Reno's Reform Congregation

Sabbatical Information

Rabbi Sara Zober and Rabbi Benjamin Zober

Rabbis' Sabbatical Q&A

“ When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a Sabbath of the Lord. Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield. But in the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath of complete rest, a Sabbath of the Lord. ”

Leviticus 25:2-4

What is a sabbatical?

A sabbatical actually comes from Torah. It is part of a seven-year cycle, called Shmita, and it was originally meant for the land and for the people who were working the land. After seven years, you were to give the land a period of time to lie fallow and you were to give all of the people who worked the land that rest as well. A rabbinic sabbatical often comes after seven years and is an extended period where the Rabbi(s) get to rest, rejuvenate, and spend time with their family. For our Rabbis Zober, this will be a four-month sabbatical for the months of May, June, July, and August.
What will the Rabbis be doing while on sabbatical?

The Rabbis, along with Rabbi Sara’s parents and siblings, will be taking a family trip to Tuscany, Italy, to commemorate the well-deserved retirement of Rabbi Sara’s mother after 35 years of teaching. The Rabbis will then head to Scotland and England to join Rabbi Benjamin’s mother and brother for another family travel adventure. When not traveling abroad, the Rabbis will be catching up on personal projects at their home in Reno and taking small camping trips through the beautiful Mountain West.
Who will serve the congregation while the Rabbis are on sabbatical?

The congregation will be serving the congregation! While the Rabbis take the opportunity to explore where their passions are for new projects, this is an opportunity for the congregation to do the same. Temple Sinai has a long history of Temple members leading services, running programs, and teaching – doing all of the things that make a Community – and this is an opportunity for the congregation to strengthen those skills and take on even bigger roles.
Temple groups, like the weekly Torah study group, have put together a really ambitious syllabus for themselves, and members from the group will be teaching based on their own expertise. The Rabbis also hope that everyone takes time to really get to know one another and to see how the community pulls together without the presence of the Rabbis to steal the spotlight.
Will the Rabbis be in contact with Temple Sinai during their sabbatical?

In a word, no. Primarily, the Rabbis will be out of the country or camping out of cell service range. Many times, it will not be practical, or even possible, to contact the Rabbis for any given situation. In order to avoid confusion, the Rabbis’ work cellphones will be turned off and their emails will be deleted during this sabbatical period. We kindly ask that people suspend emailing the Rabbis until September 3rd. During the sabbatical, people will be directed to contact either our Temple Administrator, Mike Stombaugh, admin@sinaireno.org, or Temple President, Tova McGilvray, president@sinaireno.org, and they will assist in routing messages to an appropriate contact.
What if I have a personal or family crisis during the sabbatical?

The best course of action is to first contact either Mike Stombaugh or Tova McGilvray. There is a large cadre of people supporting Temple Sinai during this time, and Mike and Tova are the point people for triaging the need and accessing assistance that our community can provide.
What if I have a life-cycle event during the sabbatical?

We hope that if you have a joyous lifecycle event, you might wait until the Rabbis are back to celebrate with you. Fortunately for our Temple Sinai calendar, most life-cycle events, like weddings and when babies are born, take months of planning. To our knowledge, none of those events are set to happen among our community in the next four months.

If there is the unexpected need for a funeral, which we obviously cannot plan in advance, the Hebrew Cemetery Board – specifically Steve Matles (775-997-4565, smatles@sbcglobal.net) and Mike Medvin (775-771-8780, mikemedvin@yahoo.com) – are extremely skilled at leading families through the funeral process. In addition to guiding families through a funeral, they also have service leaders available to lead a funeral while the Rabbis are on sabbatical.
What if I’m interested in the conversion process during the sabbatical?
Temple Sinai does not currently have any conversion ceremonies planned during the sabbatical months. The students who are working towards conversion will continue their studies and participation in Temple life, and hopefully will continue to learn throughout the summer. The sabbatical will actually offer an opportunity for conversion students to learn from other people in the community beyond the Rabbis.

