Rabbi Roundtable: March 15, 2026

In partnership with the Atlanta Rabbinical Association, the AJT’s monthly Rabbi Roundtable brings together rabbis from across Atlanta representing each denomination.

For this month’s discussion, each rabbi was asked the following question:

What does Jewish tradition teach about letting go of physical space,
heirlooms, and accumulated possessions?

Rabbi Avraham Perton

L’chol z’man v’et
Obviously, what we own here in this world, stays in this world and is not coming with us to the next. While we are here though in this physical space, the items within, definitely have a purpose in enhancing our lives and it is part of our challenge to use them in a healthy and self fulfilling way; not letting them take over and become larger than their purpose.
I have a shot glass collection that I started when I was young. Then it was a way of collecting something and partly competitive, showing I can collect something and see how large I can grow it. Nowadays, it is to remember places we visited as a family or to get a glimpse of the beauty in the places depicted. They also enhance the Shabbos Kiddush as the family finds it fun to choose them once a week and it elevates that experience.
Everything. just like our character traits, can find its place; the question is in the how, when, and where they can drive us to a greater and more elevated life with meaning and purpose.

Rabbi Adam Mayer

The most intimate moment of Moses’ Divine encounter on Sinai (Ex. 33:21) includes an invitation from G-d to feel at home, to have a place. A place with G-d.
V’Yomer Adonai hinei macom iti. Adonai said, “Behold, there is a place with Me. A place with G-d is unlike any particular place in this world, because any and every place can be a place with G-d. For me, a place with G-d is a way of being where I feel whole, comfortable and welcome, and am thus able to welcome others and expand the tent of Divine Place (Isa. 54:2).
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov expands upon this idea of place (Tinyana 58) and points us to an understanding that a person who is attached to places and possessions will necessarily be limited by those attachments. If I am in one place, I de facto cannot be somewhere else. So, Rebbe Nachman encourages a person to detach themselves from every particular place and thing, to not be a person of “yesh.” When one is not in any place, they are free and available to turn their attention wherever is needed.
May we all live with a presence and freedom of mind to turn our attention to the needs of this world and bring it closer to peace.

Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser

A few years ago, my spouse and I were contacted by the author of the book, “Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff.” He wanted to feature us on his PBS TV show called “Legacy List.” The premise of the show as well as the book is that modern families have way too much clutter and stuff. They believe that there are just a few meaning-filled items that we possess that adequately tell the story of our family. The experience with the show helped me and my spouse determine what was really meaningful to us, what might someday be meaningful to our children, and what we could donate, throw out, recycle, shred, etc. The experience was quite liberating!
While Jewish tradition does not teach us to be ascetic, I do believe we are warned about being too attached to possessions. In a Talmudic teaching, Ben Zoma cautions against amassing more stuff and rather being content with what we have, saying, “ayzeh hu ashir? hasameach b’helko — Who is rich? One who rejoices with what he possesses. [Pirkei Avot 4:1]. And, with an outright warning, Rabbi Hillel teaches, marbeh nechasim, marbeh d’agah — the more possessions the more worries [Pirkei Avot 2:8].
Simplifying our living spaces is part of the Jewish value of Histapkut, understood as “simplification” and that value urges us to consider that less is more.
Ultimately, our legacy will be the stories we tell our children, the values we pass along, and the example we set by living purposeful lives of generosity and caring. And, anyway, as the creators of the TV show, “Legacy List,” taught us, the next generation does not need or necessarily want our China, crystal, or silverware.

About the Rabbis:

Rabbi Adam Mayer, Modern Orthodox
Rabbi Adam Mayer is The Weber School’s dean of Jewish studies and Maspiah Ruchani (Rabbinic counselor). He previously worked at Kohelet Yeshiva in Philadelphia, where he spent eight years teaching high school Jewish studies and serving as the track and cross-country coach. Before that, Rabbi Mayer lived in Israel, where he served as a medic in the IDF and attended Pardes, where he majored in Jewish education and rabbinical studies. When you meet him, be sure to ask about his new Weber class focused on Hip Hop and Judaism!

Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser, Reform
Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser (she/her) was ordained in 1993 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. She has worked in congregations, at Jewish summer camps, and at Emory University’s Center for Israel Education. She is currently the part-time rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Fayetteville, Ga., while working full-time as the manager of the Union for Reform Judaism’s 20-week Introduction to Judaism program. She also serves as the president of Interfaith Atlanta. She is an executive member of the Atlanta Jewish Community Relations Council. In her spare time, Ellen enjoys hiking, travelling, and trying out new recipes on unsuspecting Sabbath dinner guests.

Rabbi Avraham Perton, Orthodox
Rabbi Avraham Perton is the ninth-grade Bekius at Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael of Atlanta. He has previously served as an educator and middle school activity director at Torah Day School of Atlanta, and taught grades 3–8 at Phoenix Hebrew Academy and Yeshivas Toras Moshe.
Rabbi Perton holds a graduate certificate in educational leadership and communication from the Ohr Lagolah Leadership Institute in Jerusalem, Rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, a master’s degree in Jewish law, and a bachelor’s degree in Talmudic law from Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore. Outside the classroom, Rabbi Perton enjoys woodworking, gardening, and exploring the outdoors. He is also conversational in Russian.