Bailey Romano
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Bailey Romano Placement Portfolio Table of Contents My Story Resume………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2-4 References…………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 Personal Statement…………………………………………………………………………. 6-8 D’vrei Torah-Words of Torah D’var Torah……………………………………………………………………………………….9 Fourth Year Sermon…………………………………………………………………….10-14 Fifth Year Sermon………………………………………………………………………...15-20 Sukkot Yizkor Sermon…………………………………………………………………..22-25 Newsletter……………………………………………………………………………………….26 Talmud Torah-Life Long Learning Torah Study……………………………………………………………………………………...27 Circle of Friends Text Study…………………………………………………………..28-31 13 Reasons Why Not……………………………………………………………………..32-33 2nd Grade Curriculum Guide………………………………………………………...34-38 Lifecycle Bar Mitzvah Charge……………………………………………………………………..39-40 Eulogy………………………………………………………………………………………..41-43 Readings Before Immersion……………………………………………………………...44 Tefilah Iyyunim…………………………………………………………………………………………...45 Tot Shabbat…………………………………………………………………………………46-47 Shabbat Service Outlines………………………………………………………………48-55 Media Website…………………………………………………………………………………………..55 Youtube…………………………………………………………………………………………..55 Holiday Videos………………………………………………………………………………..55 1 2 3 4 References Name Connection Phone Number Email Address Rabbi Irvin Wise Senior Rabbi at 513-793-1800 [email protected] Adath Israel Debbie Lempert Immediate Past 513-236-1037 [email protected] President of Adath Israel Rabbi Ken Kanter Rabbinic Mentor 615-948-2052 [email protected] Rabbi Dr. Gary Zola Thesis Advisor 513-460-7770 [email protected] Barbara Dragul Education Mentor 513-628-4437 [email protected] 5 Rabbinic Personal Statement Bailey Romano Bailey Romano. What kind of a name is that for a nice, Jewish girl? Well, it isn’t. I didn’t grow up Jewish, and I never thought I would be a rabbi. But, here I am. I began my journey to Judaism at a family friend’s seder table as a six-year-old girl. I sat next to Megan, a Jewish girl my age whom I admired. During the seder I was filled with questions. I wanted to know what we would eat, do, or sing next. I wanted to learn. Those questions never went away. By the time I was in high school, the questions I had about Judaism grew louder and louder until I finally began to explore them in earnest. I fell head over heels in love with Judaism. The words of the V’ahavtah resonated with my deeply held belief that unconditional love of God and of each human being could change the world. At the start of my freshman year in college, I contacted a rabbi and officially began the conversion process. In 2010, I entered the mikvah and emerged from its waters as part of the Jewish people. In college, inspiring teachers and professors helped me to channel my many questions into research and writing, connecting my passion for history and religion with my love of Judaism. Over time, my devotion to learning and my journey to Judaism collided, resulting in my decision to attend the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati to study American Jewish History with Dr. Gary Zola. My goal was to become a professor of Religious Studies. Although adrenaline pulsed through my veins as I touched documents from the 19th century in the American Jewish Archives, something was missing. In college, I had helped to create a Jewish community out of nearly nothing. While as a Resident Assistant, I was the person people turned to when they needed someone to listen to their challenges. I realized that I missed serving people and creating community. Before I knew it, I was working at Isaac M. Wise Temple teaching about God, Jewish Life Cycle events, and Torah to 5th graders. I was terrified of telling them the wrong things, or somehow scarring them for life. What I found instead was my calling. I realized that what I loved the most was helping students to discover for themselves what they loved about Judaism and helping them to connect to God, to Torah, and to each other. The summer after my first year of grad school, I embarked on another new journey. While on my Birthright Shorashim trip, I discovered my love of Israel, but more importantly I affirmed that I was called to become a rabbi. As one of the most “religious” Jews on the trip, I listend as my peers turned to me to ask whether their theology meshed with Judaism and to reflect on what it meant to them to be Jewish, and to Israelis who were amazed by what the diversity of American Judaism could offer them. I knew I wanted to serve the Jewish people. With my love of Judaism, education, and Israel, becoming a rabbi made a lot of sense. During my second year of rabbinical school, I served as the student rabbi at Temple Oheb Shalom in Sandusky, Ohio. As a part of my work there, I met Stan, our