Thursday, December 15, 2011

Blogoversary

Four years ago I decided to start this blog, with the post that appears below. This followed a stretch of a little over a year in which I had blogged anonymously.

My anonymous blog was fun, and it allowed me an outlet I never could have had when publishing under my own name - but it felt wrong to publish without the responsibility that comes when you attach your name to something. Also, the longer I went with it, the more I felt that I wanted to take credit for that writing. So I went nonymous, and I began with the post below, which explains part of why I wanted to blog:

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Why a blog?

A few reasons:

Reason 1. Part of being a rabbi is being an educator. In that role, I want to teach, to inform, to challenge, to inspire, to lead, to convey a new point of view, to wrestle with ideas and perhaps - but not necessarily - reach a new conclusion. I want to offer depth and nuance, and participate in dynamic interaction.
The standard methods - speeches/classes/articles - just don't provide that venue.

Speeches - There is little room for serious challenge in a forum that must entertain as well as inspire. The davening and kiddush that follow guarantee that the inspiration, for most listeners, will quickly fade. There is little room for nuance in a presentation that does not allow for note-taking and requires that the rabbi address too broad a semi-listening audience.

Classes - Classes allow for nuance, but because of the large groups involved, timid (and even not-so-timid) voices are drowned out, and ideas that should be explored to a greater extent are instead reduced to a few moments and a "let's move on."

Articles - Articles in shul bulletins as well as newspapers are a stronger candidate, but those lack the capacity for dynamic interaction, for feedback and discussion and debate.


Reason 2. Oh, and I want to be able to be funny, too, or at least spontaneous, and in speeches you have to worry about breaking the flow of the speech, in classes there's never enough time, and in articles there's never enough space. So, perhaps the blog will provide a venue for that.

Reason 3. And, while I'm at it, another reason - I don't see why an idea, once expressed in a derashah, should vanish into thin air.

Reason 4. And, all right, another reason - to avoid the temptation of recycling my own material.


So here I am, proud owner of a new blog, which I have named Rechovot: A Place to Expand. My goal is to post some of my derashot, class-themes or general musings here, to continue the conversation.

And with that... here goes.

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And here it has gone, for four years now.

10 comments:

  1. Mazeltov, and thank you!

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  2. Mazel Tov. I am glad that you started the old blog and that you have continued it here.

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  3. Mazel tov to you, and us as well! Your blog is a real benefit to the readers.

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  4. What, you had an anonymous blog? (Wink)

    Hip Hip Hurray!!
    Get out the streamers and the party hats!
    I always enjoy your insights, observations, post, and the Torah I've learned.

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  5. Congrats! I always wondered what the significance of "rechovot" was in the URL. Wondered if you had some attachment to the city for some reason! :-)

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  6. And yet here you are recycling! :)

    Nicely done. May your blog live long and flourish (I just couldn't bring myself to do it . . . ) . . .

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  7. I like the tone here, as well as the content.

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  8. Thanks, everyone; much appreciated, and have a great Shabbos!

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  9. Mazal tov! (Sorry for the slight delay.)

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