Letter to Rabbi Michael Lerner

I just applied for an internship at Tikkun magazine for this summer (cuz I'm gonna be in Berkeley!) and it was a really fun process. Instead of a résumé, they asked for a "self-revealing letter," so I had a lot of fun writing it and I thought I would post it because it says a lot about me.

Dear Rabbi Lerner and all the writers, thinkers, and artists at Tikkun magazine/NSP,

I am writing in response to the ad I saw for the Editorial and Organizational Internships at Tikkun magazine.

The fact that I am writing this letter is already a great example of why working at Tikkun will not only be a great occupational experience, but also a growing and enriching opportunity. Considering that the word “résumé” was strategically replaced with “self-revealing letter” in the ad, I intend on writing this more as a personal reflection rather than a professional correspondence (although I am not neglecting that aspect).

I am a twenty-one year old sophomore at the University of Wisconsin – Madison studying philosophy, religious studies, and Jewish studies, and this summer, I will, G-d-willing, be living in a co-op on the Berkeley campus. I am originally from Worcester, Massachusetts, where I went to Solomon Schechter Day school until eighth grade. For high school I went to the pluralistic New Jewish High School (now called Gann Academy) and then I spent a year volunteering and studying in Israel before college on Young Judaea Year Course.

The main reason why I decided to live in Berkeley this summer is because I am intrigued by the unique form of Judaism that seems to foster there, and I hope to grow in my own spirituality by participating in the various resources I have there including, but not limited to, the Open Orthodoxy of Temple Beth Israel, the independent DIY havurah of the Mission Minyan in San Francisco, and the neo-Hassidut of Beyt Tikkun. Although I love Madison, there is somewhat of a lack of deep spirituality that I have trouble feeling outside of Israel, and I plan on extracting as much of the concentrated kavanah as I can while I’m in the Bay Area.

Since I became more religious, Judaism has become a very important aspect of my life, especially when it comes to my college experience. Even though being religious in a non-religious atmosphere can often be difficult, it has also been the source of many blessings. This unique role that I play has led me to involve myself in organizations where my voice has an added layering that opens more venues for thought and discussion. I have been on the forum for the Lubar Institute for the Study of Abrahamic Religions, a religious dialogue program, for the past two years, and this year I am an undergraduate fellow. This has been an opportunity for me to participate in a frontier where, unfortunately, few Orthodox Jews venture (although I am usually reluctant to refer to myself as Orthodox because of the connotations that it can imply that don’t apply to me).

I am also the co-chair of Kavanah: A Progressive Jewish Voice. We are a political organization on campus that believes that one cannot be fully supportive of Israel unless one is equally critical of her. By educating people about the issues Palestinians face and participating in demonstrations, we hope to open the eyes of the Jewish community to be as much pro-peace as they are pro-Israel. This is another setting where being a religious voice has an added level of importance, because there are very few Orthodox Jews who connect to the left side of Israeli politics. I feel that the values of Judaism are more prevalent in supporting a peaceful solution and not only can the religious left help build bridges between Palestinians and Israelis, but I believe it can also help build bridges between the religious and the secular.

I believe that Tikkun is a breeding ground for these values. I often feel torn between religion and activism, and that should not be the case. One of the basic tenants for the Network of Spiritual Progressives could not have been said more clearly: To “challenge the misuse of G-d and religion by the Religious Right and religio-phobia on the Left.” I often find myself in situations where I become uncomfortable because either I feel like the only liberal in a crowd of religiously observant people, or I feel like the only person of faith in a crowd of activists. Why do peace activists have to be militant atheists and why does the Religious Right have to be close-minded dogmatists? It seems so contradictory to the values of both parties.

The one criticism I have for Tikkun and the one reluctance I myself feel within the path of religious and political dialogue is the tendency to lose sight of the original idea. In Kavanah, we are constantly asking ourselves who we are trying to represent and who we are trying to address. Should we be a critical voice for Jews, or an Arab voice among Jews, or a supportive voice in opposition to the anti-Israel voices on campus? We don’t want to be too exclusive but we also want to retain our original mission. I feel that Tikkun is dealing with a similar issue. It seems to be slowly becoming less Jewish and more universalist and New Age. I felt the same way about the Renewal community in Madison. After reading the Jew and the Lotus, I was inspired and I really wanted to get involved, so I applied to be a Hebrew school teacher there, but as the weeks went by, I began to feel that the core values of the movement had been neglected in order to address the lack of spiritual commitment in the community, just as the Reform and Conservative movements did.

I am a good writer and editor, as is necessitated in my academic majors, and I very strongly support the ideals of Tikkun and NSP. I hope to one day work in a religious dialogue program in Israel that gets religious and spiritual people from both Israel and Palestine to work together to make peace. I would love to work with Jerusalem Peacemakers, Encounter, Bustan, or Rabbis for Human Rights because they are all doing what I dream of one day doing.

I want to work with Tikkun because I believe that it holds the same ideals as I do, and I want to meet likeminded people, as it can get lonely out in the Midwest with few who strive towards the same ends as I do. I am a student, and I am trying to save up money for when I eventually make aliyah, so I would need to get a compensation or a grant in order to intern at Tikkun, and I would love to work with the magazine itself, Limmud Interns, Healing Israel/Palestine, or the NSP. I can start working on May 26^th.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,

Eric Salitsky