most senior congregant. Following a series of strokes, Stan was hospitalized and then entered a nursing facility. During this time, I met with him each week I visited the congregation. At his bedside, I discovered my passion for pastoral care. Each time I 6 visited, as I held his hand in mine singing Debbie Friedman’s Mi Shebeirach, the tears would glisten in his eyes and stream down his face. His love of Judaism was so deep that even when he could no longer speak, tears would fall as he hummed the tune that brought him comfort; music and touch bringing him spiritual if not physical healing. Music has always been a part of my spirituality Singing, especially, helps me to find center. I began taking voice lessons at age 6 and continued until I was 22 years old. Jewish music helped me to find instant connection with Judaism, and I believe it is an access point for people of all ages and spiritual orientations. I love helping others connect to Judaism through music. At Temple Oheb Shalom, I worked with the ritual committee, organist, and soloist to bring new Jewish music to the synagogue that enlivened services and helped my congregants connect to prayer in new ways. As the summer Rabbinic Intern at Rockdale Temple, I led services for Jews of all ages while both rabbis were away. I also held down the fort, assisting congregants to find resources on Jewish mourning rituals, and providing pastoral care to our staff as they dealt with loss and challenging office situations. In my fourth year, I was offered a position to work as the Rabbinic Intern at Congregation Adath Israel, the largest Conservative synagogue in Cincinnati. I began my relationship with the synagogue years earlier when one of my friends was their rabbinic intern. When I attended services at Adath then, I was amazed by the way Rabbi Irvin Wise, the senior rabbi, connected with his congregants, especially when he announced the names of those observing shiva, sheloshim, or yahrzeits. As he did, he approached each individual and acknowledged their loss in a personal way. I knew that I wanted to be that kind of rabbi, someone whose focus was on pastoral care. So, when I was asked to be the rabbinic intern at Adath, I said yes. Over the last year, I have gained “hands-on” experience working in a synagogue on a daily and weekly basis. When I became the intern, I took on a number of the responsibilities previously held by the two associate rabbis who left in December of 2018. This meant that I had to be in near constant contact with the clergy team and office staff. As a part of my role then and now, I have a variety of pulpit, pastoral care, and lifecycle event responsibilities. I lead weekly Shabbat services, a monthly Tot Shabbat service, give sermons every month, short teachings every week. As part of pastoral work, I visit with congregants who are hospitalized or home-bound, or at the Jewish retirement home. In addition, I co-officiate at funerals and unveilings, and lead shiva minyans for those families and others journeying with them along the path of loss and mourning. Throughout my work at Adath, I have met with my senior rabbi bi-weekly to address everyday issues in the synagogue and to cultivate a mentor-mentee relationship. As I enter the rabbinate, I hope to find not only a congregation which I can serve, but also a senior rabbi and clergy team from whom I can learn. Although I tend to be somewhat more traditional in my personal practice of Reform Judaism, I realized over the last year at Adath Israel that I am not interested in becoming a Conservative rabbi and I am passionately a Reform Jew who believes in informed choice and I want to inspire others as they make their choices. With this in mind, my intention when I lead services is to deepen my congregants’ understanding of 7 what they are saying when they pray and when they study Torah, because above all I am a teacher, a teacher of Torah and of Judaism. Throughout my years at HUC, I have made it a priority to teach students of all ages. I taught children as well as college students at Xavier University, and adult education sessions on Jewish mourning. I believe as a rabbi, especially in congregational life, it is important for me to be able to teach to a wide range of people. I am, at my core, someone who seeks to be a guide for others- through their joys and their sorrows, through their engagement with the challenging elements of being human beings. I am at my core a teacher, someone who seeks to foster deep and meaningful learning for people of all ages steeped in Jewish tradition. I hope to, above all, throughout my rabbinate, to foster relationships which connect people to each other, to God, and to Judaism. 8 Vaera D’var 2018 As a people we are good at two things; surviving and laughing, and sometimes the two go hand and hand.