Faith First: Second Career Clergy

Aired 2001-02. Produced by Diva Communications Jewish baby-boomers entering their collective mid-life are finding that spirituality and religion have gained greater prominence in their daily lives.

For many, this has meant attending shul more often, for others it involves weekly Torah study or volunteering for a Jewish organization. For still others, however, the realization that their work and Judaism can no longer exist in separate worlds has sparked a clarion call. These men and women have found themselves turning away from successful careers in the secular world to enter an entirely new professional setting – one that requires a five- to six-year immersion in a religious environment.

Rabbinical and cantorial training, they discover, entails much more than rigorous study; it precipitates a wholesale personal transformation.

For individuals and their families, the decision to become a rabbi or a cantor in mid-career demands humility, sacrifice and strength of character.

“Faith First: Second Career Clergy,” created by Debra Gonsher Vinik and Diva Communications, examines this fascinating, life-altering choice from the perspective of several extraordinary people.

From first-year students making the difficult adjustment to being back in a classroom setting, to pulpit rabbis and cantors who have completed their formal training to bring their years of life experience and maturity to a congregation, this hour-long documentary is both an inspirational look at the personal growth and fulfillment to be gained from a career in the clergy as well as an endorsement of pursuing one’s heart’s desire later in life.

To purchase a copy of the film call 212 397-7259