Interview with Moshe Smolkin, March 31, 2017

Partial Transcript: Hello. Our names are Raiffa Syamil and Megan Yorkey.

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin discusses his birth in Atlanta, Georgia and mentions moving to the state of Texas as a young child. His father, Mitchell Smolkin, is an internal medicine doctor from the area around Washington, D.C., and his mom, Laura Smolkin, is an educator from Madison, Wisconsin. He also has an older sister, Rachel, who currently works for CNN. His ancestors hail from the regions now controlled by Israel and Russia.

Keywords: Atlanta (Ga.); CNN; East European immigrants; Ellis Island; Family history; Georgia; Israel; Palestine; Russia; Texas

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Family histories.; Genealogy; Immigrants; Jewish families.

Partial Transcript: Okay.​ ​​So,​ ​now​ ​we're​ ​going​ ​to​ ​transition​ ​into​ ​you​ ​talking​ ​about​ ​when​ ​you​ ​were​ ​growing​ ​up.​

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin grew up in Clear Lake City, Texas, a suburb of Houston, where he remembers the weather being quite hot and humid and the people having a lot of state pride. He grew up close to NASA, and remembers the Challenger explosion hitting his community very hard. Before the start of seventh grade, his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mom received her PhD in education. He remembers getting a good public school education as a child, especially in Texas.

Keywords: Albuquerque (N.M.); Albuquerque, New Mexico; Challenger disaster; Clear Lake City (Tex.); Clear Lake City, Texas; Houston (Tex.); Houston, Texas; Indian American; NASA; University of New Mexico

Subjects: Childhood; Jewish children; Jewish families.

Partial Transcript: ​​​Okay.​​ ​​​​Now​​ ​​could​​ ​​you​​ ​​tell​​ ​​us​​ ​​about​​ ​​the​​ ​​role​​ ​​of​​ ​​Jewish​​ ​​tradition​​ ​​in​​ ​​your​​ ​​childhood?

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin’s family was somewhat involved in Judaism; they celebrated Shabbat with Smolkin’s grandparents every Friday. However, his family did not attend synagogue services very often. His parents were divided on how strong a role they wanted religion to play in their household: his father was more secular and his mother was more involved in the faith. Meanwhile, Smolkin himself was more concerned with childhood cartoons and the like. He mentions that he didn’t feel close to his rabbi, which contributed to his own lack of interest in the faith, as well as his experiences with antisemitism around Christmastime. Specifically, he describes when a classmate told him he was going to hell for not celebrating the holiday.

Keywords: Albuquerque (N.M.); Christmas; Religious attendance; Shabbat

Subjects: Anti-Semitism; Antisemitism; Childhood; Discrimination.; Fasts and feasts--Judaism.; Holidays.; Jewish children; Jewish families.; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: ​​Okay,​​ ​​so​​ ​​moving​​ ​​later​​ ​​on​​ ​​in​​ ​​your​​ ​​life,​​ ​​we​​ ​​understand​​ ​​that​​ ​​you​​ ​​had​​ ​​some​​ ​​immersive​​ ​​residential experiences​​ ​​with​​ ​​Chab--Chabad.​​ ​​​​Is​​ ​​that--

Segment Synopsis: After having his bar mitzvah in Albuquerque, Smolkin became disenchanted with his faith and reached out to different religious groups, experimenting with Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. He eventually became interested in the Hasidic movement of Judaism, and he became affiliated with the Chabad movement. While at first he felt strongly drawn to the movement, he eventually began to disagree with how it viewed the world, specifically their lack of openness to change. Later, he left the movement.

Keywords: Chabad; Hasidic; Kabbalah; Yeshiva; Zen Buddhism

Subjects: Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Um, was​ ​this​ ​all​ ​before​ ​college,​ ​or​ ​after​ ​college?

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin attended the University of New Mexico for one year and Brandeis University for two years as an undergraduate. He started college with a growing interest in the Chabad movement, but by the time he graduated he had left it. He also involved himself in the UNM Hillel organization, where he found that Orthodox Jews were less friendly with him than Conservative Jews. He majored in mathematics, but was also interested in studying philosophy and Yiddish. He got a master’s in teaching and secondary math education from Tufts University. After a couple of years teaching high school math he grew interested in attending rabbinical school, largely after working at a pluralistic Jewish high school and connecting with the local rabbi, Rabbi Sarah Zachariah. He eventually chose to attend a Conservative rabbinical school in Los Angeles, California.

