We often hear about “radical amazement” in Jewish circles. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, z”l, coined the phrase. “Awareness of the divine,” he wrote, “begins with wonder. … Wonder or radical amazement, the state of maladjustment to words and notions, is therefore a prerequisite for an authentic awareness of that which is.”
Over ten years after my first conversation with Lex Rofeberg, now senior educator and the co-founder of Judaism Unbound, I’ve realized that there is also such a thing as radical acceptance.
Back in 2014, Lex was working as an Education Fellow for the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. I was the student rabbi for a small congregation in Concord, NC. He was looking for Jewish Renewal community to work with as part of his internship; I was thrilled to have the help.
Both of us were interested in all forms of Judaism, forms largely left unexplored by mainstream university courses and seminary settings. We appreciated rabbinic traditions without declaring rabbinic Judaism Judaism-per–se.
What did we make of a stele that described Yom Kippur in almost meditative terms from the Kaifeng Jewish community? What did either of us find fascinating about the drum regarded as the ark by the Lemba, a South African tribe? What might the Ethiopian Jewish festival of Sigd suggest about interfaith work is a natural outcome of Jewish practice? (A holiday, Lex later discovered, that lands on his birthday…)
Likewise, we were both attracted to a wide variety of Jewish writings that extended well beyond Tanakh and Talmud. We wanted to know what other ancient texts offer us, and that included anything from the short Book of Tobit to Jubilees, a richly developed work of quite some intricacy.
Both of us are now ordained rabbis, though neither of us defaults to the title. We are devoted to conversations around Judaism or Jewish practice with anyone who is interested to be rewarding. We do not aim to convert. We do not aim to convince. We aim to unpack.
Just one look at the wide-ranging of topics that Judaism Unbound has addressed, the incredible diversity of its podcasts, its programs, and its classes, makes clear how dedicated its leaders are to radical acceptance.
A good portion of Judaism and Jewish practice has been constrained by the need to create boundaries and fences, to define who is and who is not Jewish and who can and who cannot participate, share, and celebrate what Judaism offers.
But when we begin with open hearts, with radical acceptance of what diverse Jewish communities have offered in the past, what contemporary communities offer in the present, and what those alongside us want to offer the future, we are all the richer for it.
I’m so proud to be among the teachers for Judaism Unbound’s spring Unyeshiva schedule. I hope to practice radical acceptance in my teaching; I can guarantee that everyone who works with and for Judaism Unbound will be behind that effort.
To those of you I am soon to meet in God’s Bod: An Anatomy of YHVH, The Israelite Deity, welcome!
To those who are interested in enrolling, I have a coupon for 20% off the incredibly reasonable tuition to offer: 20GODWITHBOD25
To those of you who find the term radical acceptance intriguing, I suggest you check out each and every course the Unyeshiva is offering – now and in the future.
Here’s the link: Unyeshiva Spring 2025