If you have not yet started on the path toward conversion, you are already welcome to attend and participate in all Temple services and community events. If you would like the Rabbis to contact you about starting your conversion education upon their return, please use this link to complete a brief intake form. You can also access self-guided conversion education materials below.
List of Website Resources

reformjudaism.org – The main website of the Union for Reform Judaism. It has lots of articles, explanations, and other things, all from a Reform perspective.

myjewishlearning.com – More great articles and information, good at explaining a lot of perspectives and traditions.

sefaria.org – a collection of Jewish texts, many in English (also great for Torah study).

There is also Jewish Encyclopedia – kind of what the name says. Dry, a bit older, but good content.
Jewish Virtual Library is also a good general source.

Books for getting started (any one of them is great!)

To Life! by Rabbi Harold Kushner (A classic from the author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People. This is his love letter to Judaism.)

Here All Along by Sarah Hurwitz (She was a speechwriter for Michelle Obama. She grew up Jewish but not really connected, so she went around to various scholars and thinkers to learn more and reconnect.)

Living a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant. (A good overview of what it is to be Jewish.)

Surprised by God by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (How an atheist, punk kid became Twitter’s favorite rabbi and an amazing teacher.)

Recommended Intro to Judaism Classes

Conversion Program: Introduction to Judaism Classes
Rabbis' Travel Blog

Italy 6/16

June 16, 2025 Rabbi Benjamin Zober 2025 Posts

I got up early to go for a run
Round the city’s walls I spun.
Getting out on my feet was lots of fun,
But also kind of awful because of the humidity and sun.

We all got together at the cafe below the Airbnb.
Then made our way to Pisa, Italy.
There’s more than just a tower for people to see.
It included one of Rabbi Sara’s Dad’s heroes: Leonardo Fibonacci.

It was quite hot, but we continued on, so daring.
Our friends had already left, no idea how they were fairing.
For lunch hour pizza at anchovies and capers, Sara’s ideal pairing.
We ended the day looking at a mural by Keith Haring.

L’Shalom,

Rabbi Benjamin Zober

Italy 6/15

June 15, 2025 Rabbi Benjamin Zober 2025 Posts

Today (6-15) was our first full day in Italy. We started the day in Pisa, where we landed last night. Our accommodations were sparse, but a nice shower, a clean bed, and a working A/C unit (and extra 50 cents) were all we needed.

After packing up, we made our way to a little cafe. Pastries, and coffee, and prosciutto, oh my! It’s going to be hard keeping kosher in Italy.
We had an entertainment as well, watching a gentleman balance a carry-on bag and his companion all on his tiny scooter. Satisfied in stomach and in heart, we headed towards the train station in Pisa.

A few twists and turns, and we learned all that we needed to about buying tickets, validating tickets, and using tickets to get on the train. We set “a top the train,” which is to say we sat in the upper berth, not on top of the train itself, that would have been dangerous. From there, we watched the countryside roll by as we made our way towards Lucca. We did manage to spot the famous leaning Tower, albeit briefly. We also saw ruins, presumably Roman, beautiful mountains, and people making their way to work in the various towns and cities along the way.

Once we arrived in Lucca, we met up with Rabbi Sara’s brother and sister-in-law. They took us into the walled part of the city, where most of the action happens. There, we met up with her parents. We enjoyed a mid-morning drink and took in the sights. There was a flea market set up with all sorts of art, and antiques, and other things. It was astonishing to see what sorts of things end up in a flea market in Italy as compared to the United States. At the same time, I could not help but wonder if some of those things just came from the Italian IKEA and were as ubiquitous in Italy as some of the things we see here are.

We did stop in one church to see what it had to offer, which was a lot. Art and artifacts from hundreds of years were all in one place. The main attraction, so to speak, was the not-preserved body of a Saint. Without making judgments about any other religion, it is safe to say that I am glad I do not share my workspace with a corpse.

We took a bit of a siesta (what’s Italian for siesta?) and then all got together for a lovely Father’s Day dinner. Among the highlights of the meal were broccoli flan, veal à la Lucca, and great conversation. For dessert, we had our second gelato fix of the day.

We retired to the Airbnb, which overlooks Lucca’s famous walls, and awaited tomorrow’s adventures.

Photos are of the train to Lucca, from inside the church, a different church, the view from the Airbnb, and the tower. Not sure I can write every day, but we will when we can.