local
Breaks Fairwold
Per his wife’s suggestion, Marx tries
to only check his emails for 30 minutes
in the mornings and evenings. He tries
to respectfully turn down requests for
Zoom meetings.

Increased access to technology and
remote communication has coincided
with the pandemic, which has brought
another challenge to rabbis. Th e past
two years have been an intense time of
emotional turmoil, where people are
increasingly turning to spiritual lead-
ers for guidance, Rabbi Kami Knapp
Schechter of Congregation Or Shalom
in Berwyn argued.

Th ere’s an “immense amount of
pressure that’s on the rabbis right now
of constantly having to reinvent things
and constantly having to be the cheer-
leader and holding the community
together,” Knapp Schechter said. “On
top of also stepping in for fi rst-line
responders who are also overwhelmed
— so like, therapists and doctors and
chaplains, all these people who are
spread super-thin — we’re having to
step up and kind of fi ll some of those
holes.” Even before the pandemic, rabbis
had trouble taking breaks, Knapp
Schechter argued. Th e nature of the job
requires immense emotional fortitude
and patience.

“I don’t think we really know how to
refi ll our cups,” she said. “We’re trying
to force ourselves to take breaks. We’re
trying to give ourselves permission to
take breaks. But it’s really hard, espe-
cially when you feel like your commu-
nity really needs you.”
As rabbis work to fl ex their bound-
aries and make the most of their vaca-
tions, they’re also putting feelers out,
sharing their needs with their lead-
ership team, trying to subtly share
their experiences with their commu-
nity without placing their baggage on
congregants. “It’s a hard thing to fi gure out because
you, as a rabbi, you want to put on the
best face for your community. And you
want to give them hope and give them
inspiration,” Knapp Shechter said. “So
there’s a fi ne line between trying to do
that but also being a human being and
being authentic about what your expe-
riences are.” JE
said School District of Philadelphia Chief
of Special Education Linda Williams,
who attended the dedication. “He knew
how to assess, and he knew how to help
teachers help children.”
“His name should be on this building
because he epitomizes what a true educa-
tor is,” she added.

Th ough not a pulpit rabbi, Feldman
became ordained in 2006 aft er complet-
ing the online Yeshiva Pirchei Shoshanim
program. He was heavily involved in
Lower Merion Synagogue and vol-
unteered there for 18 years. Feldman
brought his spirituality to his job, and
his job experience gave him a unique
perspective on Jewish texts, according to
his son Uri Feldman.

“He really brought to the Jewish text
that he was studying a perspective from
a very well-trained and seasoned practi-
tioner,” he said.

Feldman was born in Queens, New
York, and got his bachelor’s from Queens
College. He moved to Philadelphia in the
Continued from Page 8
Continued from Page 8
Rabbi Gary Feldman with his grandchildren
Courtesy of Uri Feldman
1970s to pursue his doctorate from Temple
University and raised his family of three
children with his wife in Lower Merion.

According to Uri Feldman, his father’s
legacy was in his ability to connect the
pieces of his life with a strong set of values.

“It was a combination of living a life
of family and community and pro-
fession, all intertwined into one,” he
said. JE
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