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💥 Ignite your company culture with the Build a Vibrant Culture podcast!
We bring together incredible leaders, trailblazing entrepreneurs, and expert visionaries to share the secrets to their success, explore real-world challenges, and reveal what it truly takes to lead with energy, passion, and purpose as a 🌟VIBRANT🌟 Leader.
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[00:00:00] Announcer: This is the Build A Vibrant Culture Podcast, your source for the strategies, systems, and smarts you need to turn possibility into purpose. Every week we dive into dynamic conversations as our host, Nicole Greer, interviews leadership and business experts. They're here to shed light on practical solutions to the challenges of personal and professional development. Now, here's your host, a professional speaker, coach and consultant, Nicole Greer.
[00:00:32] Nicole: Welcome everybody to the Build A Vibrant Culture podcast. My name is Nicole Greer and they call me the Vibrant Coach. And I have another vibrant person on the podcast today. In fact he's been a client of mine. And also just a great, great person to hang out with. You're going to be laughing and having a good time, and I have none other than Rabbi Moskowitz with me today.
[00:00:55] So let me tell you about Rabbi Mike, as I get to call him. Most often, you can find him out in the community, engaged with his congregants, whether naming a child, studying together over coffee, delivering dinner at a homeless shelter in Detroit, performing a wedding for a young couple he's known since bar mitzvah, making a hospital visit or getting together for a bite to eat. For Rabbi Mike, Judaism is the building of relationships connecting with one another through the time we share together at Temple Shir Shalom. He has grown this. It's his mission. He's gone from 500 families when he came there in 1995 to over 900 families today. He's a student of progressive values and innovation and Rabbi Mike is game for trying new ideas and programs to celebrate Judaism and create holiness in people's lives.
[00:01:47] From the dozens of Israel trips with teens and families to Shir Shalom's retreat with the youth, wherever he finds himself with his congregants, there are always opportunities to live one of his favorite teachings. Don't miss this. To make the old new and the new holy. He's blessed that Temple Shir Shalom has been a gift in helping him live this vision since day one. And from his roots in St. Louis to the gothic playground of Duke University. Yes, that's right, all my North Carolina friends, he's got roots here! When he was at Duke University to even Hebrew Union College. Each step of his journey has crystallized his passion while he lives this every day. If he's not with his congregants, there's a pretty good chance you can find him with his wife, Leslie, or their children, Ellie, Asher, and Nathan, please welcome to the Build a Vibrant Culture Podcast Rabbi Mike! How are you?
[00:02:38] Rabbi Mike: Excellent. Good to be a part of that and to share in hearing the introduction and being with you. I'm thinking back to like Jerry McGuire, when everyone was nervous to get on that ESPN show, and they'd all start crying. That they knew Nicole was going to make you cry sometime in the podcast, it's going to happen unexpectedly. You're going to bring in the question.
[00:02:57] Nicole: No, no, I'm not going to make you cry at all. In fact ever since the first time I sat down with Rabbi Mike, I have just been laughing because the guy has a serious sense of humor. And I'm curious, where do you think you got that from? We were talking about that you had a brother and you know, I alluded to, talked about your mom a little bit. So what is the story? How'd you get this fantastic sense of humor?
[00:03:18] Rabbi Mike: Thank you for enjoying that. Some might argue with you about a sense of humor but I think part of my mission is just to live with joy and to always have that, and it's, yes, it's in my DNA, but it was in the home I grew up in. It's in the family I've been blessed to create. And so in everything I do, I make that a priority. So is it always intentional? No. But is it purposeful in what I want to do and what I'm thinking of doing? Yes. So.
[00:03:48] Nicole: That's so good. That's so good. Well, we work together because you have a real heart for making sure that not only do the people that come to your temple, people who are your members, your congregants, but you wanted to make a really great experience for the people that work there.
[00:04:03] And so, some people might be thinking, you know, now what's this guy do? He's a rabbi in a temple? Like, this isn't your normal corporate guest, Nicole. But I just want to say that I think having a heart for building a culture where people really enjoy their work is huge. How did you come to this place where like, I'm going to get a mission, a vision, I'm going to use _Traction_, I'm going to have employee handbooks, I'm going to do the whole thing. How did that all come about?
[00:04:30] Rabbi Mike: Great question. Pretty organically, I'd say in who we are and what we want to be, partly just because listening to what people need and having my staff emulate what we want in the congregation. I mean, I think one of the coolest things about being a rabbi is you get to do so many different things and every day is different, and the opportunities that arise are unique and engaging and also relationship driven. And so I'm very, very lucky to have been a rabbi in the same congregation for 30 years. So the relationship has been with me for a long time. Right? And I think that's part of who I am and what I want to do in connecting with people. But I want that with our staff too. And so, a number of years ago-- I guess it was like six years ago, before the pandemic-- we realized we've grown more as a community and we have to sort of operate with a business head on, but at the same time, still keep that haimish of that intimacy that we so treasure, and how can we balance those things. And so that's when we adopted the idea of really looking at metrics and who we are and how we're going to help one another. And then looking at core values, we always-- Temple Shir Shalom started in 1988 with a mission statement, and I don't think in the '80s synagogues were doing that. You see a lot of them having it today, but not many did. And it came out of a place of like knowing intentionally who this community wanted to be, with my founding rabbi, Rabbi Daniel Schwartz, a blessed memory. And so we sort of built on that. We've innovated and recreated our mission and made it a little more relevant to who we saw and what we wanted. And then what we added to that now was really these core values that we wanted to bring to our staff. But our congregation, the 900 families, understand too, as so essential to who we are.
