The Three Ls for a Life of Purpose
Rabbi Cantor Jacqueline Menaker
Thank you for allowing me to share a few reflections at this pivotal moment: upon
receiving rabbinic s’micha at the beginning of my sixth decade.
I call this the Three Ls for a Life of Purpose.

Listen
To the still, small voice
קול דממה דקה
To your teachers/mentors
to those you do not understand
to those with whom you disagree,
even if you panic or are unsure.
Listen with empathy and
trust the Wisdom of your heart.
And seek to

Learn

“Torah lishmah” (לשמה תורה) or
Torah/learning for its own sake,
Engage in study not for personal gain or external rewards, but for the inherent
worth of knowledge and connection to the Divine.
Learn by welcoming every single mistake.

Learn from overcoming self-doubt and impostor syndrome.
Even if learning at “this age” now encompasses visual, oral, kinesthetic, written,
and other methods.
Turn up the volume and enlarge the font!
Slow down
and

Lean in with Love

with chesed (compassion).
Trust those who love you with an open heart,
have faith
and always strive to speak the language of
lashon hatov -the language of good
not lashon hara – the language of evil
But most importantly, speak this love language to
yourself and about yourself.
With the deepest compassion.

In case you struggle with this,
find me after the ceremony so I can give you one of these wristbands
because
You Matter.
Lean into Ahavat Yisrael – (love of Israel) even if
you disagree with her sometimes.
To love Israel, you must first know Israel (y’diat Yisrael)
Any strong love relationship involves wrestling at

times, and are we not ALL
God-wrestlers?!
For those who strive to create peace in a world of love:
“We CAN create a world from love”

I have been asked more than once in the last five years,
“Jacki, why are you putting yourself through this? Why now?”
To that, I respond,
“How can I not?!”
And I think of my late-found, hard-earned, purpose-driven life and the small impact I
might make some day….
and I smile, content.

Baruch Atah Adonai, Holy One of Blessing, create in each of us a listening heart, the
capacity to learn deeply, and the passion to live a life driven by never-ending Love for
one another, for ourselves, and for the Divine.