At our June Friday Night Fresh, we celebrated Rabbi Smookler’s time with us. Congregation President Andrew Berger wrote a special tribute, based on the popular Broadway show “Hamilton”.
“Rabbi Rachel Rubenstein”
(with apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda)
How does a brown-haired, five-foot, girl from a region Of the country, where everyone else looks Norwegian, Develop the self-esteem, not to be too ash- Amed to tell the world, “Hey look, yo, I’m Jewish!”
[ ] She doesn’t blend in but it doesn’t defeat her, She makes a lot of friends…becomes a cheerleader, And goes to Hebrew school, almost every day, and she leads the way; man, can this girl pray!
She goes off to college and dates a few guys Some of them are a surprise, keeps ‘em from her parents’ eyes…. But then she gets together with a fella named Harrison [ ] There’s no comparison, so she goes and marries ‘im
[ ] Now they’re together and they both understand That they’ve got a lot planned, Spend some time in the Promised Land. [ ] Before you know it this gal’s been ordained And the world’s gonna know her name What’s her name, man?
{sung}
Rabbi Rachel Rubensteen [SMOOKLER!]
Her name is Rabbi Rachel Rubensteen [SMOOKLER!]
And there’s a million things she hasn’t seen
But just you wait, just you wait
Harrison gets an offer from Corning, Inc., He says, “Whaddaya think?” – She says, “I think it’s gonna stink!” [ ] Where’s her community? Who’s gonna hire her? The next thing you know, she’s the Rabbi in Elmira
[ ] Everything’s going just fine, when oh, no: It’s time to relocate and try to buy a kimono, They move abroad and though it isn’t part of the plan, Guess what falls into her hand? She’s the Chief Rabbi of Japan!
[out of time] Meanwhile….
[back in time] [ ] At TBD, there’s trouble a-startin’, They’re looking for assistance in the rabbi department, The congregants know they have to take some action To get some satisfaction…so, they turn to Helen Kashtan
[ ] She asks the board if anyone has a lead On someone who could help ‘em in their hour of great need A guy says, “Well, there’s my daughter’s friend’s mommy, I think she’s back in town, somethin’ ‘bout… a tsunami?”
[ ] The board members turn and look at him in tandem. Helen says, “Andrew, that is totally random! This could be really good but you will have to explain And at least let us know her name. What’s her name, man?”
{sung}
“Rabbi Rachel Rubensteen [SMOOKLER!]
Her name is Rabbi Rachel Rubensteen [SMOOKLER!]
I think on Purim she could play the Queen
And she’d be great
{Trump} Bigly great!”
So she drops in from the sky just like the Wizard of Oz And despite our flaws, she decides to take up the cause. She dives into her duties like a fish into water The older members practically adopt her as a daughter!
She visits all the sick, gives ‘em lots of time, Tutors b’nai mitzvot ‘til they’re chantin’ fine, Organizes volunteering through her program, /giv, Shows ‘em how to live, keeps it current, and positive
[ ] Her sermon’s always inspiring, and critical, And on occasion it might get political. But just in case the sermon gets too heavy, She’s ready with her quotes from the KOTZKER REBBE!
[ ] She’s at her best when things are lookin’ strangest, When our life changes, when the logic rearranges, She helps the congregation make a big move, Helps ‘em keep their groove, tells ‘em they’ve got a lot to prove
[..] Now it’s the Smooklers moving…to Carolina They’ll all be together, and nothin’ could be finer That that, and here’s a thought that we’ve been kickin’ aroun’: Girl, if you like it a lot, maybe we’ll ALL MOVE DOWN!
[extra snap] So from us to you, we say this from the heart: They can tear you away, but they can’t tear us apart! ‘Cause We -- all value you We -- will all miss you We -- will write to you We -- will Facebook you We [da da da dump] will always have a place for you [1 2 3] But now adventures are awaiting you and just you wait just you wait (What’s her name, man?) RABBI RACHEL RUBENSTEEN – SMOOKLER!!!!