Winter Kinus of Instituto Rabínico Reformista takes place in Campos do Jordão
Every six months, students and professors from the Instituto Rabínico Reformista meet in person to immerse themselves in an intensive week of Jewish studies. This year, the winter meeting took place in the country house of the Congregação Israelita Paulista, where the heat of intense studies, meetings and tefillah, warmed up the cold days of the beautiful city of Campos do Jordão in São Paulo.
Students from eight countries and of all learning levels were able to share the same study and discussion space with shared classes and religious services organized by the students themselves. The contents of the classes covered subjects from the concept of messianism and prophets to the very construction of the identity of a rabbinic leader.
“In the lives of those of us who make up the Instituto Rabínico Reformista, there are two long-awaited weeks a year. Twice a year we meet from all corners of Latin America to study together. Sometimes in Argentina, sometimes in Brazil. Hopefully in more places soon. There are whole days of camaraderie, living together and continuous learning at Beit Midrash.” says Hernán Rustein, a rabbi recently graduated from the Institute who also had the opportunity to teach his first classes within the institution that ordained him. “This moment was very special on a personal level. Once ordained, I had to share the role of teacher and sometimes guide. The continuity of our Institute and the deepening of its work require our constant work. I am grateful to share this time with the ‘us’ we are trying to create. That ‘us’ that we renew and rediscover in depth every six months.”
In addition to being a moment of intensive study, Kinus becomes a space for the consolidation of the institute’s members, from students to professors, creating a true sense of brotherhood. Rabbi Damian Karo brings his testimony about the meaning of Kinus for the IRR community:
This Kinus was a very special moment like every Kinus. The face-to-face meeting, the retreat to be all together… the students of the Institute, some professors, the board, guest professors, always allow us to build fraternity and work together as a group of future rabbis.
The particularity of doing it in different locations is very important for the work of uniting Ibero-American culture in spatial, territorial and also idiomatic terms. Special thanks to the local rabbis from São Paulo who came, Rabbi Ruben Sternschein and Rabbi Uri Lam, who attended the classes and made amazing contributions.
It is very important, above all, dialogue, encounters, spaces for prayer, spaces for meals, singing and storytelling… and the individual and group work we do involves everything that is not the content itself, but also the formation of spiritual leaders, personality, the way we work, what we say and what we think.
Interested in learning more about the Instituto Rabínico Reformista? Access the website https://www.institutorabinico.org/ and learn about this incredible project to train new leaders for our Ibero-American communities!