[00:06:16] Nicole: That's so good. That's so good. And you know, here's the thing. When you put a value in place and people embrace it and they start to live it out, now we've got all these beautiful behaviors and it, it teaches us how to be in community together. And you've got some fantastic core values. So Rabbi Mike uses _Traction_, which is a entrepreneurial operating system that most organizations like a corporation would put in or a small business would put into action. But he's implemented it into his temple so that he has a very structured way that he looks at how he's going to move the vision forward. And a part of that is coming up with a 10-year plan, a three-year plan, and then a one-year plan where you're working on your quote, unquote rocks quarter by quarter by quarter. I think folks listening would be surprised that you guys are like this organized and this dialed in to the future. But I mean, the mission is, is that we want to bring people to God. We want them to have this beautiful faith-based community. I think it's such a neat combo you guys are doing.
[00:07:19] Rabbi Mike: Thank you. I appreciate that. It was fun, last week we had a board retreat. So, and I don't have a huge board, so 16 board members, myself, my colleague, Rabbi Daniel, my executive director, sitting together and sort of hashing through these things and so we're, as the executives of the community, we're the ones sort of putting all the pieces together. But the board didn't know what we saw as the one-, three-, 10-year plans and that VTO, our vision traction organizer and going through all that with them, and so making sure we were all on the same page and they liked what we had created and seeing that emulating what we saw our community as. But also saying, okay, now how do you see us getting to that 10 year spot? Here's what we're thinking. What do you think? And we did a great exercise where we all talked about, okay, what is the marketing to get us there? How does that hold onto our mission? How do we make sure we don't lose that mission if we were to grow even more? What's that real number going to be? Right? And some of those things are our membership numbers. Some of those things are our budget numbers. Some of those things are, how many congregants have we taken to Israel, have been to Israel with us? How many have traveled with us? 'Cause like traveling together is a great experience to have.
[00:08:33] Nicole: Oh yeah. Bond, bond, bond.
[00:08:35] Rabbi Mike: Right? And so I did a trip to Italy last year with adults. That was a Jewish lens of Italy, and yeah, it was a lot of wine and a lot of food, and a few more vineyards that we visited, and then some Jewish stuff too. Like there's. So we made sure we had it all, but it was just a spectacular, and building off that, I've done these trips in Israel for years and they're similar. I mean, you're living Judaism when you're in Israel, and I know Israel is important for the non-Jewish world or the Christian community, and people, you know, appreciate that. I always take my people to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to see the importance of that. But for us, it's, it's natural and it works so well, but more than that, the relationships that develop in these trips. So now I have a Israel trip planned within next year, but now I also have one to Portugal, the Jewish experience in Portugal, which has amazing history. And I'm also excited because I've never been to Portugal, so I have a great team that's helped me work on that. And I have people who are already interested, so, I'm excited.
[00:09:39] Nicole: Oh, that's so good. I just went to Portugal in December, January, over the holidays. And I'm going to tell you something, I'm so sad I didn't get to Porto. Please make sure you go there. Everybody says, did you go to Porto? And I'm like, no. But I went to so many, I went to Lisbon and then we went up on the hill. Oh, what's the name of that city up there? It's where all the mansions are. All the rich people from Lisbon would go up on the mountain and they would build their castles up there. It was, it's crazy. You're going to have the best time. And there will be wine and great food. Don't worry.
[00:10:12] Rabbi Mike: Ok. There you go. It makes everyone happier.
[00:10:15] Nicole: That's right! Oh that's right. Breaking the bread together. That's right.
[00:10:18] Rabbi Mike: Yes. Well, you know, people need to find-- our world is filled with tension and fear and challenge and anxiety, and if all we do is watch the news, we're going to be immersed in that and we can't move beyond it. So I want temple to be sort of a sanctuary that helps us process these things, but also reminds us that we have blessings still in our life and that we have responsibility to fix the other things, to work on the other things. There's a line in Jewish law in the Talmud that I live by, that Rabbi Tarfon taught.[speaks in Hebrew] I won't ask you to translate. I'll do it for you.
[00:10:55] Nicole: Easy for you to say!
[00:10:57] Rabbi Mike: It's not your duty to finish the, it's not your responsibility to finish the task, but you're not allowed to stop from trying to finish it. Like we have so much work to do.
[00:11:09] Nicole: Oh yeah, the world is a hot mess. That's darn sure.
[00:11:12] Rabbi Mike: And so we will engage and work on that, but we know we won't ultimately be able to do it all. But let's not stop trying. And as we do that, like let's make this community this healthy place, a place where people can be themselves and be, you know, authentic and sincere.
[00:11:29] And so we started doing something for services and granted, it's a way to bring people in, you know, and so it's the second Friday of every month. Last year we did something. There was a theme, but it really became like a special cocktail service. And so I would craft a cocktail and get to bartend after services and we all get to enjoy that together. And there was some teaching that went along with it, and there were services first, but people just appreciated the opportunity to be together. And that's what it's about, building community.
[00:12:00] Nicole: That's right. Which you could just go equal sign culture. Right. All right. So, so as you were putting together your vision and everything, you know, I like to throw in my thoughts on things. So like, you know, vision is like, this is where we're going. In 10 years, this is what it'll look like. It's a picture of the future, but we do a mission statement, which is like how we're going to behave and be together as we're going on that path to the vision. And then the core values give us something to hang on to and tell us how we need to move in the world.
[00:12:33] So you've got some pretty cool core values. Will you kind of walk us through: A) how did you do your core value process? 'Cause a lot of companies are like, we need to zhuzh up our core values. 'Cause they got stuff like, I don't know, excellence, or respect, and it's like, that's been on the wall since 1994. We've got to do something fresh. And you've got some freshy fresh stuff. So tell me how you did your process and share your values with us.
