In Masechet Brachot, Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha blesses God with a blessing once given to him: 

״יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, שֶׁיִּכְבְּשׁוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ אֶת כַּעַסְךָ, וְיִגּוֹלּוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ עַל מִדּוֹתֶיךָ, וְתִתְנַהֵג עִם בָּנֶיךָ בְּמִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים, וְתִכָּנֵס לָהֶם לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין"

May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger

and may Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes

and may You act toward Your children with the attribute of mercy

and may You enter before them beyond the letter of the law

-Masechet Brachot 7a

The Ribbono Shel Olam then does the sweetest thing in return: God nods God’s head in acceptance of this profound bracha. From this humble giving and receiving of blessings between Rabbi Yishmael b. Elisha and God, we learn “שֶׁלֹּא תְּהֵא בִּרְכַּת הֶדְיוֹט קַלָּה בְּעֵינֶיךָ” or “you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly.” 

There are seemingly ordinary people in my midst whose blessings to me are innumerable. They have offered wisdom, guidance, presence, and deep love that I cannot accept lightly. 

Thank you to HaKadosh Baruch Hu for bringing me to this moment and sustaining me each day.

To my teachers and rebbeim at Yeshivat Maharat—you are all giants in my eyes. Rabba Sara, Reb Jeff, Rabbanit Devorah, Rabba Wendy, Rabbi Erin Leib Smokler, Dr. Esther Altmann, and Maya Bernstein; you each model the compassion, innovation, and sensitivity I aspire to take into my own rabbinate. You could each be changing worlds every single day—thank you so much for changing mine. 

Thank you to the YM staff Jennifer, Amanda, Liz O., Maya and Board of Directors for your constant support in making evenings like this a success. I deeply appreciate your tireless work day in and day out. Thank you to my colleagues graduating with me–I’m proud to have gone through these 4 years together. 

Thank you to the Wexner Foundation and particularly Class 32 for the support, colleagues, and teachers I received throughout my time in rabbinical school. 

Thank you to the chaplaincy department at the New York Presbyterian/ Irving Medical Center for sharpening my love of showing up for people in times of joy and pain. Hospitals may feel like bustling cities, but their pastoral care teams epitomize the familiarity of your own homes, and I am grateful to have called 168th and Broadway home last summer. 

Thank you to the rabbis and teachers who mentored me throughout these past four years: Rabbi Yonah Hain, Navah Kogen, Rabbi Fred Elias z”l, Rabbis Nissan Antine & Eitan Cooper, Rabbi Leead Staller, Laura Hyman, Julie Caiyem, Rabbi Dina Najman, Rav Steven Exler, Rav Ezra & Ma’ayan Seligsohn, Rabbi James Lapin & family, Rabbi Shua Brick, and Rabbi Moshe Edelman. 

Thank you to my in-laws, Laura & Alan and the wider Winer family (particularly Bubbie whose weekly calls have been chizuk since we met) for your support and love. 

Thank you to Rev. Dr. Peter Pettit who first encouraged me to check out a Beit Midrash after my sophomore year of college. I am forever grateful to be your disciple. 

I owe all of my gratitude to the original Goldberg party of five for believing in me since day 1. You celebrated me as an old soul with an off the beaten path calling for as long as I can remember. Thank you Mom, Dad, Carly, Hannah, and Max for patiently listening to me excitedly compare your latest news with the earliest news in rabbinic texts. I hope to have many roles to many people in life, but being your daughter and sister is among my favorite. 

I feel that my years of preparation and work to arrive at this moment are yielding new fruits, but these apples aren’t falling so far from the tree. Today and everyday I carry the memories of my four kind-hearted Wagner and Goldberg grandparents, and my Aunt Ruth Wagner Shapiro z”l, who would have loved to be sitting in these very seats. And especially to my great-grandfather, Marty Pearlmutter-Martin who learned the same teshuvot years ago albeit in a slightly different Beit Midrash. 

And lastly–to Jonah, the substantially better half of my heart, thank you. You are my home, my rock, and my person. This milestone is happening because you believe in me every day. I feel so honored to be your rebbetzin.