Rabbi Tracy Nathan has taken on different jobs in Jewish education from New York City to St. Louis. She calls herself the “Swiss Army knife rabbi.”
Nathan and her husband, also a rabbi, recently settled in Washington, D.C. She began her role as the director of lifelong learning at Tifereth Israel Congregation in July.
Before that, Nathan taught at a Jewish community school in St. Louis and served as the senior educator for the Center of Jewish Learning at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. She grew up in Brooklyn and was ordained in 2006.
Tell me about your Jewish upbringing and background.
I grew up in a family of a religious theater-loving home. My sister became an actress, and the soundtrack of my childhood was Broadway showtunes. My dad refers to his daughters as “the rabbi and the showgirl.” We were active members at a Reform synagogue, and although my dad grew up Orthodox, I was exposed to a variety of Jewish practices and observances through my extended family of Conservative, Modern Orthodox, Hasidic Jews, secular Jews and Israeli family. I felt very blessed to be part of a family that respected each other, [that] practices the belief with genuine curiosity [and] appreciation for each other, and I think that is why the value of pluralism has been central to my rabbinic career.
You moved from St. Louis to D.C. What prompted this move?
I lived in a lot of different areas. [My husband and I] have aging parents and wanted to be closer to our families. I have family in New York City and close relatives here in this area, so it was time to get back home, back on the East Coast.
Have you always wanted to work in the Jewish community?
No, definitely not. After college, I was drawn to the study of community and culture, and that led me to a Ph.D. program in folklore and folk life at the University of Pennsylvania. I moved to New York City, and there, I discovered the joy of Jewish learning and the incredibly soulful, beautiful prayer experience at B’nai Jeshurun. I literally showed up one day and at the service, started weeping. The music was gorgeous; there was just such passion, authentic prayer, a sense of social responsibility, and it just touched a deep chord within me.
I started to think that what I was seeking was my own ritual song, spirituality and community, and I dove right in. I started taking free classes, volunteered for the history and archives committee. I learned how to read Torah, and I started to think maybe the rabbinate was something I’d be interested in, but I didn’t want to go right into another graduate school experience without being really certain.
So I got a job at Hebrew Union College in NYC, and I was introduced to the joys of the Shabbat table by rabbinical students, like a singing, informal learning community, and I just fell in love with all of it. I realized that our Jewish tradition had depths of wisdom to offer, and I wanted to study that for a lifetime. What I learned was to keep learning and keep asking questions. I worked for HUC for three years.
My practice was fairly traditional by then, and I felt like the Jewish Theological Seminary would be a better fit for me. I was really torn because HUC has been really good to me;
it’s a place I really enjoyed working [and] I love the students. Because JTS didn’t admit LGBTQ students at the time, I very intentionally committed myself to advocating for [the acceptance of LGBTQ+ students] to become a reality. While I was at JTS, I was accepted as part of a really great internship at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the LGBTQ synagogue in NYC. I started the day before 9/11, so that really shaped my experience. … It was a time that people really needed the support of the faith community.
What are your responsibilities as Tifereth Israel’s director of lifelong learning?
I direct the Himmelfarb School, it’s K through 12. On Sunday evenings, there’s a variety of options for high school students. We’re in a partnership with Ohr Kodesh and Ohev Sholom [for] Tzohar, a high school program [where] professors in the Jewish studies program at University of Maryland come and teach the students. I will also be involved with adult learning here as well. I do all of the family programs; we have Shabbat programs and holidays for kids.
What do you like best about working at Tifereth Israel?
Here, I get to do it all. I get to work with all ages, which I love. When I was doing adult learning, I missed working with kids. When I was working only with kids, I missed that community-building aspect. That’s what you get at Tifereth Israel Congregation because you’re helping build relationships between people to connect people with each other. You have opportunities to meet with neighbors and have relationships with others as well. It’s that aspect I love, especially in a place like D.C., where people’s jobs tend to be so intense. I think being part of a community that helps you see things in a different lens or supports each other in terms of being human beings is really important.