[00:12:57] Rabbi Mike: Well, the process was that Rabbi Daniel Schwartz and me and Brian Fishman, my executive director and our consultant from EOS, sat together and brainstormed and talked about who we are, what do we want to be, and it was probably a half a day. And then we, you know, sort of wordsmithed it for a while and then put it aside. And then came back to it later on and fine tuned it. And that was the beginning of the process. And we've even fine tuned it since then. So like initially it was just that: Dream Big. And now the first core value is "Dream big and in full color."
[00:13:33] Nicole: Hmm.
[00:13:33] Rabbi Mike: So for me, that's who our community is. When this congregation started, it was 30 families that came to my older colleague who said, we want you as our rabbi. And he said no. And he said, maybe if you have a hundred. And then it was a hundred families, and then it was 400 families, and everyone said there wasn't a need for another congregation and we've proven with the idea of just believing in this and trying anything-- you know, sometimes we joke around and say smoke and mirrors, like we don't know how we're going to get it done. But we believe in it and we have an idea and let's try it. What's the worst thing that happens? It doesn't work.
[00:14:06] Nicole: That's right.
[00:14:06] Rabbi Mike: So that's the dream big for us. Our second core value is that we roll up our sleeves. We're willing to go above and beyond whatever it takes to get things done. And I always, and I think you've reminded me of this too, like the stories that go along with these core values. So, a great example of that was there was a flood here about a decade ago in one neighborhood. And it really devastated the community. It was like a shock. It was one of these weird Detroit floods that happened where the highways backed up and people losing their cars. This one neighborhood, Huntington Woods everyone's home was flooded and it was I think Tuesday night or Wednesday night.
[00:14:42] And so Rabbi Daniel and I showed up on Friday afternoon. So our Shabbat, our services are Friday night, and these are people just overwhelmed. And thank God, you know, there weren't lives lost. It was just property, but out of their homes and just the difficulties of that. And so. So we just showed up with little gift bags that had a bottle of wine, had candles for Shabbas and had challah, the traditional bread we eat on Friday night and just said, we're just thinking of you. We're here to give you a hug and just whatever we can do to help. And just like someone said, how do you have time? We have 44 member units, 44 families who lived in this area. How do you have time? We're like, you know what? It was a need and you just take care of it and you do it.
[00:15:24] Nicole: That's right.
[00:15:25] Rabbi Mike: And I've learned, and probably for me, I wanted to be a camp director. That's why I became a rabbi. Because my role model was a rabbi and a camp director. I know those things usually don't go together, but I love camp 'cause camp, again, is like the greatest place on earth. All joy, fun. You're outside all the time. It's just great. And when I reach the highest level of staff at camp, right under the camp director, you do everything. Like I remember our pool at camp was leaking and camp was about to start the director and I got the special putty. And I could hold my breath really long. Hidden talent, right? And so, with weights on me, I'm at the bottom of the pool, like plugging this stuff in, you know, and, and this.
[00:16:06] Nicole: The kids gotta swim!
[00:16:07] Rabbi Mike: And people are looking right, right? Like, whatever it takes. Like what, what do I know what I'm doing? And then we got out. And remember, the putty is all waterproof, right? And so this is 1994. The putty's all waterproof. And so guess what? It doesn't come off your hands. So we, we're driving, driving down the street the, to the you know pharmacy to find out what you can get the stuff off your hands. The ridiculous nature of this. But it was like whatever it takes, we're going to get it done. And I still, you know, I fix toilets here at Temple. I don't fix them well, but if no one's there, I'm going to take care of it. Right? We've got you. And I hope that our members see that, but the staff sees that and all appreciates that, that there's nothing that, oh my God, I'm the rabbi. I can't do that. We all need to. And I appreciate people who want to do that with us.
[00:16:49] Our third core value is that we save you a seat. That everyone is included here. That everyone belongs. And it's a really important statement for us that people feel that sense of belonging and connectedness and stuff. So there was --a number of years ago-- there was a young woman, a girl, she was probably like third grade at the time, and other religious schools said it's not going to work for her here. Because she had a lot of challenges and a lot of difficulties, and, and couldn't make it through a class ever and stuff. And so, physical and emotional and mental. But I said to the parents, listen, we're willing to try anything. If you're patient with us and you tell us what works and what doesn't work, and we'll give her a shadow to be with her. And I remember we have a great song we finish every Sunday morning with. It's just a song of joy, which is about our responsibility to make the world a better place and singing it in Hebrew, but with words, also a na na. We're all waving our hands and this little girl always had her hands up singing and loving it. And it was amazing that she felt that connection, that love and belonged. And you know, like everyone's better because of that. She had a great experience.
[00:17:59] Nicole: Oh, that's right. Everybody thinks, oh, people can change!
[00:18:02] Rabbi Mike: Right. Her peers were good. Right. And, and took care of her and helped and stuff like that too. And yeah, I'll just, the sadness when I think of her is that she died a few years ago because she had a heart transplant as an infant and you outgrow your heart, right, when you get a heart transplant like that. And so she wasn't a candidate for one as a teenager. And so she died around 16 or 17. But I still see those videos of her coming up, and people talk to me about, about Shay and remember her presence with us. So, she blessed me and I think we learn that way.
[00:18:35] Nicole: Wow, man. We could unpack that for like seven hours.
[00:18:39] Rabbi Mike: Yeah.
