Rabbi Dr. Andrea L. Weiss, z”l

If you knew Rabbi Dr. Andrea Weiss, z"l, then you loved her. Brilliant, kind, wise, and open only begin to describe this remarkable human. A generation of rabbis, cantors and educators were blessed to study Hebrew Bible with her. For an even wider audience, "The Torah: A Women's Torah Commentary," which she edited with Tamara Eskenazi, helped open hearts and minds to see the biblical text through the eyes and experiences of women.

I vividly remember the historic moment when Rabbi Dr. Weiss became the first woman to ordain rabbis at Hebrew Union College in 2019. The sight of her standing at the ark of Temple Emanu-El in New York City with each new rabbi and cantor was exhilarating, hearkening back to the moment in 1972 when Rabbi Sally Priesand became the first woman ordained in North America.

Rabbi Dr. Weiss's world was much broader than the rarified halls of academia. When many people were overcome with worry about the political leadership of the United States, Rabbi Dr. Weiss conceived of a project to send President Trump, and later President Biden, a letter each day during their first 100 days in office. The project, called "American Values, Religious Voices," asked religious scholars to share wisdom from sacred sources to help ground the leadership of these two presidents. Pulling this off without crossing into partisan politics was not easily accomplished, but she modeled how it could be done with thoughtfulness and impact.

Back in 2019, Rabbi Dr. Weiss shared a few of these letters with over 100 incoming presidents of URJ congregations at the Scheidt Seminar. Her message was crystal clear: leaders need moral anchors to lead with integrity. This is true for U.S. presidents and our Reform Jewish leaders. The group came from across the political spectrum, but Rabbi Weiss made the ancient sources come alive with wisdom for the world all of us are navigating.

Rabbi Dr. Weiss exemplified what it means to be a rabbi, scholar, mentor, and friend. Being so wise and inspiring without being intimidating is no small feat.

The heaviest burden of sorrow clearly falls on her family, but there are many of us who feel bereft; she left us so quickly.

I keep thinking about this passage from the Babylonian Talmud, tractate Moed Katan 25a:

כִּי נָח נַפְשֵׁיהּ דְּרַב סָפְרָא, לָא קְרַעוּ רַבָּנַן עֲלֵיהּ, אָמְרִי: לָא גָּמְרִינַן מִינֵּיהּ. אֲמַר לְהוּ אַבָּיֵי: מִי תַּנְיָא ״הָרַב שֶׁמֵּת״? ״חָכָם שֶׁמֵּת״ תַּנְיָא. וְעוֹד: כֹּל יוֹמָא שְׁמַעְתָּתֵיהּ בְּפוּמִּין בְּבֵי מִדְרְשָׁא.

When Rav Safra died, the other Sages did not rend their garments over him. They said: "We did not study directly with him." Abaye scolded them and said to them: "Does it say in the Baraita 'if one's teacher died?' No, it is taught: 'If a Torah scholar died,' and Rav Safra was certainly a Torah scholar. And furthermore, every day, his teachings are in our mouths in the study hall, so that even if we did not learn directly from him, we should still be considered his students."

Let it be said that Rabbi Dr. Andrea L. Weiss was our Torah scholar, whether we learned directly from her or her writings. Her teachings are implanted deeply within all of us throughout our Movement and beyond. Our world is a more noble and decent place because of our beloved teacher.

Yehi zichra Baruch - יהי זכרה ברוך -Her memory is a blessing.