Alyssa Stanton: The convert, the rabbi, and the spotlight.

I am not usually a fan of the online J-magazine Jewcy, but this story popped up in my email and grabbed my attention. I was at the ordination of Alyssa Stanton, but not because of her. I was there because friends of mine were also being ordained (at HUC-JIR, Cincinnati) and I was there to support them. So, it has been interesting to see all of the press coverage over Stanton, all the while knowing that my friends are deserving of just as much attention because of the amazing people they are and rabbis they will be. Obviously Stanton has received so much attention because she is the first African American woman to be ordained. But, as the Jewcy article points out, she isn’t the first African American to be ordained, nor is she the first woman of color to be ordained, yet the country and the world is still fascinated (see the article for more along this line of thought).

So, what is our fascination with Alyssa Stanton? I think part of it is the fact that she converted. Conversion is not only an increasingly hot topic within Judaism (one just needs to look at the frustrating situations in Israel re: conversion to see just how many lives are affected by differing views of conversion and converts), but it is controversial on many levels. If you convert via the Reform movement are you a full-fledged Jew? Will you be recognized by the Conservative and Orthodox movements? What about a Conservative conversion? What about a Modern Orthodox conversion? Will you be recognized by the Ultra-Orthodox? Who gets to say what constitutes a Jew and a legal conversion? Can a female rabbi be on the beit din?

Every article is quick to bring up that Stanton is a convert, which is important only in the context that it is a part of her history, her story. Jews are not really supposed to remind converts that they are, in fact, converts. Once you convert you are a Jew and should be referred to as such. Stanton converted some 20 years ago, so how incredibly frustrating to her to be referred to as a convert over and over again in local and national media. I’m sure she stopped thinking of herself as a convert long ago; I’ve only been Jewish for a little over 5 years, but it has even been a couple of years since I stopped thinking of myself as a convert and simply as a Jew. It is true that being a convert instead of a Jew-by-birth brings with it a different view of traditions and history, which would in turn inform someone's rabbinate, just as our history informs all that we do. But, you have to wonder: when will we just be Jews? Will there ever be a time when we won't need to explain our background or how we got where we are?

Becoming a rabbi is a remarkable achievement for anyone. Becoming the first African American rabbi is a footnote in history. Her race will not make Stanton a better or worse rabbi; her training, her commitment, her love of Judaism – these are what will determine Stanton’s quality as a rabbi. You have to wonder whether all of this attention on Stanton’s race and her first-of-a-kind situation is setting her up for either failure or disappointment. How can someone with so much hype actually live up to it? And what happens when the media attention fades? When the spotlight is off of her, what kind of rabbi will Alyssa Stanton actually be?

I think of my friends who were ordained alongside Stanton that day in June and I know that they will be great rabbis, spiritual leaders who will be attentive and loving throughout their careers. They do not have the spotlight on them, but perhaps they should. Or perhaps we should leave our spiritual leaders to what they do best: teaching, counseling, leading us in prayer, comforting us in grief, rejoicing with us in happiness.