Rabbi Rochelle Kamins has not always felt Jewish ... enough. No youth group or summer camp. She never did all of the things that young Jewish people were "supposed" to do. But she always wanted to feel like she fit, and that she could belong -- tattoos, motorcycles and all. Sitting in her office, Rabbi Rochelle talks candidly about her non-traditional road to the rabbinate and why she doesn't plan on conforming anytime soon.
"I think everyone has an image of a rabbi," says Rabbi Rochelle laughing. "They think old white man with a beard and big hat. Just like when you ask most kids what God looks like, he is still the man on the cloudy throne in the sky."
Rabbi Rochelle is a bit of an anomaly. Adorned with tattoos, albeit inconspicuously, she drives her Honda CBR F4i motorcycle through Los Angeles traffic en route to perform one of her rabbinic duties. Ordained in 2009 as a Reform rabbi, she has built an image on being different and welcoming people into Judaism who might not fit the mold.
Her goal is to make change in the Jewish community -- change in the way Jews look at other Jews. She has a passion that stems from a lifetime of feeling like people were looking at her as if she could not be a part of the community, because she didn't participate in all of the things that constituted being a "good" Jew. As a rabbi, she aims to help people foster connections within the community while being a reflection of what she believes are different, yet acceptable routes to Judaism.
She tells the story of a couple who asked her to perform their wedding on a Saturday, the day of rest in Judaism where working or getting married is against tradition. The couple grew up Jewish and were interested in maintaining a Jewish household, however were not currently connected to a synagogue. They shared with her horror stories of other rabbis who had refused to perform the ceremony and told the couple that they were not Jewish because of their decision to get married on Shabbat.
"I had a conversation with them and explained the tradition," recalls Rabbi Rochelle. "The date and the place for their wedding was already set. Is it the worse thing in the world? No. The worst thing in the world would be if the next rabbi said no. And the next rabbi said no, and the next. Then they would be lost. Why would anyone come into a community if they feel like the door keeps getting slammed in their face?"
Raised in San Francisco by her mother, a more traditional Jew from the Bronx, and her father, an L.A. socialist Jew, Rabbi Rochelle's experience was anything but traditional. "How the two of them came together and created a rabbi is anyone's guess," chuckles Rabbi Rochelle.
Her upbringing, however, cultivated a sensitivity for Jewish people whose lives did not fit perfectly within the boundaries of traditional Jewish practice or thought. "My dad's parents were basically communists," says Rabbi Rochelle. "You know L.A. Socialists had meetings in their house. One of my grandparents' good friends was a lawyer who was defending people at the Supreme Court during the Red Scare and all of that. My dad's father was very anti-organized religion. He was all about science and reason. My grandfather was like, 'Oh sure you can have a bar mitzvah, if you believe in that.'"
Her father, who is in his 60s, never had a bar mitzvah until she performed it last November. "We had a deal," says Rabbi Rochelle with a smile. "He said he would have a bar mitzvah when I could be the rabbi. It was pretty cool."
Her mother shares that her daughter's decision to become a rabbi came as a huge surprise: "I knew after she went to college that she would do something with kids and Judaism, but had no idea that she would take this route."
Veering from the beaten path has become one of Rabbi Rochelle's hallmarks. She successfully petitioned UC San Diego to allow her to create her own undergraduate major in Modern Israeli Society and Israeli Culture. And in rabbinical school she wrote her thesis on the question of tattoos in Judaism, "The Illustrated Jew: A New Jewish Perspective on Tattoos," hoping to give a reference to people like herself that were trying to find a balance between the secular world and their Judaism.
"I did a ton of research before I got my tattoos," she says. "And I eventually came to the conclusion that body art did not make God angry with me or make me a bad Jew. I am not a bad person and I live my life with integrity."
Rabbi Rochelle's body is adorned with two tattoos, although the second one can hardly be considered a single tattoo. It initially started off as a tattoo on her back that spelled the word "love" in the shape of a heart. It has since morphed into an olive tree, which makes the heart appear more like a carving in the tree. The olive tree has special significance in Judaism.
The word emet, meaning "truth" in Hebrew, is tattooed on her hip and was designed to look like it was written on her body with a black Sharpie. The tattoo's placement was carefully chosen, as she wanted it to be a bit hidden, just for her, and to serve as a reminder to always walk in truth and integrity.
