Rabbi Howard Morrison

This past week, I attended the annual Rabbinic Training Institute at the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Maryland. An opportunity for professional development, I had attended almost annually until the pandemic. This was my first retreat in four years. 

Arranged by the Jewish Theological Seminary, my alma mater from 1982-1987, fifty Conservative rabbis became students for a four-day period. There was a colleague from Israel and from Germany, but most were North American. I am now one of the older students who attends. I met many returning colleagues, saw some colleagues whom I had not seen in many years, and discovered new acquaintances.  We picked our classes from a number of options. Mine were as follows:

Early morning - "Should we still care about obligation?" A Talmud/Rabbinics class on the notion of obligation regarding prayer and Mitzvah observance.

Mid-morning - A roadmap for preventing burnout and building resilience

Mid-afternoon - "Who was Moses?" This was a Biblical text on Moses. What were his origins? Was he a magician/warrior? a passive vessel of God? and more.

Evening - The cornerstone of healing

As you can see, a couple of classes were academic, and a couple were focused on physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.

Regardless of our professional and personal station in life, I encourage us all to deepen an appreciation of our heritage and our self-fulfillment on a regular basis.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison