The Reporter                                                                                                                           

July 20, 2007

Meet Rabbi Tziona Szajman                                                                                                    
By Rebecca Goldstein Kahn

There are still boxes to unpack and organizing to do at the office and at her new home. Yet with a warm smile, Rabbi Tziona Szajman is ready to welcome people into her new office.

At the beginning of July, Szajman (the Polish spelling, pronounced Sheiman) became the new rabbi of Temple Israel. She said she’s still getting settled, but “it’s off to a wonderful start.” She’s been busy getting to know the community, meeting with as many people as possible: members of the congregation, Jewish agency leaders and local rabbis.
Forming personal relationships is just a small part of what Szajman has already taken on in just a few short weeks.

“The very first thing I was asked to do is to shore up our minyan, because the minyan is very important to the congregation,” she explained. “There are always people willing to come for someone, let’s say, who is saying kaddish, but a little organization is needed to make sure that not everyone comes on the same day, but is instead spread out through the week. So I have a task force and volunteers, and we’re working on organizing. Some other things I’ve been asked to work on are educational and other programming for our older kids, the teenagers; I’m also reinstating some of our adult education programs.”
Jewish education has been a major focus of Szajman’s.

“I graduated from the seminary five years ago with a master’s in Jewish education and rabbinic ordination. My first position was as a religious school director in Detroit,” she said. “My second position was as an assistant rabbi in a pulpit in Connecticut and that’s when I fell in love with pulpit work.”

Szajman said she knew right away that Temple Israel was the right congregation at which to begin her pulpit career as the sole rabbi.

“The very first time we met each other there was this almost instant connection, chemistry between me and the congregation. It was really nice and we just felt like we would be a good pairing.”

A native of Toronto, she became an American citizen two years ago – “so I’ll get to vote in the next election.” She noted that there was a difference between Conservative Judaism in the U.S. and in Canada.

“Conservative Judaism in Toronto is not egalitarian at this time,” she said. “I grew up in the Reform movement, which is actually quite different from the Reform movement in the United States. It’s a little more conservative, but with still the same social action bent that the movement here has.
Szajman talked about how she came to the decision to become a Conservative rabbi.
“When I decided to go into the rabbinate, I had spent a year in Israel and decided how I felt about Jewish law, and the Conservative movement matched my personal theology,” she said. “I, too, believe in an evolutionary halachah, in Jewish law developing for every generation, but tying us to the generations that came before. I believe in being shomer Shabbat, in keeping the laws of kashrut. And Conservative Judaism matched all of that theology and ideology. I still incorporate a lot of the wonderful things from the Reform movement – the social action, the excellent education I received, and so I feel comfortable in a variety of places. In fact, I do a lot of inter-movement and interfaith work because I believe so strongly in the ties within the community and to the outer community.”

Temple Israel is an egalitarian, Conservative shul, but Szajman is its first woman rabbi. Asked if she felt any extra pressure because of that, she replied that “I think Temple Israel had made their own evolutionary process long before they interviewed me and so [being a woman] wasn’t a large factor. We just wanted to feel like we were the right people for each other. I wanted to know that this was the right synagogue for me, they wanted to know that I was the right rabbi for them, and it really came down to personality and skill.”

Szajman said she sees her role in the congregation as a guide.
“When the Jews were wandering in the desert after having left Egypt, God comes down as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day, and the Israelites follow it on their search for the promised land. And that’s how I see my rabbinate – as the guide here to help people on their journey whether it’s an individual journey, a family’s journey or a communal journey. I help people find their way to whatever their promised land is.”
Szajman added that her role as rabbi reaches beyond the walls of the synagogue.
“I haven’t quite gotten my kitchen set up yet, but when I do I look forward to having lots of people over. Hospitality is a really big part of my Judaism, taking Judaism and branching out from the synagogue so it’s not just building connected,” she said.
And for those who haven’t yet met the acquaintance of Szajman, keep your eyes on the bike riders. Szajman is an avid bicyclist and is currently training for a ride in Israel that spans from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. The ride is sponsored by Hazon, a Jewish, environmentalist organization.