Post by QPR Report on Sept 10, 2009 13:23:22 GMT
Bump a year 
Jewish Chronicle
Why I gave up my job to become a rabbi
Photographing footballers and working with Ruby Wax are not obvious routes to the rabbinate, but some had other careers before the pulpit. We talk to three of them.
By Alex Kasriel, September 9, 2009
¡ñ Ariel Friedlander, 45, grew up in Wembley and west London, where her father Rabbi Albert Friedlander was rabbi at Westminster Synagogue. She used to work as a sports photographer before training to be a rabbi at the Hebrew Union College in New York. She has since worked in Toronto, Virginia and New York.
¡°My dad was actually the reason for me becoming a photographer. He was mad about football. I used to go with him to QPR and I became a big fan. When I was at school I joined the camera club and we had to work on a project, so I took my camera to the football and stood in the crowd and took pictures from the terraces. I started sending them to the club and they gave me a pass to sit on the grass.
¡°In my mid 20s, I was one of the official QPR photographers for around three years. I was one of two photographers at the time. There was a game coming up at Tottenham and since I¡¯d never been to White Hart Lane, I made a fuss so I could go. The game got re-arranged on Rosh Hashanah, which was a bit of a problem. I went to see my rabbi¡ª who was my dad ¡ª and he said, ¡®It¡¯s your decision, it¡¯s your conscience¡¯.
¡°I decided I would go to shul in the morning and still make it to White Hart Lane by 3pm. I rushed across to the football and made it by about 3.15. QPR were being thrashed and I was thinking, ¡®This is all my fault¡¯. Then it started raining. There was thunder and lightning and I thought I shouldn¡¯t have gone. Then the crowd started singing, ¡®Does your rabbi know you¡¯re here?¡¯ to the Tottenham supporters. I was so hysterical by this point, I jumped up and left.
¡°That was a turning point. It just made me think if I¡¯m getting this upset about it, maybe it¡¯s more important than I thought it was. This was a catalyst for re-evaluating the situation. I went to my grandmother who was also a rabbi. I thought she¡¯d say, ¡®Don¡¯t be ridiculous,¡¯ but she said, ¡®Go to rabbi school.¡¯ When I told the Hebrew Union College the story about White Hart Lane, they took me.
¡°There¡¯s a certain number of situations that you can photograph ¡ª the goal celebration and tackle ¡ª but in all cases it¡¯s the people you are interested in. It¡¯s the same with situations that people find themselves in life.
¡°I miss doing photography and being at the game but the advent of digital photography means it¡¯s a lot less about aesthetic and more about the product.¡±...
www.thejc.com/judaism/judaism-features/why-i-gave-my-job-become-a-rabbi
Jewish Chronicle
Why I gave up my job to become a rabbi
Photographing footballers and working with Ruby Wax are not obvious routes to the rabbinate, but some had other careers before the pulpit. We talk to three of them.
By Alex Kasriel, September 9, 2009
¡ñ Ariel Friedlander, 45, grew up in Wembley and west London, where her father Rabbi Albert Friedlander was rabbi at Westminster Synagogue. She used to work as a sports photographer before training to be a rabbi at the Hebrew Union College in New York. She has since worked in Toronto, Virginia and New York.
¡°My dad was actually the reason for me becoming a photographer. He was mad about football. I used to go with him to QPR and I became a big fan. When I was at school I joined the camera club and we had to work on a project, so I took my camera to the football and stood in the crowd and took pictures from the terraces. I started sending them to the club and they gave me a pass to sit on the grass.
¡°In my mid 20s, I was one of the official QPR photographers for around three years. I was one of two photographers at the time. There was a game coming up at Tottenham and since I¡¯d never been to White Hart Lane, I made a fuss so I could go. The game got re-arranged on Rosh Hashanah, which was a bit of a problem. I went to see my rabbi¡ª who was my dad ¡ª and he said, ¡®It¡¯s your decision, it¡¯s your conscience¡¯.
¡°I decided I would go to shul in the morning and still make it to White Hart Lane by 3pm. I rushed across to the football and made it by about 3.15. QPR were being thrashed and I was thinking, ¡®This is all my fault¡¯. Then it started raining. There was thunder and lightning and I thought I shouldn¡¯t have gone. Then the crowd started singing, ¡®Does your rabbi know you¡¯re here?¡¯ to the Tottenham supporters. I was so hysterical by this point, I jumped up and left.
¡°That was a turning point. It just made me think if I¡¯m getting this upset about it, maybe it¡¯s more important than I thought it was. This was a catalyst for re-evaluating the situation. I went to my grandmother who was also a rabbi. I thought she¡¯d say, ¡®Don¡¯t be ridiculous,¡¯ but she said, ¡®Go to rabbi school.¡¯ When I told the Hebrew Union College the story about White Hart Lane, they took me.
¡°There¡¯s a certain number of situations that you can photograph ¡ª the goal celebration and tackle ¡ª but in all cases it¡¯s the people you are interested in. It¡¯s the same with situations that people find themselves in life.
¡°I miss doing photography and being at the game but the advent of digital photography means it¡¯s a lot less about aesthetic and more about the product.¡±...
www.thejc.com/judaism/judaism-features/why-i-gave-my-job-become-a-rabbi
