Every once in a while, I hear someone grumble about a rabbi's time away from the office. I know it is less convenient for congregants, but time and study away can be renewing ... and that is better for congregants in the long run, right?
The New York Times recently posted an interesting article about clergy burnout: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/nyregion/02burnout.html?_r=1. I've only been a rabbi for two years, but I already worry about this ... I already worry about life-work balance ... I already worry about disappointing others because I can't be everywhere I think (or they think) I should be.
But I feel a change coming ... even if it is just a small step.
Tomorrow, I am not going to feel guilty about driving to Houston to study with the Women's Rabbinic Network colleagues from the Southwest Association of Reform Rabbis. It will be good for my congregants for me to study with a Talmud scholar, something I have the rare opportunity to do these days. It is worth the three-hour trip each way in my poor car with no air conditioning, right?
It will be good for me to get away tomorrow, even if it is to study for only four hours ... and I'll be back tomorrow night from Houston, better than ever. : )
No air conditioning? That is real dedication!
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