Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Ross.
Amy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
During my childhood, my family and I had Shabbat dinner and attended services together every Friday night. I remember the feelings I used to get when I walked into the sanctuary – comfort, love, and a sense of belonging. I felt at home. With two parents who are Jewish professionals, a rabbi and an educator, I really was at home. It was those Friday night services that started my interest in becoming a rabbi, and a childhood and adolescence full of meaningful Jewish experiences that perpetuated my interest into adulthood.
Looking back, I think a part of me always knew I wanted to be a Jewish professional. In college, I tried a few other things like drama, public education, and psychology. All those studies continue to serve me, but no matter what I’ve done, I always came back to Judaism. Those who know me have often told me that it was inescapable for me, that it was in my blood. But the truth is that it is much, much more than that. It is a passion and a love; it is what gives my life purpose and meaning and it is the legacy I hope to leave in this world.
I have been serving the people of my community, Temple Emanu-El, since 2010, just after I was ordained as a rabbi. I began my time at Temple as the Director of Youth Learning, overseeing our Kindergarten through 12th grade religious and Hebrew schools. I am now the Director of Learning and Innovation and have some hand in every opportunity we create for youth and families. In my time at Temple, we have merged our education and engagement programs to create a holistic path for our families on their Jewish journey and have shifted our philosophy to hold relationship and community building equal to Jewish experience and knowledge in all that we do. I am working with our excellent lay leadership to learn more about the needs and desires of our families, to address the youth mental well-being challenges of today’s world from a spiritual perspective, and to create an inclusive environment at Temple for our families with children of all ages who have special needs.
I am also a member of the national board of the Association of Reform Jewish Educators (ARJE), an organization that serves the professional needs of Reform Jewish Educators in North America. In that capacity, I am co-chairing a joint task force with ARJE, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (the rabbinic professional organization) and the American Conference of Cantors (the cantorial professional organization) to advocate for the professional needs of clergy-educators in our movement. The phenomenon of clergy-educators is relatively new in our movement and though our professional organizations excellently serve the needs of clergy and educators in more traditional roles, we are all working to provide the support our movement professionals need in this changing world.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We have all faced our fair share of adversity, and I am no exception. In some ways, my faith is inextricably linked to struggle, a value we hold high in Jewish life and thinking.
When I was 11, it seemed as though my world was sinking beneath my feet. My beloved grandmother died unexpectedly from a heart attack, and six months later, my parents announced they were getting a divorce. Less than a year later, my mother came out of the closet and a close family friend suddenly became my mom’s live-in girlfriend. I questioned how God could let this happen to me, how so much of my life could change so profoundly in such a short period of time. I wasn’t sure God existed and even if God was really there, what kind of God? For years, I struggled with my belief, even while finding immense comfort and solace in my involvement in the Jewish community.
When I was 16, my boyfriend committed suicide. I fell into a deep trench of doubt and confusion and guilt. With the help of my parents, therapists and my community, I began to understand that God doesn’t let these things happen. Tragedy and struggle are a part of life and God and faith can help us continue to put one foot in front of the other when it seems impossible. While I still questioned God, I no longer blamed God, and in many ways, that was freeing for me.
About 10 years ago, I began to experience chronic pain down my left leg and in my lower back. The pain was so debilitating, I was home-bound at points and it took 8 years to get an accurate diagnosis. I learned that I have psoriatic arthritis, a degenerative form of arthritis, that I will be plagued with for my whole life. But that wasn’t what was causing the chronic pain. Eventually, I was connected with a world-renowned hip specialist right here in Dallas, whose diagnosis changed my life.
I am a twin and in utero, I was the bottom twin. As a result of not having the room in the womb that my body needed to develop, my femurs never turned out as they were supposed to and I had a femoral anteversion in both of my legs. Over the next two years, I had three major surgeries on my femurs and hips and spent countless hours in physical therapy learning how to walk again. With two small children, these were particularly trying years for our family. With the incredible personal and professional support of our Temple Emanu-El community, we were able to get through these immensely challenging years and I am proud to say that I am now in the best physical shape of my life.
