Sh'liach K'hilah program (survey)

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The folks in charge of the Sh'liach K'hilah (para-rabbinic) program sent around a questionnaire to graduates. They're considering unspecified changes to the program, which is currently in abeyance (sigh). I'm going to share my answers to the non-demographic questions, which have to do with what we found rewarding and under-represented and how we're using what we learned.

Dear Rabbi [name],

Thank you for inviting feedback. I found the Sh'liach K'hilah program very valuable and was disappointed to hear of its suspension. I look forward to its return.

What was the most useful aspect, experience, or educational component of the program, especially in terms of the work you are now able to do in your congregation?

[Editorial note: he said "useful", not "interesting".]

It's hard to single out one thing, but I guess it would have to be the group-led services and the related classes. Many of us had led services "back home" (solo), but the program taught us new ways to look at services -- plotting out the high and low points, thinking about themes, choosing music, and working with other people (in this case unfamiliar people) in a place without clear minhag to settle differences. This exercise also helped many of us push our comfort zones, whether with Hebrew liturgy, giving a d'var torah, reading torah, or leading music. Leading services is probably the job we are most likely to be called on to help with.

In my case, this has not only helped me be better at leading services (which I do fairly frequently and which I already had some comfort with), but it has also given me some insights into how to teach and nurture other leaders. We have one regular service with a significant, rotating, lay component, and the training I received has helped me to teach and encouarge other lay leaders who aren't as self-confident as I am. This, ultimately, strengthens my congregation.

In addition, my rabbi has seen the improvement in my own skills, and he is giving me more opportunities to apply them. This summer I will, for the first time, be conducting a bar mitzvah (on a week when we'll have no rabbinic coverage). Before I completed this program, my rabbi would have most likely cancelled his travel plans for that week. To the best of my knowledge this will be the first time a lay member has conducted such a service in my congregation.

Was there an experience or information or educational component which you wish you had as a result of the program, but did not feel that you received?

I wish that I had received more practical coaching, particularly on writing and delivering divrei torah or sermons. The homiletics session at the end of the second year was extremely helpful, and we did have a class in the first year about writing a d'var torah, but I wanted some intermediate steps -- perhaps written assignments between the two years (reviewed online by faculty/staff from the program), and some class time dedicated to presentation techniques before we were called upon to do it. This would have allowed us to get more out of the homiletics review when we got there, rather than learning very basic techniques for the first time there.

As a result of the program, in what ways are you able to serve your congregation?

All of the opportunities that have arisen so far have to do with conducting services (and related work), though in the future I hope to also do more with adult education.

In our informal Shabbat morning minyan, I conduct part of the service, chant torah, and give divrei torah approximately once a month. I was the person who organized the lay participants originally, when we decided to try this format about 2.5 years ago. After I began the Sh'liach K'hilah program I was better able to teach others how to do these things (as opposed to just managing a sign-up sheet).

About every two months I read torah for our Shabbat evening service, which is the congregation's "main" service. I am the only lay member who gets to do this routinely, and my rabbi has said it's because of the SK program.

I am generally the first person called when a service leader is needed, whether for weekday services, a shiva minyan, or on Shabbat when my rabbi is away. (This requires some negotiation with the chair of the worship committee, who traditionally would be the person in that role. My being a Sh'lichat K'hilah has made the job hierarchy more ambiguous, but everyone involved gets along well so it hasn't been a problem.)

I am currently advising a small committee that is developing our congregation's first-ever service for the second day of Rosh Hashana. My main role is to ensure that all liturgical requirements are met. My rabbi will ultimately review the work; my job is to reduce the work he has to do at that point.

While it is not directly related to the SK program, during the program I began leading weekday shacharit services at another local congregation (at their request, once a week), and the increase in my skill has been noted and reflects favorably on my congregation and this program.

[Editorial note: one of the most interesting and rewarding opportunities I have right now is the one-on-one study with my rabbi, but while the SK program might have changed the character of it in some ways, it is not due to the program. I've been studying with my rabbi steadily since 2002.]

One possibility for the Sh'liach K'hilah Program is that it will be restructured to primarily serve small congregations. Do you feel this would be a wise move for the program?

That depends on what you see the differences to be.

The program currently teaches a number of things that are less likely to be applicable for people in larger congregations. It is unlikely that I will ever conduct a funeral, for instance, but my classmates from smaller congregations with limited rabbinic access have done so. Does that mean that I didn't benefit from learning about conducting funerals, though? No. In a way, it seems like the program is already geared toward smaller congregations, so I am unclear on what you would change.

Soliciting members of smaller congregations to participate in the program seems like a good idea; many people who would benefit from it have never heard of the program, or have heard of it but thought they couldn't pass the application process. Do note that smaller congregations are less likely to have scholarship monies available and not all students can pay their own way; I'm not sure how you could address that. You could, potentially, change the balance of students merely through publicity, without changing the orientation of the program at all.

I think barring or restricting students from large congregations would be a bad idea. Even in large congregations there are ways for a Sh'liach K'hilah to contribute; further, in at least some large congregations, the community wants the religious leaders to have some sort of training. Small congregations have learned that they might need to make do without a rabbi; large congregations expect their rabbi to do everything, so there is more of a barrier to lay people and the formal training helps overcome that.

If you could share some of the ideas you have for restructuring the program to support smaller congregations, I would be happy to offer more-specific feedback.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to comment on this program. I found it remarkably rewarding (I really wish there were a third year), and I hope others will get the opportunity to participate next year.