Student Spotlight- Rabbinical Student Leo Linder
I didn’ t always plan to become clergy. My family was deeply entrenched in yiddishkeit, but my connection never felt out of the ordinary. In fact, as the queer kid in what felt like the least observant family in a traditional community, becoming clergy felt like a path for anyone but me. That didn’ t stop me from throwing myself wholeheartedly into every Jewish thing I could – reading Torah, participating in Hazamir and High Holiday choir, and singing along to zmirot and services. And I was no stranger to passionate lay leadership; my zeyde,“ Reverend” Shimon Paktor z” l, led services for years at his shul, though he was never ordained.
By the time I went to college, I couldn’ t ignore the pull towards Jewish leadership, and stepped up to organize services at Hillel. I even began to really imagine becoming a cantor, but was heartbroken to learn that the Conservative movement did not yet ordain openly queer and trans clergy. Unwilling to compromise one identity for another, I turned my attention towards other interests, and ultimately embraced my love of languages( and extremely old stuff) to teach Latin and Ancient Greek. As a teacher of 15 years, I also became involved in equity and inclusion work, where I found my voice not just as an out nonbinary educator, but as a Jewish one as well. Fighting for my community reignited my desire to dive deeper into my Judaism, and I found myself picking up Hebrew classes, sitting in on philosophy lectures, and engaging in a( very haphazard) Daf Yomi practice.
Long before I saw it, my path was clear to people around me. A friend nudged me to look at AJR, which not only boasted an inclusive, pluralistic approach and online classes( which meant I would not have to beg my new spouse to relocate), but had recently established a KolBo program that immediately captured my interest. The music of the cantorate kindled my spiritual spark. The deep text study of the rabbinate called to my intellectual side. How could I choose just one? I’ m in my second year at AJR now, and it has been an enlivening, exhausting, engaging, uplifting, and emotional adventure. I’ ve learned so much about my traditions, my history, and myself, and have developed deep friendships and connections with classmates and teachers. I still don’ t know where my path will lead( though hopefully there will be a stop at ordination someday!), but I’ m so glad to be heading into the unknown with this amazing community.
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