[00:18:39] Nicole: Right? That's a big one right there. And let me just say this, too. Sometimes, you know, y'all that are listening to Rabbi Mike, I mean, you'll bring somebody on staff or you'll have some customer. And we want to sit around and judge and do all these things and what's wrong with this person and whatever. But don't miss what Rabbi Mike said, save a seat for this person. Let's find out what's right with them. Let's see what we can do. So, such a beautiful, beautiful story. I love that. I don't want you to go past it too quickly. Because that's a big deal.
[00:19:10] You know, I work with a lot of engineers, Rabbi Mike, and every year there's a fresh group that comes into whatever organization, the engineers. And there's always one that's just a little different and he just doesn't have the skills yet, the soft skills, the people skills, you know, and you've got to be patient, you've got to teach. Not everybody got what you got coming up. You know? So invite people to sit down next to you. "Hey, let me help you." Really huge!
[00:19:38] Rabbi Mike: I live that all the time. I try to, especially. And there's a line in Jewish law in Talmud, 2000 years ago. [Speaks in Hebrew]. "From all my students, I learn," right? My professor, a blessed memory, Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus, who was the founder of American Jewish History. He died at the age of 99.
[00:19:58] Nicole: Wow.
[00:19:58] Rabbi Mike: I was the last thesis he signed in 1995. I remember, and he was from West Virginia. So he always had this drawl. I walk in, "Moskowitz." And, and you were lucky, you became one of his boys. He had no family. He outlived everyone. And so I would, in my last year of rabbinical school, I'd sometimes take him to a doctor's appointment or, you know. I'd go to meet with him about my thesis, and he'd say, "Moskowitz," and tell me I gotta take him to a doctor the next day. Great. And I remember one of the last times we were going over my thesis, he said, [Speaks in Hebrew]. " From all my students I've learned." So for him to say it to me, I'm like, yikes. Like, wow, I gotta hold onto that. And I always do. And I think of that, but I think of that in like how much we have to learn. And it's it's in those places that are unexpected and the people who give us these gifts and help and remind us to slow down. It's so important.
[00:20:55] Nicole: Yeah. And I bet in the counseling you do with your, your congregants, your members, and then also, like in my coaching, some people will say to me, they'll be like, "Why is this happening to me?" I'm like, that is an excellent question.
[00:21:08] Rabbi Mike: Yeah.
[00:21:08] Nicole: Sit with that for a minute. You know? Don't use it like off the cuff or rhetorically, but like, really think about that. Why is this happening to me? Because what's the lesson? And you said her name was Shay.
[00:21:21] Rabbi Mike: Yeah.
[00:21:22] Nicole: Yeah. So what's the lesson in Shay? I can see about six right off the bat, but I know there's more than that. And then the other thing I want to say. Don't miss that Rabbi Mike has like, a philosophy or a theology that he draws on all the time.
[00:21:35] So how does that relate to, you know, my small business or corporate America or whatever. It's like you do need to figure out what you believe in as a leader. Then draw on that belief system, you know? And so I just love how he, he's got all this stuff memorized, y'all. Don't miss that. So what do you need to memorize about your leadership that you're going to hold close, and when things happen, you're like, oh, I'm pulling that one out. Right? So that's a very good lesson you're showing right there too. So thank you.
[00:22:06] Rabbi Mike: You're welcome. Thanks for pointing that out, and reminding me of that.
[00:22:10] Nicole: Well, you're welcome!
[00:22:11] Rabbi Mike: Yeah, I guess, I guess it's memorized. the fourth core value for us is we dance in the aisles, which is all joy.
[00:22:16] Nicole: Which is so dang fun.
[00:22:18] Rabbi Mike: Right? I mean, I want work to be fun. Again, I've always believed that if it feels like work, then something's not good. Something's not right. And so we want this to be a place that-- yeah, and, and I interrupt myself now. There are super heavy times and
[00:22:34] Nicole: Oh yeah. Oh
[00:22:35] Rabbi Mike: and times of overwhelming challenge for us, for families. I mean, look, I was crying under the wedding canopy with a bride and groom on Saturday night doing a wedding. There's a part of the ceremony that we wrap them in a prayer shawl. The parents come around and wrap them, and we take a moment of silence to think of those who are no longer here. And this young woman's dad died right before she met her fiance, now her husband. And she had said to me privately, I know how much my dad would've loved him. He is such my dad's kind of guy, and it just, it makes me feel so good that I found him and, and we have each other. And so I could tell that story to them and they're both crying and now I'm crying. Oh my God. It's like Jerry McGuire. Now I'm going to cry as I tell the story again.
[00:23:21] Nicole: It's okay. We'll get a tissue.
[00:23:24] Rabbi Mike: So oh, that's I'm in the wrong room. I forgot I don't have any of my supplies. But that idea of being able to draw on that. And also see the joy in that too, right? So we have challenges, but there's so much that's good in these moments that are important for us. And so I want my staff to appreciate that. And look, I never take myself too seriously and--
[00:23:45] Nicole: Which is quite lovely, I must say.
[00:23:46] Rabbi Mike: Yeah. Right. So, I'm sure there are some congregations I probably wouldn't have done well in when I came out out of, of the seminary.
[00:23:54] Nicole: Like he needs to calm down.
[00:23:55] Rabbi Mike: right.
[00:23:56] Nicole: They'd want to change ya.
[00:23:57] Rabbi Mike: Yeah. And so my older colleague, a blessed memory, you know, pushed me and said, do it, be yourself. And we always had fun together.
[00:24:09] Nicole: Yeah.
[00:24:09] Rabbi Mike: Sometimes maybe too much, but.