Keywords: Brandeis University; Conservative Judaism; Hillel; Los Angeles (Calif.); Los Angeles, California; Math education; Mathematics; Orthodox Judaism; Philosophy; Rabbinical schools; Tufts University; University of New Mexico; Yiddish language

Subjects: College environment; College students--Religious life; College students--Social conditions; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Religion; Universities and colleges.; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Yeah,​ ​could​ ​you​ ​talk​ ​more​ ​about​ ​why​ ​you​ ​decided​ ​to​ ​pick​ ​L.A.​ ​over​ ​like​ ​New​ ​York?

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin decided to attend rabbinical school in Los Angeles largely because of the more liberal attitudes present in the region’s Conservative movement regarding the ordination of LGBT rabbis. Here, he got a master's of Hebrew letters. He says he also liked their teaching methods more. He describes how becoming a rabbi is constantly a learning experience, one in which you always continue to learn more about your job even after graduating rabbinical school.

Keywords: Hebrew language; Homosexuality; LGBT rights; Los Angeles (Calif.); Rabbinical schools

Subjects: Jewish leadership; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Rabbis; Religion

Partial Transcript: Jerusalem was an incredible experience.

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin spent half of 2006 and 2007 studying in Jerusalem, where he says the people were very friendly and felt like family to him. He was afraid of the country at first, worried about terrorist attacks and disapproving of Israel’s policies in Gaza, but with time he grew closer to the country and felt like he understood more about the complexity of the issues it was facing. He even considered permanently immigrating to Israel, but he ultimately decided to return to Los Angeles and finish rabbinical school. Today, he wants to take his children to Israel at some point, as he and his wife Talia both have family there.

Keywords: Aliyah; Gaza Strip; Hamas; Hebrew language; Hitnatkut; Jerusalem, Israel; Neshek; Palestine; Sderot (Israel); Sderot, Israel

Subjects: Israel.; Jerusalem (Israel)

Partial Transcript: ​Yeah.​ ​​Um,​​ ​I​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​go​ ​back​ ​a​ ​little​ ​bit​ ​to​ ​when​ ​you​ ​were,​ ​um,​ ​in​ ​college​ ​in​ ​Boston​ ​and​ ​New Mexico.​ ​​

Segment Synopsis: Reflecting back on his experiences at the University of New Mexico, Smolkin discusses how he rarely experienced antisemitism on campus, although he did experience a few instances on his way to his local synagogue in Albuquerque. At Brandeis University, a large portion of the student population was Jewish and he felt quite comfortable there. By studying to be a math teacher, he noticed more clearly that each teacher in his secular education instructed him differently, leading him to draw parallels in the Jewish faith and helping him gravitate to the Conservative movement. Because of this decision, he became interested in studying other Jewish denominations, and this exploration eventually led him to decide to become a rabbi.

Keywords: Albuquerque (N.M.); Albuquerque, New Mexico; Brandeis University; Conservative Judaism; Education; Pedagogy; University of New Mexico

Subjects: Anti-Semitism; Antisemitism; College students--Attitudes.; College students--Conduct of life.; College students--Religious life; College students--Social conditions; Discrimination.; Education, Higher; Universities and colleges.

Partial Transcript: ​Okay.​ ​​ ​Well,​ ​now​ ​we​ ​want​ ​to​ ​focus​ ​on​ ​your​ ​experiences​ ​as​ ​a​ ​rabbi.​

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin started as an intern rabbi at Mishkon Tephilo in Venice Beach, California. He has been working as a rabbi in Lexington for 8 years at the time of the interview in 2017. He explains that his synagogue in Lexington, Congregation Ohavay Zion, has grown to be slightly larger than the one he worked at in California, despite the smaller size of the Lexington Jewish community. Prior to moving to Lexington, he was interviewed to become a local rabbi in Alpharetta, Georgia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Saint Albans, England, but he ultimately chose Lexington because he and his wife Talia felt that Lexington was a very warm community and would be a good place to raise children in.

