Rabbi Roundtable: Oct. 15, 2025

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

We brag that we finish and restart the Torah in the same breath, creating a loop of our Jewish story. Thinking about our community, to what extent are we in a place of Jewish communal renewal? Or are we stuck in a loop with precious little growth?

Rabbi Ari Kaiman

Every year of Jewish life is a cycle, with its own seasons, readings, and rhythms. Our lives, too, are sections of a greater cycle — the generations before us and the ones who will follow. That we face challenges is true in every generation, but the character of those challenges changes with time.
In a way, the question of renewal or stagnation is really a question of optimism or pessimism about our Jewish future. Which data tells that story? Percentage of Jews who keep Shabbat, observe kashrut, or pray regularly? Support for the State of Israel? The ability to tell a story that begins with Bereshit and ends with a vision of redemption — one in which we all play a part? Our commitment to caring for the vulnerable as our share in tikkun olam?
Depending on which questions we ask, and where we look across the diverse landscape of Jewish life, we might see renewal and optimism — or stagnation and decline. But to me, the more important truth is that we are living through a period of tremendous change and possibility, as Jews have in so many generations before. Because we keep telling our foundational stories, we are reminded that these moments are nothing new for the Jewish people, yet they are uniquely ours to live.
Instead of judging parts of our community as growing or stagnating, let us enter this new year with curiosity and responsibility. We will tell our story again — in our way, in our time — linking ourselves to the great cycle of renewal. The only question is: where will we each place our precious energy for our future?

Rabbi Ben Atwood

To an outsider, the endless loop of the Jewish new year can seem repetitive and stagnant. But to us, on the inside, we know the loop breathes life and thrives. Real growth happens in the loop–the continuous rhythm of celebrations, milestones, and misfortunes–when each year we return, yet we feel different.
As a relatively new rabbi in Atlanta, I have been struck by the vigor of the loop of Atlanta’s Jewish community. The Atlanta Rabbinical Association keeps communal leaders connected and able to think about ways to keep moving our world ahead. October 7th and its aftermath have certainly created a sense of camaraderie and unity that inspires me as a young Orthodox rabbi. There’s always more work to be done, but from loop to loop, we have found progress in unity.
In my immediate neighborhood of Toco Hills, the growth is palpable. I notice new faces almost every week, and the synagogues of Lavista road have been expanding to keep up. But this point of pride also creates a responsibility to assure growth does not dilute connection. Our task as rabbis as well as members of this community demands us to keep listening, seeking feedback, and deepening our relationships with others. A new cycle of Torah reading allows us the opportunity to reflect and consider how to make adjustments as we march on to the next loop.
Stability and growth can appear to lie in tension but truly walk hand-in-hand. The theme of Return, teshuvah–be it yearly (Simchat Torah), monthly (Rosh Chodesh), or weekly (Shabbat)–embodies Judaism, but we must return with greater clarity of mission, stronger relationships, and deeper connection with the Divine. This loop we celebrate.

Rabbi Rachael Miller

Atlanta is home to a thriving and vibrant Jewish community. As we begin the Torah cycle anew in the year 5786, we are reminded not only of our spiritual rhythms but of our communal responsibilities. The High Holy Days have just concluded—a time marked by teshuva (a return to the right path), t’fillah (prayer), and tzedakah (righteous giving). These pillars call us to reflect deeply on how we live and give.
While generosity abounds in our city, organizations like Jewish Future Promise have raised a critical concern: a significant portion of charitable giving by Jews is directed outside the Jewish community. This trend poses a challenge to the sustainability and growth of Jewish life.
It would be easy to point to rising antisemitism as a reason to turn inward and support Jewish causes out of fear. But fear should not be our motivator. Instead, we must embrace Jewish giving as an act of love—an affirmation of the meaningful, joyful, and purpose-driven life that Jewish engagement offers.
Our tradition teaches, kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh – all of Israel is responsible for one another. This is not merely a moral obligation; it is a spiritual calling. When we invest in Jewish life, we affirm that our story matters – not just to us, but to the world. When we invest in Jewish life, we build spaces where Torah is lived, values are embodied, and future generations can thrive.
Atlanta’s Jewish community is ripe for renewal. May we continue to answer the call of our tradition and continue to give, to grow, and to ensure a vibrant Jewish future.

Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman

“Heart of Renewal”
The final letter of the Torah is a Lamed. The very first letter is a Beis (or Bet). Read together, they spell Lev — heart.
On Simchas Torah, we complete the reading of the Torah and immediately begin again, no pause, no gap, because true renewal comes not from starting over but from bringing heart into what we do. Lev is the pulse of the cycle; it’s what keeps our Judaism alive.
Once, a group of Hillel students visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe. They challenged him: “Rebbe, who is higher in their service of G-d, the religious Jew or the secular one?”
The Rebbe, who loved every Jew with equal depth, smiled and responded with a question of his own. “If one person is standing on the bottom rung of a ladder and another is on the top, who is higher?”
The students answered immediately, “The one on top.”
The Rebbe shook his head gently. “It depends which direction each is facing. If the one on the bottom is looking up and climbing, and the one on top is facing down and descending, then who, in truth, is higher?”
That is the essence of Simchas Torah. It is not about where you are, it is about which way your heart is facing.
In a world so full of negativity, division, and despair, it is easy to believe that renewal is out of reach. But if we look with Lev, with heart, we begin to see something extraordinary. We see Jews awakening, searching, caring, turning toward meaning, connection, and Israel, toward each other and toward G-d.
Yes, there is always more to do. But this Simchas Torah, as we engage in the Renewal of a New Year and in the essence of our Judaism, the Torah, let us celebrate the direction of our hearts. Let us choose to see the light in one another, to see the beauty of the Jewish soul, and to bring that Lev, that heart, into everything we do.

About the Rabbis:

Rabbi Ari Kaiman, Conservative
Rabbi Kaiman is the Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta, Ga. Upon ordination, he served as Assistant Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Amoona in St. Louis for five years where he founded Makor, a young adult group. His partnership with the Miller Introduction to Judaism program brought dozens of seekers to their home in Judaism. He is part of the Rabbinical Assembly Cohort of the Pardes Mahloket Matters Fellowship. He believes deeply in a vibrant future for our rapidly changing Jewish community. He received his Rabbinic ordination, with a concentration in Philosophy, from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.

Rabbi Ben Atwood, Orthodox
Rabbi Atwood serves as the Assistant Rabbi at Ohr HaTorah and on the Judaic Studies faculty of Atlanta Jewish Academy High School. Over the previous two years, he co-created and co-directed OU-JLIC of Greater Atlanta. He spends his summers on the admin team of the Tikvah Scholars Program for High School Students and has been involved with Yavneh on Campus, Camp Moshava IO, NCSY, the Memphis Torah Fellowship, and the Shalhevet Jewish Educators Fellowship. He has received rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University in tandem with a certificate in Mental Health Counseling at Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf School of Psychology.

Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman, Chabad
Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman is the founder and director of Chabad Intown – Atlanta. From its inception in 1997, Chabad Intown has grown exponentially and currently serves over 2,000 Jews of all backgrounds throughout the year. In addition, Rabbi Schusterman is a consultant for many Chabad Centers in fundraising and organization management. One of his passions is utilizing technology and business techniques to better impact the Jewish world and increase Jewish involvement. He received ordination from the Central Chabad Yeshiva in Brooklyn. He and his wife, Dena, executive director of the Intown Jewish Preschool, have eight children, and two grandchildren.

Rabbi Rachael Klein Miller, Reform
Rabbi Rachael Klein Miller has served as an associate rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Sandy Springs, Georgia since her ordination in 2017. Rabbi Rachael is passionate about Judaism’s ability to build a more meaningful and purposeful life. She enthusiastically seeks innovative ways for community members to nurture their innate spirituality and especially enjoys nurturing the spiritual lives of children.
A proud Midwesterner raised in Leawood, Kan., Rabbi Rachael received her ordination from the historic Cincinnati campus of HUC-JIR. She also holds a master’s concentration in Israel education from the iCenter and is an alumna of the Leffell Israel AIPAC Fellowship. She currently serves on the AZM Board as part of the ARZA delegation.