Rabbi Dalia Samansky

Have you ever questioned a tradition only to find out that no one knows where it came from? “One of the unique aspects of Judaism is that it is a religion that is far more interested in what we do than what we believe,” says Rabbi Dalia Samansky. “By habituating ourselves to acting like the people we aspire to be, we are able to actually become those better versions of ourselves.”

The darkness that descended upon Egypt “was no ordinary darkness, created by the absence of light,” says Rabbi Dalia Samansky. “Meanwhile the Israelites had light.” Where did it come from?

“We are a people of memory. But our tradition also recognizes that it is neither possible nor healthy to remember everything,” says Rabbi Dalia Samansky, recalling her years as a hospice chaplain. “I often remind people that they are in charge of what they remember — for the purpose of memory is to make us better, not bitter.”

Rabbi Dalia Samansky loves Thanksgiving. But family gatherings can often be fraught. “As much as we’d all love to have a big happy family that gets along, this is not always the case,” she says. The Bible, too, is full of dysfunctional families and imperfect people. Perhaps “we don’t have to be perfect to be loved.”

Was the world created for us or are we but dust and ashes? “Depending on the situation, we should contemplate one or the other to remind ourselves of our place in the world,” says Rabbi Dalia Samansky. “Judaism believes that life is about balance…”

Here, “we stand by one another and we hold each other up,” says Rabbi Dalia Samansky as she’s officially welcomed to Stephen Wise. “Not only am I in awe as I stand before this congregation and God, but I stand firm and strong because I am standing on the shoulders of so many who came before me. This is an honor and a privilege.”

When people come to Rabbi Dalia Samansky to express their disbelief in the Divine, she says: “Tell me about the God you don’t believe in.” More often than not, they’re imagining a God who “resembles Zeus or Santa Claus,” she explains. “But the Bible has many descriptions of God…”

“Gam zeh ya’avor’ — ‘This too shall pass’ has a far deeper meaning than the short sentence implies,” says Rabbi Dalia Samansky. This week Moses reminds the Israelites of the 42 steps of their journey. “Moses wants to be sure that we remember that the journey to freedom, like our lives, are filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.”

“I am a proud Reform Jew,” declares Rabbi Dalia Samansky. “One aspect I particularly love about Reform Judaism is its ability to make Judaism relevant for today’s time.” We see this flexibility in this week’s Torah portion: “Not only does God grant their immediate request, but God even changes the rules going forward.”