CareerHub Interview: 5 Questions with Rabbi George Wielechowski

  • Team Schusterman

December 8, 2016

CareerHub Interview is an ongoing series where we speak with and learn from emerging leaders working and volunteering in the Jewish community. In this edition, we speak with Rabbi George Wielechowski, founding director of the Open Dor Project, a Moishe House-inspired initiative. Rabbi George shares his sources of inspiration, how he gets so much done in a day and why there is so much entrepreneurial energy in the Jewish community today.

1. What is the best part of your job? What gets you out of bed in the morning?

The best part of my job is having the opportunity to serve my colleagues in aiding them as they build their visions of Jewish spiritual community. I'm also so grateful that the Open Dor Project is inspired and powered in so many ways by my colleagues and friends at Moishe House. They are the kind of Jewish innovators and creative thinkers that help make projects like our new initiative possible in the Jewish world. Frankly, a mix of the hugs of my children and strong coffee get me out of bed in the morning.

2. What is your vision for Jewish life? How do you see the Jewish community evolving over time?

The Open Dor Project is all about helping entrepreneurial clergy and the emerging and varied models of Jewish community that they are bravely exploring. I believe that serving a growing diversity of seekers to engage with life through a Jewish lens, and helping them connect to each other and the Jewish frame of heart and mind, is our best shot at helping Judaism earn its place among the diverse tools that modern people use to fulfill their spiritual and communal needs. I've heard a lot over the years about Jewish continuity and what we owe the tradition in terms of loyalty and engagement. But I happen to be much more interested in what it owes us. I also have confidence that today's and tomorrow's brave Jewish leaders will find the best expression of our tradition's ever-evolving spirit; and I'm okay with not knowing what that will look like. When I think of Jewish life and how much we worry and fret over it, even in the face of thousands of years of carrying it successfully forward in the face of so many changing circumstances and challenges, I'm reminded of Arthur C. Clarke's brave and optimistic outlook on staring into an unknown future: "The only thing we can be sure of about the future is that it will be absolutely fantastic. So, if what I say now seems to you to be very reasonable, then I will have failed completely. Only if what I tell you appears absolutely unbelievable have we any chance of visualizing the future as it really will happen." I'm hoping for a Jewish future that is fantastic and unbelievable. As I imagine our Jewish present would seem to our ancestors, if they had a chance to observe it.

3. When things get busy/challenging/frustrating, what keeps you going? What is your source of inspiration?

My family. Meditation. The sound of the ocean. The reward in the struggle. The bravery and creativity of midrash. The love of wisdom. The fun of folly. Good bourbon with good friends.

4. What is your favorite interview question to answer? What is your favorite interview question to ask?

This one is pretty cool. It's my new favorite. My old favorite was: How do you say your last name again? I guess my favorite interview question to ask (if I conducted interviews) might be: In what ways does your life and work contribute to the world you want to live in and the person you imagined you'd always become? (It's a tough one but worth asking ourselves all the time, I think.)

5. What is your best time management trick?

The best advice I've heard about managing time can be boiled down to two suggestions I've taken to heart:

1. Pick three things to accomplish each day. Just three. You'll be amazed at how much you get done.

2. There is no such thing as multi-tasking. The more you do simultaneously the worse each of those things will get done. Prioritize and be present for each task you take on. The next thing on the list will wait for you to do the one before it with skill and grace. And if it doesn't, it probably didn't deserve your attention in the first place.

Ready to take the next step in your career journey? Visit CareerHub to explore new and exciting job opportunities, find your career path and/or a job.

The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation is proud to empower emerging leaders to explore their values, identity and new ways to strengthen their communities. We believe that as we work together to repair the world, it is important to share our diverse experiences and perspectives along the way. We encourage the expression of personal thoughts and reflections here on the Schusterman blog. Each post reflects solely the opinion of its author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Foundation, its partner organizations or program participants.