Rabbi Wechterman accepts Reconstructionist post

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman  recently accepted an offer from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association to be their executive director. Wechterman says she is “feeling blessed to be able to play this role.” 

She admits to being a little nervous, since every new endeavor brings some anxiety, but quickly adds that the feeling is accompanied by excitement and a sense of possibility.

Wechterman believes that her experience as spiritual leader of Congregation Agudas Achim, in Attleboro, from 2001 until last year, has prepared her for this new opportunity. She says, “Thirteen years as a pulpit rabbi has given me support to experience so many varieties of Jewish questions and concerns. I have a sense of where Jewish people are in the world. I hope my experience will enable me to bring the perspective of who we are serving.”

Since her new position is full-time, Wechterman will have to stop teaching at the college and adult level in Attleboro and leading the monthly Shabbat services for special-needs families, a role she calls “a wonderful experience.” 

While her family will remain in Attleboro, she will soon begin transitioning her work life to Philadelphia. She will spend Monday through Thursday in Pennsylvania and Friday through Sunday in Massachusetts. Even though it will be challenging, Wechterman is determined to make the circumstances work in her favor.

She’s not one to be daunted by obstacles. Last year, Wechterman went on a trip to India with the American Jewish World Service, “a profound opportunity.” She was moved by seeing the diversity of the world, even if it consisted of poverty and injustice. She feels “we are all each other’s keeper, and we share bonds of humanity.” The experience has influenced her teaching, instilling it with openness to seeing the need for a Jewish response to the larger world. She hopes that it will inform her work in the future.

Wechterman sees the Jewish world as in a state of flux,  both locally and globally. And while she considers Reconstructionist rabbis to be some of the most creative and passionate individuals in the world, she suspects she will have many of the same conversations in Philadelphia as she did in Massachusetts.

“Although my professional gaze is heading in another direction, I have treasured my years in the Greater Rhode Island community,” Wechterman says. “I feel I have learned so much, and I am taking so much of it with me.”