[00:24:12] Nicole: Well, you're bringing up this really good point about, you know, when I work with leaders like yourself and other folks, a lot of times they're not shooting for like a legacy. They're shooting for a number. You know, like, we, we need to make this much revenue or we need to have this many stores, or whatever the thing is. But what's really beautiful about spiritual communities is that it's always about the generations and the legacy that you leave behind. And tell them what's happening In October. It's October, right?
[00:24:40] Rabbi Mike: November
[00:24:41] Nicole: November. Oh, thank you for helping me. Okay, so get your plane ticket to Detroit now. Buy early, it's going to be a major throw down at the Temple Shir Shalom. So talk a little bit because, I talk to leaders a lot of times and, you know, they're fed up, they're tired, they're worn out. They've burned out, they've been doing things so long, but it's like, no, no, you're building a legacy. Of leading a group of people to a better place for a very long time. It's a very you know, Moses thing?
[00:25:11] Rabbi Mike: Well, that's humbling. And I say that sincerely. Yeah, it is. I mean, I, I feel blessed to have been in this position. So this is my 30th anniversary. I started here July 1st, 1995. And of all my classmates and friends I was ordained with, I'm the only one in the same position. It's rare, it doesn't happen like this often. Certain communities in Detroit, congregations in Detroit have that legacy, which is cool, and one down the street does. And when the congregation hired me, they said, if you could envision yourself staying after three to five years, then let's keep talking. But if you believe that you want to be in your first congregation as an assistant for three years and you want to move on, then we don't have to talk much more. And I said, I'm open to anything. Like, again, I wanted to be a camp director, so I'm like temple life? Okay. I gotta wear a tie. Let's see. And it felt very comfortable and it worked from day one. Of course, a year into my job here, into my work here, into my calling here. My colleague on the holiest day of the year on Yom Kippur with the largest crowd in the congregation announced: "When Michael takes over the congregation..." and I'm like, dude, I haven't committed to this yet. Of course, he had vision.
[00:26:25] Nicole: Right. Don't miss that everybody. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:26:28] Rabbi Mike: He wanted that to happen partly so he could take some more vacation time. But very much, he was a great mentor and I mean, he dreamed big and would push and challenge and was great at that. And so it set it in motion. He retired, I think in 2011, and then formally in '13, and would come back for a service here or there. But it's been my home and I've been able to build on that vision now and hire a colleague who's been my partner now very much so for the past 17 years. Been great.
[00:26:59] Nicole: Yeah, the Daniels. We call 'em the Daniels.
[00:27:02] Rabbi Mike: You're right.
[00:27:03] Nicole: That's so good. That's so good. And, and there's a really good lesson in that little story he told. And you know, one of the things that we talked about when we were doing like kind of our HR audit thing was the power of storytelling. And you're such a good storyteller.
[00:27:16] Announcer: Are you ready to build your vibrant culture? Bring Nicole Greer to speak to your leadership team, conference or organization to help them with their strategies, systems, and smarts to increase clarity, accountability, energy, and results. Your organization will get lit from within! Email her at nicole@vibrantculture.com and be sure to check out Nicole's TEDx talk at vibrantculture.com.
[00:27:46] Nicole: Don't miss what he said. He said that rabbi Daniel, who was, you know, the head of the, oh, say again.
[00:27:54] Rabbi Mike: Dannel, D-A-N-N-E-L. So it's a unique name. Never. Never. It's, it's actually Dannel. Yeah. In the book of Ezekiel, in the Bible. The name Daniel once doesn't have the Hebrew letter i in it, and it becomes Dannel. And so it becomes a name in sort of like tradition. But his mother, a blessed, liked it and found it and it was unique. Depending when you knew him, some call him Dan. Some call him Danny. I always knew him as Dannel, and I was blessed to be with him for, you know, 28 years. And Daniel is my young colleague.
[00:28:25] Nicole: Okay. The Dans.
[00:28:25] Rabbi Mike: They both have the same last name of Schwartz. So that's why. So Dannel's our founding rabbi and the creator of Temple.
[00:28:32] Nicole: Okay. Thank you for straightening me out. That's so good. But listen to what Dannel, now I got it straight there, Rabbi Mike, is that he stood up in front of the whole group, didn't consult Rabbi Mike, and said, when Rabbi Mike takes over. And one of the things that I see all the time in these organizations is that there'll be a leader and they'll have somebody in their group and I'll ask them about employee performance management, which we've talked about. And I'll say, what does, what does he want to do? What is the career path? What can we do to grow them and make them bigger? You know, here's the Employee Performance Worksheet book, all that stuff. And they'll be like, oh, he doesn't. He doesn't want to do anything. He doesn't want-- he's happy right where he is. But don't miss Rabbi Dannel. He said when Rabbi Mike takes over, okay. And like sometimes you have to, and this is more on the spiritual side, but I think you can work in corporate America too. It's like you need to like be prophetic. This is speaking something over somebody's life. Like no, this is what he's going to do. Because sometimes we don't believe but everybody else around us can see, and you've got to kind of throw it out there for people. So I think that's really powerful what he did for you.
[00:29:39] Rabbi Mike: Well, I feel very fortunate it's worked and it's my home and you know, we flourished here and things are good! But we have a lot of work to do.
[00:29:47] Nicole: Oh, right, right, right. Well, you know, you said earlier that things are tough and it made me think about all the things that have gone on in the Middle East and you know, in Israel when it got attacked and these people are at this concert and we're just like what is going on? But you've gone back over to Israel and studied and done all that kind of thing, and so it's kind of been the burden that you all bear. Right? So, how do you deal with the difficult things? How do you guys keep surviving all that?
