7
A
lmost two thousand years ago, a new president
or
nasi
was sought to lead the academy of sages
known as the Sanhedrin. Tractate Berachot of
the Babylonian Talmud narrates the ancient search. They
too considered a number of worthy candidates but one
stood out. Before accepting the position, Rabbi Elazar
ben Azariah smartly checked with his wife. She warned
that his predecessors didn’t all have long tenures and
furthermore she commented that he just looked too
young for this weighty position, but miraculously his
hair instantly turned white.
Rabbi Dr. Aaron Panken, before you agreed to become
the
nasi
,
you wisely checked with Lisa, and like Rabbi
Elazar, you’ve quickly acquired more than a few grey
hairs. Most significantly, Elazar ben Azariah had big
ideas for the academy: he wanted more students to dive
deeply into the sea of Jewish learning on their way to
lives of inspired leadership. Aaron, you share that vision
with your Talmudic forebear, and like him you also
know that leading change requires courage, vision,
and creativity, traits you have in abundance.
Rabbi Panken is a strategic thinker, a wizard with
technology, and at home in rarefied academic debates
as well as in the complex practical realities of synagogues
and life in the 21st century. I have no doubt that Dr.
Panken will figure out how to get us where we need
to go. As a captain and pilot, he knows how to navigate
currents and winds to arrive safely in distant harbors.
So may he guide all of us on this journey.
Isaac Mayer Wise set the bar quite high when it came
to creating synergy between the Presidents of the
Union and the College; after all, he held both positions
simultaneously in the nascent Reform Movement.
In celebraTIon
r
abbi
r
iCk
J
aCobs
P
resident
,
U
nion
for
r
eforM
J
UdaisM
Rabbi Panken, I am confident that during your tenure,
the College-Institute and the Union will align even
more closely in shaping a bright future for our Move-
ment and our many partners. Lifting our gaze to the
future, I pledge to partner and collaborate with you
and this great academy that you lead – to strengthen,
deepen, and grow our Movement.
The Torah teaches that “Aaron shall carry the names of
the children of Israel on the breastpiece of decision over
his heart….” (Exodus 28:29) Midrash Tanchuma elabo-
rates: “When Aaron had to make a decision regarding a
fellow Israelite, he was to consult not only the rule book
but his heart as well…” (Tanchuma Sh’mot 27)
Aaron Panken is cut from the same cloth; the depth
of his heart matches, if not exceeds, the breadth of his
brilliant mind. In the past few weeks, Rabbi Panken has
not only ordained and graduated a new generation of
Jewish leaders, but, more significantly, he has modeled
for each of them how to live a Jewish life of depth and
integrity, embodying instead of merely espousing our
Torah’s timeless teachings. Greatness and goodness
flow forth from this remarkable man.
Today as we shower blessings on Rabbi Aaron Panken,
may we also add prayers for his large and loving family:
יאמרו-נא בית אהרן
“
Say to the House of Aaron,” (Psalm 118) as you share in
this demanding and ennobling adventure in leadership:
כי לעולם חסדו
“
May God’s loving kindness abide among you, always.”
And finally, to our beloved
nasi
,
Rabbi Dr. Aaron Panken:
May you always be guided by our sages in whose compa-
ny we hold you:
והעמידו תלמידים הרבה
“
May you raise up many disciples” and may they all Be
disciples of Aaron” (Pirkei Avot 1:1)
הוי מתלמידיו של אהרן. אוהב שלום ורודף שלום. אוהב את
.
הבריות ומקרבן לתורה
“
loving peace and pursuing peace, loving your fellow
creatures and bringing them close to the Torah.”
(
Pirkei Avot 1:12)
t
He
i
naUgUration of
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abbi
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aron
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anken
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.
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