New student rabbi at SOJC

A new student rabbi is coming to Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation. Rabbi Michael Fraade is a fifth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew College, a pluralistic, nondenominational institution in Newton, Mass.

He brings with him a rich variety of experiences, serving as a hospital chaplain at Massachusetts General Hospital; studying Torah at several progressive yeshivas, including Hadar in New York and Pardes in Jerusalem; working as a farmer and Jewish outdoor educator; and volunteering with nonprofits focused on food justice, reproductive rights and Jewish communal life. He has a passion for the Talmud, schechita (kosher slaughter), ancient Israelite agriculture, dogs, running and cooking.

Rabbi Fraade was raised in Connecticut by a family who fostered his love of Judaism from an early age. When he was a small child, his parents, who were raised Reform, joined a Conservative synagogue and went on a trip to Israel. This led them to be more involved in their synagogue, to keep a kosher home, and to send him and his siblings to Jewish camps and schools.

He values the unique blend of Jewish experiences he had growing up. "We had Reform extended family, Conservative synagogue and camp, and Modern Orthodox day school, and as a result I've always felt comfortable in a variety of Jewish spaces, and continued to maintain relationships with people and institutions across the Jewish spectrum. My siblings and I have also made different choices about how to live Jewishly, with me being the most traditionally observant, and my parents have always emphasized respect and support for our individual choices. Knowing that I have my family's support, and that we have the ability to choose different paths with love and respect, has been a model for healthy pluralism in other areas of my life."

He appreciates the opportunity to engage with classmates with different perspectives at Hebrew College. "People have widely divergent ideas about the nature and importance of halacha, what kinds of skills make for a good rabbi, Israel, what prayer should look like, and intermarriage, to name just a few. It has been incredibly valuable to see the ways in which people engage with love, good faith, and respect, even when they disagree. The school community has talked through plenty of hot-button issues and made important decisions in a way that acknowledges that even when not everybody will be happy, everybody will be heard. I strongly believe that at the end of the day, the Jewish people is one big family."

Rabbi Fraade first seriously considered becoming a rabbi while he ran a Jewish food and outdoor education program at the JCC in Louisville, Kentucky. "In that work I had meaningful opportunities to learn and teach Jewish texts and ideas, to build community partnerships, and to create exciting programming for different age groups and demographics. All of these were things that I knew I wanted to continue focusing on professionally. At the same time, I was learning a lot from friends in rabbinical school or who had recently been ordained about the spiritual care and pastoral work that they were doing, and developed a strong interest in learning more about chaplaincy. Rabbinical school felt like the place where these interests and growth areas all came together and offered me an opportunity to keep doing what I loved."

His passion for the outdoors is deeply tied to his love for Judaism, "At various times that I've worked with livestock, grown produce, or spent time outside in other capacities, I have felt deeply aware of the agrarian roots of the Bible and the ways in which a relationship with nature shaped so many Jewish texts and rituals."

He shared what brought him to SOJC. "I was really drawn to the warmth of the people I met from SOJC during the interview process! I value the lay leadership and people's commitment to the shul, and am excited to work with everybody more...I'm also a person who loves exploring new places, especially getting to know new cities and regions in the US. I know very little about Orlando, having only been there a few times as a child to go to Disney World, and am very excited to see it through this new lens."

He looks forward to supporting the SOJC community. "My responsibility is to support the community's growth, both as an institution and as a set of discrete individuals with unique needs, hopes, and back stories. I want to always take those stories seriously, and to be able to support Rabbi Crespy, the shul, and each individual as we figure out what it means to live meaningful Jewish lives. I try to put my own strengths and interests in dialogue with other people's, and to see where our agreements and our differences can lead to better understanding and stronger relationships."

Rabbi Fraade's first Shabbat services at SOJC will be this weekend, Aug. 18-20, and he will be there one weekend a month. On Aug. 6, 2023, Rabbi Fraade married Rabbi Jenn Queen, who works at a Reform synagogue in Brookline, Mass. Mazel tov and welcome to Rabbi Fraade!