[00:30:20] Rabbi Mike: Yeah, and the other-- well, I'm not sure which way or which question you're asking. Because how do we as a people, how do I as a rabbi, you know, deal with all this.
[00:30:29] Nicole: As a leader, let's go through that lens. Yeah. Because you've got all these people worried about it, right? Your 900.
[00:30:35] Rabbi Mike: Yeah. And, you know, on October 7th I remember talking to Daniel, my colleague, and thinking we have to do something. Like, what are we going to do? I don't, I don't know. And we didn't even know what the news was at the time. We just knew it was bad. And we have Israelis who are members of our congregation too. And so we, we just kept talking, thinking what do people need right now? And I said, I think we just need to be together. So we didn't put it on Facebook. We didn't, we just sent an email to our congregation just saying how we were feeling and how worried we were, but that we have each other. So let's gather together on Sunday evening and for anyone wants to come to Sanctuary. I think like 225 people showed up. And we offered some prayers. We sang some songs. We just shared how we're feeling. We hugged and cried. It was, we do our high school program on Sunday evenings from six to eight o'clock. So I had a lesson planned that night for high school, but I just sat in a circle with like 45 kids that night, what are you guys thinking? What do you know, what's going on? And we never left our circle. We just talked. And they had questions and concerns, and obviously the fear of antisemitism in this country, all of this weighing in. And then I had the kids help lead the service and read some of the prayers that we had written or found for the day, and it helped me to know I'm not alone and I don't have to have all the answers. Like that my congregation supports me as much as I support them.
[00:32:03] People reach out to me often in these past two years, especially. How are you doing? I know you're trying to keep a lot afloat and just the question makes me feel like, you know, people care. And that I'm not just some employee, but I'm someone who they see as part of their circle and that they want to make sure is okay too. So it goes both directions. And I think that's been a really important thing.
[00:32:26] I become an advocate for Israel because I'm fortunate to go over there so often. And so I spent July there studying. And my lens becomes something that a lot of people don't get to have firsthand, different than the news, which is often skewed. And sharing that and being really genuine about that too. Even doing some work in the territories in the West Bank with Palestinians helping Palestinians when I was there as a rabbi, as a Jew,
[00:32:52] Nicole: Mmm Don't miss that!
[00:32:52] Rabbi Mike: with a group called . Well, it's with a group called Rabbis for Human Rights, and it was very powerful and difficult seeing the way people are behaving, but seeing the goodness of some of these villages, these Palestinian Bedouin villages, they're being attacked by settlers, which are, you know, a right wing militant group within Israel and that I don't see as part of my people right? The way they behave, it's not our values and.
[00:33:20] Nicole: And don't miss that. We're right back to values everybody, so don't miss that.
[00:33:24] Rabbi Mike: So being there, we were helping deliver water and it was very practical. We were just there as witnesses just to help and do whatever we could. And there were men, you know, taking the water tanker and putting it, and 8-year-old boys who were playing and little kids just running around being kids, happy.
[00:33:37] Nicole: Right. Dancing in the aisles.
[00:33:39] Rabbi Mike: Right, and it was just, that was uplifting. We're getting ready to leave and this woman motioned for us to come into her, like her tent. Her hut. And I'm like, what's going on here? And she had, you know, a Turkish coffee pot, finjan, and she just wanted to give us some coffee and say thank you. She was speaking Arabic. We spoke Hebrew and English. It was a group of five of us. And so the woman who was leading us, she spoke some Arabic so she could sort of help as an interpreter. It was just her saying thank you.
[00:34:12] And so it was very like learn from everyone. It was so humbling. Her life, what she's experiencing, her family, you know, going back a hundred years on this land near Jericho. Just crazy. And just so appreciative of us and sincere, and for me to hear this and to feel this and just, yeah.
[00:34:34] Nicole: Yeah. Yeah. So good. So good. Okay, so this is what I heard him say the answer was, you know, you don't need to have all the answers. You just have to show up and serve and then just be delighted by what comes from it, right? You know? The joy's in there. Okay. All right. So-
[00:34:50] Rabbi Mike: Can I just s ay I love, I love how you translate my stories that my wife would say are going on and on. Michael, cut it short, cut it short, cut it short. So you're gonna, I'm gonna vet out my sermons to you, and you're just going to say, "Here's the message, Michael. Get to the point."
[00:35:04] Nicole: No, we're not going to do that. But I just think sometimes people love the story, but they may not take time to go, "What's the nugget?" You know, I'm all about a good nugget, that I can put in my pocket and take away. I think that's really important.
[00:35:19] Okay. All right. So, we just were talking about this huge conflict that's on planet Earth. So, you know, cultures, Rabbi Mike, have conflicts within them. And conflict can be actually okay. I mean, it could be productive. Like, I don't think we should do that. This is what we should do. Oh, no, I'm not sure we should, you know, there's that kind of thing. But every vibrant culture, every culture faces disagreements. What wisdom could you share about addressing conflict? What have you learned about conflict since that's kind of in the mix right now?
[00:35:49] Rabbi Mike: Where is it coming from? To be able to listen enough to know where that is coming from and like, people always are resistant to change. Why is that? And I too am a creature of habit and will get in that frame of mind and have to be sometimes shaken out of it. My wife's really good to do that to me and remind me,
[00:36:07] Nicole: Right, God, thank for Leslie!
[00:36:08] Rabbi Mike: Preach change. Right? Right. There you go. And to help with that, right? So understanding why someone is, why that conflict's existing for them. And then to sort of address that and try to figure out-- because a lot of times it's just the, the process of it, but the goal is still the same. And so let's just talk that through. So that's for us internally when we look at our community and what we want, what we need as far as our world,
[00:36:36] Nicole: Yeah that's a conundrum.
