By Samantha Agranoff
Rabbi Silverman was the first female rabbi to come speak to the Nachshon fellows this semester and I could feel a difference in the atmosphere. Not only is Rabbi Susan a woman, but she is also the rabbi that has most resembled the rabbis from my community back home. Right off the bat I felt comfortable and a sense of familiarity. Also, Rabbi Silverman is even funnier than her slightly more famous sister Sarah- she could easily transition into the comedy world and have huge success.
As far as the content of her presentation, I absolutely connected with almost everything she said. Rabbi Susan spoke with us about her approach to Jewish practice and how she functions in Israeli society. We also did a short text study and, although I don't usually enjoy text study, this time it really intrigued me and held my full attention. I even appreciated the fact that she wasn’t afraid to use profanity to express herself, which made her more relatable. The first discussion we had was about maintaining perspective. The bible often tells us what various characters were thinking at a certain time and as the reader we have a meta view of what's going on. As humans we often have no clue what other people think about us or see in the greater picture. Perspective is a huge factor in so many situations because it’s a tool not often utilized to its full potential. Rabbi Silverman then went on to discuss the idea of absolute truth and how it’s not a real thing. In theory, it sounds great but in reality, at this point in time, it doesn’t exist. She talked about how we never really know anything for sure. We can only stand strongly by our beliefs. The way she talked about both of these concepts were different than how I had ever heard any rabbi confront them. She has been the speaker that I’ve connected with the most as far as views and I’m excited to bump into her around Jerusalem (including on Rosh Chodesh with Women of the Wall).