Walking in truth and integrity for Rabbi Rochelle has not always been an easy road to travel. Adopting the unpopular position that someone's sexual preference, body art or piercings has nothing to do with his or her spirituality has presented its fair share of challenges. She is aware that she might be looked at as a bit of an outsider and is sometimes referred for jobs that quite possibly nobody else will take. Weddings on a Saturday. An interfaith wedding with a minister. She gets the impression at times that people refer these jobs to her because they think, "Oh, it's Rochelle, she'll do anything." That just because she is open in some ways, she has no boundaries or rules. That there is no method to her madness.
"So many people go through the motions," says Rabbi Rochelle. "They go to religious school. They do the things, but there is no real connection. I want people to stay connected and to let people know that even if they feel different, like they don't fit or they don't belong, there is still room here. You know, they say that Abraham's tent was open on all four sides, so that visitors or people coming from any direction -- he could greet them. I really think that is what the synagogue should be and that is what a rabbi should be. A rabbi is like Abraham, open on all sides and ready to welcome anyone in when they are ready and from whichever direction they come."
A revised version of this article was originally published at onBeing.
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You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.
=="I did a ton of research before I got my tattoos," she says.==
OK.
“None of the above has been accomplished yet, therefore Moshiach (Messiah) has not yet come!”
My reply!
Sir, what you are purposely missing - the restoring of Israel etc. is a metaphor! Today all followers of the Christ, the Messiah Jesus, -- are all through Jesus, sons of Abraham! We are all one people – that make up “Spiritual Israel!”
Read scripture!
Galatians 3:26 YOU are all, in fact, sons of God through YOUR faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of YOU who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for YOU are all one [person] in union with Christ Jesus. 29 Moreover, if YOU belong to Christ, YOU are really Abraham’s seed, heirs with reference to a promise. End of reading!
The points we must grasp: We are all one people! Religions divide each of us to their own political leanings, a mind set that is locked in antiquity and suffocate God the Father, God’s Word, and stifles our individual spiritual growth and journey. We are all through the Christ “One Yoke” – with each other, with our Christ, and with our Father in Heaven! Yes, you want one label, “Sons and Daughters of Abraham through Jesus!” Let’s drop all the other labels and be united praising and giving thanks to the “One Universal God, Jehovah (aka, Yahweh)!”... Praise God Almighty!
In short! What are you? Belong to (the people of) Abramham in Jesus (Our Savior!)
The Mashiach (or Messiah)
1) The mashiach will be a great political leader descended from King David (Jeremiah 23:5). 2) The mashiach is often referred to as "mashiach ben David" (mashiach, son of David). 3) He will be well-versed in Jewish law, and observant of its commandments (Isaiah 11:2-5). 4) He will be a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example. 5) He will be a great military leader, who will win battles for Israel. 6) He will be a great judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jeremiah 33:15). 7) But above all, he will be a human being, not a god, demi-god or other supernatural being.
My comments - above point to Jesus!
1) Jesus started the movement of bringing men of faith from all cultures and lands to Jehovah that continues to this day,
2) Born through the line of David,
3) Scholarly in Jewish law,
4) With a humble, loving, charismatic yoke, he attracted masses from place to place, and the children,
5) He re-purchased mankind, with his life, from the grips of eternal damnation. And when being arrested told Peter, “Put your sword away - do you not think I cannot ask my Father in Heaven right now for 10 legions of angels?”
6) “He without sin let him cast the first stone,” one of Jesus judgments,
7) He was all man; a perfect man! Scripture refers to Jesus as, “the second Adam.”
Those criteria were not fulfilled at the time Jesus allegedly lived nor have they been fulfilled to date. It really is not that difficult a concept to understand.
The mashiach will bring about the political and spiritual redemption of the Jewish people by bringing us back to Israel and restoring Jerusalem (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5). He will establish a government in Israel that will be the center of all world government, both for Jews and gentiles (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:10; 42:1). He will rebuild the Temple and re-establish its worship (Jeremiah 33:18). He will restore the religious court system of Israel and establish Jewish law as the law of the land (Jeremiah 33:15).
via: http://www.jewfaq.org/mashiach.htm
None of the above has been accomplished yet, therefore Moshiach has not yet come. Period. Jesus may of been a good man, but at the very least there is still no Temple, and that is pretty much key in the Jewish religion. Might I also mention that Jesus did not create Christianity- it was Paul who created it many years later. I think Jesus would plotz if he could see how his words have been manipulated for centuries to create a religion that was never meant to be. Jesus never renounced Judaism and the last supper was a JEWISH SEDER!!!! IMO, if you want to follow the same religion as Jesus, then one must follow the Jewish religion, not the other way around.
