. The words officiant, or master of ceremonies certainly does not describe what I do. Rather I would like to coin a word for what I do: I am a Shabbat animator.

I first heard the word used a couple of years ago to describe a very dynamic woman who started a minyan in Jerusalem. She was described to me as a social animator. Her leadership consisted in networking people, inviting them to participate, encouraging their contributions. Because of her vital energy she gathered around her a new and dynamic religious community which is now widely respected in many circles. I did some further research on the term animator and ran into this definition:

This term appears either in the context of culture animation (supporting artistic creativity and development of particular persons and groups) or social - cultural animation (stimulating cultural activity of local communities). However, by Latin origins of the word (anima), it always means encouraging, inviting to an activity.

Social Animator
My work today as a rabbi consists of inviting (the Hebrew word is mzuman or mazmin) and encouraging people to share a Shabbat experience around the table with me. Both the preparaton for the seder and the conduct of the seder is a very intentional application of the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim-the bringing in of guests. I give a lot of thought on how people around the table can feel welcome and can fully access the experience of Shabbat and community which the Sabbath seder and feast ideally produces. How do you achieve fellowship among the people who attend? How do you create the conditions for people to have an authentic experience of the Sabbath? How do you inspire people to build a Shabbat table practice? How do you help people to take on Shabbat as a mitzvah? How do you move people to grasp the great ethical and spiritual teachings of this day?

That is the task of the rabbi as Shabbat animator. A Shabbat animator does not need to be a rabbi, but a rabbi can very effectively model this for other Jews. A rabbi who focuses on this work must:1. Know how to translate the tradtion to many different sorts of people including non-Jews.2. Know how to improvise-to use the element of song, food, story to convey values, teachings, and insights,3. Know how to relax people and also how to heighten awareness in the ritual moment. 4. Must be on the Hillel side of the spectrum as opposed to the Shammai-a welcoming and non-judgmental attitude. That means you must have no need to show off your erudition, but rather to use it to inspire greater interest down the road. 5. Know how not to overfunction and let the beauty and wisdom of the tradition speak for itself.6. Know that you will not touch everyone you encounter so that you focus on those you touch with your teaching.

Rabbi Dov Gartenberg