Our son, Erik Thiede, looked uncharacteristically baffled. \u201cI can\u2019t take it in,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just that random guy, wolfing salad down in the cafeteria\u2026 working out at the gym.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erik had just accepted a position as a professor of chemistry at Cornell University\u2019s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He was standing in a liminal space, one we regularly encounter in Tanakh. Someone is suddenly called to a position they aren\u2019t prepared for, that they didn\u2019t see coming, that they hadn\u2019t imagined. Or, perhaps, like Joseph, they\u2019ve dreamed their future for years and still are taken unawares when it arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, as I was reading T\u2019tzaveh<\/em>, I imagined Aaron thinking \u201cI\u2019m just a random guy\u2026\u201d I imagined the oddity of authority, the fear of the power that is literally in-vested in the clothing YHVH invents and decrees for Aaron, now to become Israel\u2019s High Priest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was just taking a good, long walk around the camp\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is so much said in Tanakh, in rabbinic texts, in Chassidic stories about the spaces between being, seemingly, a \u201crandom\u201d individual and taking a some position of authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Exodus 28:12, YHVH commands Aaron to wear \u201cstones for remembrance of the Israelite people, whose names Aaron shall carry.\u201d In a tender reading of this verse, Hayyim of Czernowitz (1760-1816) wrote that Aaron was to carry Israel\u2019s names on his shoulders \u201clike a father carrying a young child on his shoulders to keep the child safe\u201d (B\u2019er Mayyim Hayyim<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For years Erik and I have talked about what makes a wise and caring teacher, what is needed to mentor others safely and well. We spoke about student fears, insecurities, and anxieties. Where else are you judged every single week of your life by teachers who don\u2019t always know your name, let alone something of your heart, your soul, or your life experience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think of Aaron \u2013 his mistakes and his grace. His ability to walk through a field of death, tending to his people. His silence when his sons Nadav and Avihu die \u2013 and perhaps only because they were too excited, too hopeful, too interested in serving YHVH to know just how dangerous that service could be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aaron\u2019s work was fraught with danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Truly: so is the work of teacher. We live in a world in which our students are increasingly challenged. They suffer from emotional and mental distress at much higher levels, according to our data. They are financially strapped. States across the country are attacking efforts to make college education more inclusive and friendly for people of color. Rampant legal assaults on LGBTQ+ individuals are likewise making their way through various legislatures. Teachers have roles to play, jobs to do, to help keep our students safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even through his doctoral and postdoctoral work, Erik mentored younger scholars. He loves teaching, mentoring. His group lab page, which he launched just in the past days, says it all. Under “Lab Values,” he wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We are curious.<\/strong> Science is about learning, not knowing. We are always looking for new ways of thinking, and are comfortable showing that we don’t understand everything. We are open. <\/strong>Science is a team sport. To help out teammates, we take pains to share our science freely amongst the scientific community and with the world. We are caring<\/strong>. Doing good science requires delving deep into the unknown: an experience both exciting, and terrifying. On our journey, we celebrate each other’s achievements and support each other through setbacks. We are inclusive.<\/strong> We actively strive to make science a place where everyone thrives, no matter their background and identity. We resist oppression of any kind, including but not limited to sexism, classism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and xenophobia. Although we may not complete this work within our lifetimes, we refuse to desist from it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n