The congregation of Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansas will have to make do without their rabbi for a few months. Rabbi Jacob Adler, who is also an associate professor in the department of philosophy at the University of Arkansas, is on sabbatical for 10 months.

It’s his first off-campus assignment in many years and he is using the time to study the 17th-century Dutch-Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza as a visiting researcher at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

For Adler, the time away has been a long time coming. Although he has been teaching at the university since 1984, he took time off without pay while studying to be a rabbi. So even though he would have been eligible for an off-campus duty assignment after six years of continuous service, each time he took time off for his studies the clock reset, so to speak.

“So it was the first chance in a long time to have one but it was a bit of a dilemma because I really wanted to have this time to work on my research but I didn’t want to break off with the temple,” Adler said. “If you go away for a year, it’s not necessarily the best thing for the relationship.”

That’s why Adler plans to fly home about once a month to lead services. On the weeks he is away, services will be led by members, which really isn’t much of a change, Adler said.

“Mine is a quarter-time position, so they’ll continue with lay-led services,” Adler said. “We’ve just, since the fall of 2012, started having weekly services. When I came we had services once a month, then added lay-led services and last fall we started having them every week. I’m happy to see that.”

Rivka Zemke, president of Temple Shalom, said various members-lead services, each with their own style, and that will continue while Adler is gone.

“While Rabbi Jacob won’t be our ‘resident’ rabbi as we have been used to, we are fortunate that he will be returning to visit us for the weekend about once a month,” Zemke said. “This will give us the opportunity to explore a different format of rabbinical services. Where previously, we had events sporadically throughout the year, we will now have an opportunity for focused study similar to a ‘scholar in residence’ format.”

Zemke said Adler will also be able to stay in touch with the congregation through email and phone calls.

While in New York, Adler will be doing research for a book on Spinoza.

“I’m trying to understand him by getting better acquainted,” Adler said.

Adler said Spinoza had many friends who were physicians and he talked about philosophy with them. He hopes by researching those relationships he will find new insights.

As for his interest in Spinoza, Adler said the philosopher was influential to his religious development.

“It was kind of in a backward way. He was leaving the Jewish world, was excommunicated, and a person who is leaving can open the door to someone entering,” Adler said.

Even though the off-campus assignment is sponsored by the university, Adler said there are advantages for the synagogue, as well. He will be in a part of the country with the largest percentage of Jews - a situation much different from Arkansas.

“The joke is we know there are Jews in Arkansas but do they have any in New York,” he said. “I’ll have more opportunities to experience things. Although you can read all about something, actually being there in person helps. I hope to be able to learn things and experience things and bring them back with me.”

Adler, who grew up in Cranston,R.I., said being part of a vibrant Jewish community is an eye-opening experience - one he saw while studying in Israel.

“It was an amazing experience to be in a neighborhood doing the Sabbath in a serious way,” he said. “I was walking down the main street of my neighborhood on a Saturday and I could walk down the middle of the street and once every two or three minutes a taxi would go by but basically nothing at all. Imagine being in a place where Christians were so serious on Sunday that you could walk down the middle of North College [Avenue].

“I’m hoping to experience that kind of Judaism here.”

While in New York with his wife and children, Adler will also be closer to other family members and looks forward to spending time with them, including his brother and sister in Rhode Island.

“I still don’t quite believe it,” he said.

Religion, Pages 14 on 08/17/2013