Bravo to you, Rabbi Komins - walk your own path, your own way, and go on thinking outside the box!
Beyond that, I don't really care one way or the other although I do suspect that the concerns of strict observances are misplaced. Not being Jewish, I have no dog in this fight, but being partially Irish, I have a long-standing issue with St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland.
In response, Mr. St. Patrick, there were no snakes in Ireland, those were Druid tattoos and I'd be ever so delighted if only the Druids would rise up to drive St. Patrick out of Ireland. It's tempting to have my hand tattoo'd into a snake writhing up my arm but frankly, I don't like the idea of the pain involved and what's more, tattoos are way too spendy for my budget.
I'm no fan of St Patrick either, but he wasn't to blame for the lack of snakes in Ireland - there never were any there. There's a rather interesting article on it here:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/NewsEvents/irelandsnakes.cfm
I am taking back with a people that believe in God, and that God's signature is in prophecy -- but somehow turn a blind eye, deaf ear, and a callous heart, towards the inspired Bible prophecies by their prophets of old, Moses, Abraham, Isaiah, Daniel, just to mention a few, that point directly, head-on to Jesus as the Messiah, and Son of God! Note, Jesus is not God Almighty as most of the Christian community subscribes to; but The Only Begotten Son of God Almighty, as prophesied and stated in scripture!
Really who would not want Jesus to be mankind's Savior? Jesus conducted himself before man, with such love and humility for all -- no greater man has ever walked this earth! And his shed blood, the ransom sacrifice for man, impalement @ Calvary, has given man the opportunity to live forever; as our Father in Heaven originally intended for mankind!
We should pinch ourselves knowing that, acceptance of Jesus as mankind's Savior means everlasting life for each of us. And no matter what misery we experience in this life on earth as imperfect humans! We have been promised, perfection, our youth returned, earth will be a paradise again, death will be no more....and Mitch a drum roll please, under God's hands-on eternal reign! This promise should be in our undercurrent of thoughts each and everyday! If that does not uplift one’s spirits – you (i.e., not me) are in trouble!
The Bible also says that when the messiah is here all the Jews will be gathered together in Israel, the Third Temple will be built (read Ezekiel, where all the blueprints and measurements of the Temple are laid out in great detail), and there will be no more sickness, suffering, poverty or war.
Has any of that happened? No. So you have your facts a little mixed up. According to the Bible, JC is not the messiah. Ironically, one needs to be ignorant of what's actually in the Bible to believe JC is the messiah. Once you know what's there, you realize there's no way he could be.
Peace
how many rabbi's that have followed certain Jewish laws like not getting a tattoo but have embezzeled stolen molested etc etc ? are they better than her? NO they broke worse commandments and did not live a righteous life.
But I wonder if she ever read HA'SHEM'S dreadfully serious strict commandment against tattoos, and every other form of self-mutilation with His very name attached as an ascription at the end of it, in Torah in Leviticus 19: 27:
" YOU SHALL NOT MAKE ANY CUTTINGS IN YOUR FLESH FOR THE DEAD, NOR PRINT ANY MARKS UPON YOU: I AM YAHWEH."
Well, I myself took that commandment very seriously, and in my own research on this controversial topic, what I discovered was that the Torah forbids any person with any deformities such marks or cuttings to enter the Temple. The preparations have long been in the works for the rebuilding of Temple in Jerusalem, and neither myself or anyone else will be allowed to enter that Temple with piercings or tattoos.
We all have our own free will, and as such we are free to mutilate our bodies if we so choose to, but what is very strange to me, is how so many people do in fact get tattoos for their dead loved ones, in direct opposition to the Law of God forbidding any such printings on the body for the dead.
How a Rabbi could violate the Torah this way, I just can't figure.
Thank you for your comments.
She should have paid more attention to her grandfather.
Great eye for detail however. Thank you for your comment.
Is she unhappy with the body God gave her that she needs to change it? It makes no sense to me.