[00:36:38] Rabbi Mike: It is. It is. I mean, hope is a part of who we are as a people, as a part of Judaism. We are still here and we have had challenge after challenge in the history of our world for over 3000 years. So, I love the story that says that the angels are arguing with God, and they say to God, "Why do you keep taking care of these people? They're so whiny! You're a God of judgment! And he said, you know, they follow one law that even when they eat the tiniest morsel of food, they still say a blessing. Traditional Jewish law says we say a blessing before the meal and after. So it says even if you eat something as small as an olive, you say a blessing. So they could be starving, but they still say a blessing for that little bit of food because it's about gratitude. And so if we hold onto that, it can help us in finding hope in this world. And there are so many teachers around us that do that for me personally, and that I'll always remind myself of. I often think that every rabbi has one sermon. We just tell it a lot of different ways, right? We all, and like what's we always say, like, what's your Torah? What's your one? And no doubt mine is about hope. And my children will even play with me. They're like, okay dad, when are you going to get to hope in the sermon? Because it's going to be there. Because that's what we need. And I will not let go of that no matter what is going on in this world because there's people who have had it so much more difficult than us who held on to hope and got us to where we are today. So with that in mind, I believe that Israelis, Jews, and Palestinians and Arabs have to find a way to live side by side.
[00:38:22] Nicole: Yeah, that's good. And isn't that just so applicable, we're talking about conflict, so it's like how can we live next to each other, respect each other, honor each other, you know, and keep the hope alive that we can work this out. And in our business places, in these workplaces, you know, sometimes I go in places and like, this guy's had a grudge against this guy for 20 years. Or 3000 years or whatever it's like, right? And it's like, we've got to let that go. You know? Everybody's gotta kinda rise up in the quality of their thinking, the way they hold their emotions. And it is a spirituality in the workplace. You know, a lot of times I'll talk about the six energies that a human has and I'll share it with everybody real quick.
[00:39:03] Everybody has intellectual energy. How do you think about things? Open-minded, closed-minded, or you have a growth mindset. So intellectual energy. Then there's emotional energy. How do I feel about things? Right? And you can choose hope, which will lift you right up the feeling scale. You know, I hope we can do this. I hope it'll work out. I hope they're going to be a good new employee. I hope. I hope, you know, that's a really good feeling to have, right? Emotionally and then spirituality doesn't have to be religious, but it's like go team. And so there's this feeling of like, I want us to win. I want everybody to win. So, that's that.
[00:39:39] And then there's physical energy, social energy, and then the energy of money. So six energies going on there, and we've got to, we've got to figure out how to figure out the conflicts around all that. All right. Well, I want to ask you this. I got two questions for you. Do you have time for two more questions?
[00:39:53] Rabbi Mike: I do.
[00:39:54] Nicole: Okay. All right, so here's the next question. Rituals in meaning. Okay? So, Judaism has so many beautiful rituals that bring people together. How could leaders more in the secular world create meaningful rituals and rhythms to feel connected and build this vibrant culture I want to build.
[00:40:13] Rabbi Mike: Yeah, I, you know, I learned in preschool, my children's preschool, which was a Waldorf education, not Jewish, about rhythm, ritual, and reverence. And that children need that, right? The idea of rhythm helps them structure their time. The idea of ritual is an easy way to hang onto the rhythm and reverence becomes a part of appreciation that we're in something bigger than ourselves. And for me, obviously God is a part of that, but it doesn't have to be. And so I teach it to my families here at religious school. We talk about that when we're doing family education, but I think for all of us, we benefit from that. And so the idea of creating rhythm in our days helps us. And the ritual around that is so important. So like for me prayer is a part of that, right? That helps. And so now prayer could be something that involves God or could be just intentionality.
[00:41:05] Nicole: That's right.
[00:41:06] Rabbi Mike: Prayer and Judaism-- prayer is either giving thanks or petition or asking. So, you know, give me the strength to get through this. I mean, I often think like big meeting, big challenges coming up, you know, a difficult funeral. God just give me the strength to be supportive, to be the best I can to help this family. And so I think that intentionality for me in prayer, but in anything, would be helpful, whatever you're doing, right? So I think that's a really important thing.
[00:41:36] I think the cycle of our week is important for me as a Jew. So the Sabbath, which begins Friday at sundown, ends Saturday sundown, is how we tell time. It's my life, right? I have service every Friday night, every Saturday morning, programs all around that. So it's really easy for me to hang my hat on that. But for all of us to have that idea of our week's structure makes sense. And helps and I think can really give us something that is again, that rhythm that helps us find purpose in our days.
[00:42:05] Nicole: Yeah. Yeah. And the thing I love so much about the taking off from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown is I would remind everybody, we have to stop working, too, at some point, right? We need to rest. And so I know so many people that are on their dang phones and doing email and everything 24/7 and it's like, no, no, no. You need to have a day off.
[00:42:28] Rabbi Mike: I'm trying, but I, I'm the worst. I fail this one, I mean,
[00:42:33] Nicole: Right. Well, you've got to run the show on the day off, so that's a challenge, right? For all the men of God and the women of God.
[00:42:39] Rabbi Mike: I will tell, I, I thought of this and I told my younger colleague this the other day because it was a Friday night and I was alone here at Temple. Because it was earlier in my career. My colleague was out of town. I didn't have a young associate at the time, and it was a bar mitzvah that night and it was some challenges around it and stuff, and family dynamics. And I had little kids at home and all I wanted was like not to leave the house. Just to like, collapse and but I, I had work to do, so I came to Temple and I'm sitting back as the child's leading services and the cantor is leading the music, and something is beautiful happened, and it was like this beautiful service and it became prayerful for me. Like, duh, you're just going through the motions. Like the prayers actually have intent and you heard it for a moment and it helped.