Though none of these struggles were easy to go through at the time, they have shaped who I am today and the lenses through which I see the world. They have helped me focus on what’s truly important and enabled me to do my job and live my life with more compassion and understanding.
Please tell us about Temple Emanu-El.
Temple Emanu-El is one of the largest Reform Jewish synagogues in the country and has long been a beacon of hope and inspiration in the Dallas community and beyond. Temple’s focus is on creating a place of sacred encounter where “learning, prayer and deeds change people’s understanding of themselves, of their world and their responsibilities in it” (Temple Emanu-El’s Mission Statement). We do this through the intentional creation of community, worship opportunities that meet the needs of a varied membership and an unwavering commitment to upholding the ethical ideals of social justice.
My work is primarily with our youth and families and focuses on creating opportunities for Jewish families to engage in Jewish life in meaningful, relevant and inspiring ways. We have dedicated family worship opportunities for families with children from birth through their senior year of high school. We have a vibrant religious school for children and teens, and an excellent Early Childhood Education Center open to members and non-members alike. Both our early childhood and religious school programs have support for families with children who have special needs of all kinds, and we have a dedicated worship service for this population as well. We have a teen community that provides leadership, social justice, religious and social opportunities for our teens to connect. We offer a vibrant youth community with Parent’s Night Out programs and other social, educational, and social justice events for our school-aged children.
I am most proud of our willingness and ability to respond to the changing needs of the modern family and world. We are in a constant state of reform, while still upholding the values and ideals of our longstanding tradition. We work hard to make a large community feel small, specifically with our small group initiative called Sh’ma Emanu-El that connects members with others who share various interests around study and celebration. We celebrate holidays as a community and our incredible staff and clergy teams work directly with members to be the change we want to see in our community and world.
What were you like growing up?
My parents tell a few stories that I think sum up what I was like as a kid. The first is of my twin sister and I as babies in our cribs. My sister somehow climbed or fell out of her crib and hit the floor without even waking up. Her fall woke me up and I cried and cried until my parents came in to see what was going on. Even then, I was focused on the needs of others, and then as today, I did not stand by and wait for help to arrive. When I see injustice or pain in the world, I do all that I can to respond.
Another story told often is that of my sister and I learning to walk. For months, I would stand up. Teeter and then fall, sometimes getting in a step and sometimes not. Eventually, and through much trial and error, I learned to walk. A few days later, my sister just stood up and started walking. She is a watcher and I am a doer. I never have been good at sitting still and I’m not afraid to try new things and fail, only to try again and again until I’m successful. This remains a strong part of who I am today.
The last story I’ll share is my first experience riding a bike. My parents got me a toddler-sized tricycle that they allowed me to ride in the basement of our home. I would get on the bike, ride it into the wall, back up and do the same thing again. Over and over I would run into the wall, perhaps thinking that one of these times it might have moved out of my way. I have often been described as tenacious and, let’s face it, there is a healthy dose of stubborn in there, too. When I see what I want, or what I want to change, I go after it and don’t generally let it go.
My parents would probably describe me as a pretty even and good kid. I stayed in my lane, did well in school, was the peacemaker at home and have always had a good sense of self-awareness. I was the kind of kid who had a small group of close friends with whom I spent most of my time. I have always loved being transported to other worlds through reading and expressing myself creatively through singing and acting. I grew up going to summer camp at Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas, and there learned to live with others, solve problems, lead groups, work with kids, quiet rooms full of people and so much more. At camp, I learned to be myself – who I truly was – and that gave me a safe place of solace each summer during my formative years and beyond. I still go to that same camp every summer in a professional capacity and this summer for the first time, my older daughter attended as a camper. I am a loyal friend and a dedicated family member and place the highest priority and value on my family and friends.
Contact Info:
- Address: Temple Emanu-El
8500 Hillcrest Road
Dallas TX 75225 - Website: www.tedallas.org
- Phone: 214-706-0000
- Email: aross@tedallas.org
Image Credit:
Winn Fuqua
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