This is the speech I gave at a celebratory dinner thrown by Temple B’nai Abraham in honor of my ordination as Rabbi Cantor on May 3, 2024.
Change…is difficult. Whether it’s something large like moving to a new neighborhood, a new state even, or small like learning a new television system, change is hard. And growth, well, that’s the hardest change of all! We are all capable of this at any age, it’s just a matter of will. Are we willing to change?
A few years ago, as you may know, I was going through some serious changes at home. In the midst of that, I started to wonder what might be the next step in my journey. I had been a cantor for around twenty years at that point, I had been a mother for thirteen, but to paraphrase Peggy Lee, was that all there was?
Then I learned of the Academy for Jewish Religion’s “cantor to rabbi” program. And I thought…naaah.
But that’s the thing with change. Sometimes you have to let it percolate. The more I thought about it, the more I looked into it, and the more I realized that this might be that next step.
There were points along the way where I wondered if I would ever finish. I took my time because I already had a full time job here with you, not to mention my other full time job as a newly-single mother to three girls. I won’t lie, it was a lot. It took patience, planning, good time management, and yes, will power. This was a marathon, after all, not a sprint, and surely, of all of us here, you know what it takes to finish a marathon.
One of my cantorial classmates, Angela Buchdahl, decided early on that she wanted to continue her journey, and she was ordained as a rabbi twenty-three years ago. At the time, she was one of only twelve Rabbi Cantors in all of North America. She was the first Asian-American to be ordained as a hazzan or cantor anywhere in the world, and then the first East Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi. For years, she has been cited as “rabbi cantor,” and now as the senior rabbi at Central Synagogue in New York, she is simply Rabbi. As a result, she is one of only a few women serving as leaders of a major U.S. synagogue.
The example of those twelve led to this journey becoming more common, it led to AJR’s program, and, last month, of our graduating class, three of my classmates were presented as rabbis and three of us were presented as rabbi cantors.
Ultimately, rabbi means teacher. That’s all. It does not confer anything magical, I am not suddenly infallible and all-knowing. I’m still Jess, I’m just a person, ready to teach, to learn, to listen, and to serve my congregation and community.
In my ordination speech, I thanked friends and family, those no longer with us, those who supported me when I doubted myself, and you, my community. But I want to take a moment here to thank you all in particular. You have supported me through my nearly twenty years here at TBA, you have been my home, my family away from family, and I cherish that bond.
I would also like to thank Rabbi David Vaisberg for the space to grow and the support to continue my journey. Sharing the pulpit with Max and myself has been a nurturing experience, letting me get used to the writing and delivery of sermons on a regular basis. His example and his confidence reassured me that this was indeed the right journey to make.
Now, if you’ll indulge me, one moment of teaching. Words and names are important. We are in the month of Nisan. The word is connected to the word for miracle, nes. Indeed, this is a month of miracles, and I do feel as though I am living one right here and now. But more than that, Nisan is a month of liberation, freedom, and transition. Change. Growth. From narrow places, the way opens. Seas part. We grab our tambourines and dance. This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice.
And so, with a humble heart, I take my place in the shalshelet hakabbalah, the chain of tradition, and stand before you, my community, as Rabbi Cantor Jessica Lynn Fox, and I look forward to many more years with you.