Keywords: Alpharetta (Ga.); Chattanooga (Tenn.); Lexington (Ky.); Ohavay Zion Synagogue; Saint Albans (England); Venice Beach (Calif.); ​ ​Alpharetta,​ ​Georgia; ​ ​Chattanooga, Tennessee; ​ ​Lexington,​ ​Kentucky; ​ ​New​ ​York; ​ ​Saint​ ​Albans,​ ​England; ​ ​Venice​ ​Beach,​ ​California; ​Mishkon​ ​Tephilo

Subjects: Jewish children; Jewish families.; Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Judaism.; Rabbis

Partial Transcript: Well​ ​you've--you​ ​touched​ ​on​ ​how​ ​Lexington​ ​is​ ​a​ ​much​ ​smaller​ ​community​ ​than​ ​the​ ​other​ ​ones​ ​you've been​ ​in.​ ​​ ​

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin reflects on how highly involved the Lexington Jewish community is, especially compared to the communities in the cities he has previously lived in. His own synagogue, Ohavay Zion, has a high rate of participation. He also spends much of his time teaching both the children and adults of the congregation, often engaging in deep discussions with its members about social issues and their relationship to Judaism. He discusses his experiences with others in the Lexington community, such as strange calls he has received concerning a variety of subjects and invitations he has had to speak at different schools and colleges. He discusses his congregation’s relationship to other minority groups in the city, particularly the Muslim community and the Latino community. Specifically, he describes the way his congregation showed support to the community of Masjid Bilal Mosque following a bomb threat after the 2016 presidential election. Smolkin concludes this section by discussing the importance of teaching children Hebrew, which he argues is important because of its religious significance in the Jewish community.

Keywords: Education; Hebrew language; Islamophobia; Latino community; Muslim community; Ohavay Zion Synagogue

Subjects: Discrimination.; Jews--Identity.; Jews--Kentucky--Lexington.; Judaism.; Lexington (Ky.); Rabbis; Religion; Religion and politics; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Um, as​ ​a​ ​relatively​ ​young​ ​rabbi,​ ​what​ ​type​ ​of​ ​inter-generational​ ​challenges​ ​have​ ​you​ ​faced​ ​with your​ ​older​ ​congregants?

Segment Synopsis: Here, Smolkin discusses his congregation’s polarized views on LGBT rights and Israel. After reflecting on his childhood and college experiences (when his then-roommate came out to him, which made him support LGBT rights), he mentions that young people are overwhelmingly supportive of these rights while older members are much less likely to do so because they have already gone through so much in their lifetimes. He brings up a conversation he had with an older woman in his congregation, explaining that the large number of historical events older members of the community have gone through as well as their familiarity with earlier social norms make it much harder for their views to change.

Keywords: Coming out; Holocaust; Homosexuality; LGBT rights; Trembling Before God; War

Subjects: Anti-Semitism; Antisemitism; Discrimination.; Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Judaism.; Religion; Religion and politics

Partial Transcript: ​Israel​ ​is another​ ​topic​ ​where​ ​there's​ ​an​ ​interesting​ ​divide​ ​in​ ​the​ ​community.

Segment Synopsis: Following Smolkin's discussing of inter-generational divisions regarding LGBT rights, he continues by describing attitudinal differences in generational perspectives about Israel. He perceives that older people are generally overwhelmingly supportive of the country while younger people are much more skeptical. He brings context to the issue by discussing the numerous invasions of Israel in the 20th century, as well as the view of Israel as a sort of life boat against antisemitism for many people. On the other hand, he explains that younger people are less supportive of Israel because they are aware of the current issues in Gaza, yet didn’t grow up witnessing the various events which threatened Israel’s very existence. He concludes by connecting these attitudes to political divisions in his congregation, with many older people voting Republican solely due to their support of Israel.

Keywords: Holocaust; Terrorism; War; ​ ​Gaza​ ​Strip; ​ ​Palestine; ​ ​West​ ​Bank; ​ ​antisemitism; ​Israel

Subjects: Anti-Semitism; Antisemitism; Discrimination.; Israel.; Politics and government; Religion and politics

Partial Transcript: Um, switching focus just a little bit--

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin talks about the differences between the Conservative movement and the Reform movement. He says that Conservative congregations make every attempt to stick to the traditions and ideals upheld in Judaism, while Reform congregations are adapting Jewish traditions to better fit modern times. He begins to focus on the interactions between different synagogues within Lexington and who the interactions benefit.

