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JEWISH CELEBRITIES
concerts may not be what many would consider a typical rabbi sabbatical.
“I am well aware,” said Fleisher. “Generally, these consist of living for an extended time in Israel, studying at conferences, tending to a spiritual practice, or visiting far-flung Jewish communities. However, I was confident that the experiences, encounters, inspiration, elevation and yes, redemption, that would come my way as I chased the spirits in the night on tour with Bruce would cut to the heart of the very purpose of sabbatical — renewal for myself, for my family life and for my service to the congregation.”
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“Fleisher, a Chicago native, was ordained in 2000. He joined CRC in 2002 where he works alongside one of his rabbinic mentors, CRC’s founding rabbi, Susan Talve. Rabbi Randy is known to accompany his services with a guitar slung over his shoulder. He’s known by many as a “rock-and-roll rabbi.”
“I imagined being able to drive from concert to concert, enjoying the freedom and the suspension of time and space via the nature of road tripping, taking in the landscapes, and meeting interesting people along the way. Rolling down the windows and letting the wind blow back my hair, as it were,” said Fleisher.
Fleisher headed to Miami on Jan. 29 to establish his “base camp” and get ready for the first night of the long-anticipated Springsteen world tour in Tampa (Feb. 1) before going to Atlanta for the Feb. 3 show, then Orlando and finally back to Miami on the 7th.
“In between the shows and the road, I plan to beach, read, write and listen to Springsteen music, of course,” Fleisher said.
His mini-sabbatical should wrap with a return to St. Louis by mid-February, but his touring is far from over. In March, he will travel to Washington, D.C. to take his 21-year-old son, Gabe, to his first Springsteen concert. Then near the end of the tour, he will attend one more show at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York with an extra day to tour Springsteen’s hometown of Asbury Park, N.J. and its historic boardwalk.
“As is written in the Torah, hineini, I am fully prepared and ready. Let the music, the stories and the transcendence begin!”