[00:43:30] Nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:43:31] Rabbi Mike: I felt this great sense of awe and appreciation for what I was getting to be a part of in that moment. So, so I think like that structure is an important piece of it.
[00:43:41] Nicole: Yeah. And I love what you just said because that's how our work can be anywhere, right? Like you're doing some task you don't feel like doing, and then you get into it and there's this funny thing-- now you're saying, I felt this presence, this feeling. But in our work it's called fulfillment. You fill up, you're like, oh, this is worth it. Right. You know? So, the tough stuff oftentimes reminds us how lucky we are to be employed where we are doing the work that we're doing.
[00:44:07] Okay, last question. Last question. Leadership as service. Okay. So from a spiritual perspective, what does a servant leader look like. And how can today's leaders bring more compassion to the workplace? What would you advise your secular corporate friends to do? Which, you got a whole congregation full of these people, by the way, you know?
[00:44:29] Rabbi Mike: Right. Well, the servant leader is the model that I want to follow, and I want to be, and for me it's always that the learning opportunities are constantly present and exist and learn from everyone and being able to listen to everyone. And so I think as the corporate head that exists as well, that everyone on a team should have something to contribute that's going to help you be your better leader, but not just for you, but for the team. The team succeeds because of that too. I love when other people succeed. I love when you know, a 13-year-old does much more than they ever thought was possible.
[00:45:07] Nicole: Oh my gosh, so delicious.
[00:45:08] Rabbi Mike: And at their bar mitzvah and, and they like, for me, Bar and Bat Mitzvah is not about torturing a child. I think that's what it really, I think it was set up to do. I mean, you're going to learn this cranky old language that no one really speaks, except for in prayer and in Israel. And you're a secular Jew for most of the time, but you'll get through it, you'll have no idea what you're saying. And you know, you'll walk off and there'll be a party and whatever. I want a child to have an accomplishment. And to know that we rabbis are with them in this journey.
[00:45:42] And so when they walk off the pulpit, they feel good about themselves and somewhere in their head like, oh, Judaism made me feel good about myself, gave me confidence. And there are people in that circle who will help make that happen too. That's such an awesome experience to have. To watch a teacher teach something that I was able to share with them when they were struggling with a concept or whatever, and seeing them do it much better than I could've done and say, "Yes!" Like it took it to that next level such a victory, so cool.
[00:46:09] Nicole: Yeah. Yeah. So, I'm going to interpret that one more time, Michael.
[00:46:14] Rabbi Mike: Please.
[00:46:15] Nicole: So he just said, sometimes you're just teaching and then you turn around and the person that you're teaching at work, at the temple, wherever it is, and then they take that learning and they just accelerate it. They do it better than you. That's why you've got to spend time with your people. That's why you've got to have one-on-ones and you've got to teach and you've got to train and you've got to do all the good HR things, learning and development. That's the name of the game. Makes the world a better place.
[00:46:36] Oh, it's the top of the hour. Do you have one last nugget you want to share? Do you have one little goodie in your pocket you could just give us to end, like, here's the final word from Rabbi Mike.
[00:46:49] Rabbi Mike: I have so much that I love sharing and I think that my greatest blessing in this past year is the opportunity to reengage and learning on a different level, and I found that I was always learning for the next thing I was doing. I was studying for a sermon. I was studying for a class. I was studying to teach, and I forgot the joy in learning for learning sake. There's a concept in Judaism called Torah lishmah, learning for the sake of just-- of the tongue. Just for being present. And I've been a part of something where I've had that now, and that's why I was in Israel for July. I get to engage with colleagues every other week and no agenda. Just to learn.
[00:47:30] Now so much of that I take with me and it's like, wow, it helps. And my congregation's seen that, but it's just learning. And so I think my teach here is take time to learn. Give yourself that time, whether it's 15 minutes a week or an hour, whatever you.
[00:47:52] Nicole: I couldn't agree more. Lifelong learner, everybody. All right, it's been another, I think delightful, must I say? I mean, just, it was delightful episode of the Build A Vibrant Culture podcast with Rabbi Mike. So, Rabbi Mike, if people want to reach out to you, they want to find out more about you and you know what you're doing and how you're leading your congregation, what or how can they find you?
[00:48:15] Rabbi Mike: Oh, in the show notes! We'll put our website, shirshalom.org or my email, mikem@shirshalom.org. We can list my email there as well if people are interested in connecting. And yeah, I'm on Instagram @michaelmoskowitz and Facebook, all those things. I use those platforms just to promote things at Temple and stuff as well. But yeah, those are always good ways to connect with me too.
[00:48:41] Nicole: Yeah, and if you want to go to a really awesome party in November, it's right on the Shir Shalom website. So 30 years. Congratulations.
[00:48:49] Rabbi Mike: Thank you. Thank you. Be fun. Yeah. Good times, but few things are as fun as this hour together. Let's just say it.
[00:48:57] Nicole: Well, that's true. Yeah. The man speaks the truth. Okay, so everybody do this. Go down right now, it takes a hot second. Click the like button. Tell everybody that you love it. Leave a little love note for Rabbi Mike and I'm so grateful to you, Rabbi Mike, thanks for being on the show.
[00:49:13] Rabbi Mike: My pleasure. Thank you for inviting me. Really appreciate it.
[00:49:15] Nicole: Absolutely.
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