Keywords: Bat mitzvahs; Conservative Judaism; Intercongregational interactions; Ohavay Zion Synagogues; Reform Judaism; Shtetl

Subjects: Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Lexington (Ky.); Rabbis; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Okay. And what would you say is the most challenging and rewarding experiences you've had as a rabbi?

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin discusses some of the difficulties he faces outside rabbinical school, such as adapting to the technological changes of the times. He feels he can now impact people in new ways, for example, through email. There have been more and more conflicts between current and political events that have negatively impacted Jewish communities globally, such as the disagreements on LGBTQ civil rights within the Jewish community, as well as how different people in the same Jewish communities have contrasting views on such events. The feedback he gets from this compels him to continue his work as rabbi.

Keywords: Communities; Community; Minority groups; Outreach; Torah

Subjects: Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Lexington (Ky.); Rabbis; Religion; Religion and politics; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Do you feel the community reaction to like the interfaith efforts are mostly positive?

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin explains some of the different beliefs and practices of Muslim and Jewish communities, how they are similar, and also where their values differ. He focuses on some of the larger issues faced by U.S. Jews regarding undocumented immigrants such as deportations. He also points out where the line is drawn between those who support the residence of undocumented immigrants and those who think their permanent presence is unfair.

Keywords: Communities; Community; Deportation; Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Interfaith; Liberation; Minority groups; Outreach

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Immigrants; Judaism.; Religion and politics

Partial Transcript: Um, this is kind of like a little bit of a shift from what you're talking about, but how has being a rabbi contributed to your personal faith?

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin talks about his religious path through and beyond rabbinical school. He explains how the Torah impacted his personal faith after his experimentation with several other denominations and religions, and how his education in rabbinical school deepened his knowledge of history and its connection to religion.

Keywords: Communities; Community; Congregants; Liturgy; Torah

Subjects: Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Lexington (Ky.); Rabbis; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Um, but now we want to switch focus to your wife and kids.

Segment Synopsis: In this segment, Smolkin explains a bit about his own family and how Judaism is a part of their lives. He begins by introducing his wife, Talia Smolkin, whom he knew through mutual friends and met through a Jewish dating site called JDate. He gives a brief description of her background and community involvement with Judaism and then introduces his children and how Judaism is a part of their lives. He says they are just getting to the point where his oldest child, Ashira, age five, is noticing how faith can conflict with personal interests such as a Saturday dance recital. This conflict has posed a new challenge of where to be lenient and where to be firm in their religious practices.

Keywords: Adonai; Conflicting values; JDate; Los Angeles (Calif.); PJ Library; Raising Jewish children; Shema; Traditions; Ve’ahavta; Work-life balance

Subjects: Jewish children; Jewish families.; Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jewish women--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Jews--Kentucky--Lexington.; Judaism.; Rabbis; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Do you have any plans like outside of synagogue and religious school of involving them in the Jewish community?

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin describes the work his family and community do through the charitable organization God’s Pantry, as well as a personal story of his daughter Ashira’s take on charity.

Keywords: God’s Pantry; Sadaqah; Shabbat; Social action; Volunteering

Subjects: Charity.; Jewish children; Jewish families.; Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: How would you say your--the way you share your religion with your kids compares to how your parents shared their religion with you?

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin starts by explaining some of the discussions between him and his wife, Talia, on how to introduce Judaism to their children. Smolkin refocuses on the way maturity directly impacts the will to practice religion. While short term things, such as playdates or sporting events, may seem more favorable to their children, the long-term importance of religious practice is still always evident to Smolkin and his wife. However, convincing the children to go against their will to follow religious practices can be difficult.

Keywords: Conservative; Reform; Shabbat; Sunday school; Traditions

Subjects: Jewish children; Jewish families.; Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jewish women--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Jews--Kentucky--Lexington.; Judaism.; Rabbis; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Okay. So we're going to, um, switch, or transition a little bit into talking kind of like temple-synagogue like interactions.

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin refers to the unique aspects of Chabad practice and how they can be seen in a negative light by some of his congregants. Because of this negative connotation, interaction between the members of these two organizations is difficult at times. Smolkin pushes for crossover education, or education between synagogues of different denominations, to give his the students coming to OZS a broader perspective based on open mindedness. He briefly mentions the differences in how temples and synagogues practice and the different things parents look for when choosing one over the other for their children.

Keywords: Chabad; Jewish education; Ohavay Zion Synagogue; Temple Adath Israel; Traditional

Subjects: Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Lexington (Ky.); Rabbis; Religion; Religion and politics; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Okay. So, um, you already talked about the genera--generational changes that you've noticed, but we want to go back and elaborate on that little bit more.

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin talks about how being Jewish means different things to people of different ages. To younger generations, it often serves as an ethnic identity, giving them a group to associate themselves with and a way to easier follow their ideals and traditions to live by. For the older generations it is often more of a lifestyle than merely a group to associate with. He talks about some of the attempts made to unite the older and younger generations, whether that be through dinners, religious holidays, or philanthropic events.

Keywords: Assimilation; Bar mitzvahs; Communities; Community; Congregations; Generations; Social connections

Subjects: Jewish children; Jewish families.; Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Um, how do you discuss the various social movements and current events that are affecting our society with your congregation?

Segment Synopsis: In this segment, Smolkin talks about the tedious nature of integrating social and political events into his preaching in attempt to keep with the times. He highlights on part of the inter-generational divide in this segment by referring to how the older and younger generations handle politics differently. He claims to "never get push-back from the younger generation" on topics such as LGBTQ rights.

Keywords: Diverse; Diversity; Elections; International political views; Personal development; Sermons

Subjects: Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Lexington (Ky.); Rabbis; Religion; Religion and politics; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: So, for this class we had to listen to other Jewish interviews.

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin talks about the declining popularity of plays within the synagogue and the difficulties of preventing their complete disappearance, as they are currently not practiced in most areas. He then discusses some other events in or through the synagogue, such as Yom Kippur activities, that are also slowly declining because of more people preferring to stay connected to a “larger community” made possible through new technology. Due to this technological transition, events such as the Yom Kippur Ball and plays are becoming more and more obsolete in the community because they are meant to be practiced by a smaller, more intimate kind of community.

Keywords: Communities; Community; Congregations; Passover; Plays; Rosh Hashanah; Shabbat; Social; Social events; Sukkot; Tikkun Olam; Yom Kippur Ball

Subjects: Fasts and feasts--Judaism.; Holidays.; Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Lexington (Ky.); Rabbis; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Do you feel that Camp Shalom is still successful today with getting the younger generation involved in the community?

Segment Synopsis: In this brief segment, Smolkin brushes over his synagogue's Jewish youth group as well as one of their major annual programs, Camp Shalom, that helps get the younger generation involved in the community. He also mentions efforts with other synagogues to help give members of his youth group a broader experience of Judaism and its different denominations.

Keywords: Camp Shalom; Communities; Community; Kids; Synagogues; Youth groups

Subjects: Jewish children; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Um, um, you talked about this a little bit earlier, and I was really interested in, um, kind of, how Judaism had that switch in attitudes towards like the LGBTQ community and like congregation members...

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin further discusses LGBTQ rights. He brings up the two major views--for or against gay rights, gay marriage, etc.--held by the greater public on this topic and provides reasoning as to why or why not members of the synagogue choose to support either side of the debate. He points out that as times are changing, this disagreement within the synagogue is becoming a more relevant topic and is coming up in more and more synagogues across the country. He also talks about the split opinions between younger and older generations on the topic. He believes the older generation tends to be more disapproving of the expansion LGBT rights, meanwhile the younger generation is more open-minded and supportive.

Keywords: Conservative Judaism; Forbidden; Generations; Judaism; LGBT rights; Orthodoxy; Perspectives; Reconstructionist Judaism; Reform; Renewal

Subjects: Jewish leadership--Kentucky--Lexington; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Lexington (Ky.); Rabbis; Religion; Religion and politics; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Um, um, we're going to transition now a little bit into talking a little bit more about like some anti-Semitic experience you might have had?

Segment Synopsis: Smolkin describes some of his experiences with antisemitism through harsh words, social media, and even projectiles directed at him. He then talks about hatred and general close-mindedness on a broader scale, particularly focusing on hatred stemming from homophobia and racism. He expresses sadness toward hate and states that “We can all be great together," strongly believing that there is place for everyone in American society.

Keywords: Communities; Community; Criticism; Criticized; Hate; LGBTQ rights; Society; Targeted

Subjects: Anti-Semitism; Antisemitism; Discrimination.; Jews--Identity.; Judaism.