Rabbi Micah Citrin Joins Senior Rabbi Celia Surget at Congregation Albert
By Norma Libman
He was born in Boston and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in Eugene, Oregon, in Los Angeles, and in Israel. But before all that, he lived in Albuquerque. He grew up in Albuquerque, in the arms of Congregation Albert – in those years called Temple Albert – and now he is home again. Rabbi Micah Citrin has joined Senior Rabbi Celia Surget as part of the clergy team at Albuquerque’s Reform synagogue.
Actually, he first moved to Albuquerque in 1978, when he was three years old, because his father, Rabbi Paul Citrin, became the rabbi at Congregation Albert at that time. “I have limited memories of Boston, where I was born,” Rabbi Micah says. “New Mexico is my home. I went to Jefferson Middle School and Albuquerque High School. My entire childhood and formative years were spent here. Bar Mitzvah, Confirmation, Jewish summer camp, TASTY (Temple Albert Society of Temple Youth), and NFTY (National Federation of Temple Youth).”
Rabbi Micah went to the University of Oregon and spent his junior year at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He says he was involved in Hillel at Oregon and always had a connection to the Jewish community. At one point he thought of making Aliyah, and he has lived in Israel, at different times, for a total of three years, including doing a three-month basic training in the army for non-Israeli Jews, and volunteering on a kibbutz. It was at that point, he says, that he began thinking seriously about becoming a rabbi.
“I didn’t think at that time that an American-born Reform rabbi was what Israeli Jews needed,” he says. “They needed Israeli-born Reform rabbis. So I saw my path coming back to the United States. I prepared for and applied to rabbinical school and we started in Jerusalem so I got to go back. Then I spent five years at the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew Union College and earned a Master of Arts in Jewish Education as well.”
Congregation Albert had been looking for a cantor for some time, due to the retirement of Cantor Barbara Finn. “I feel blessed that they were open to exploring a different model for a music worship leader after two years of searching for a cantor,” Rabbi Micah says. “Music and worship have always been part of my rabbinate. My skills matched what Congregation Albert was looking for.
“I know New Mexico. I love New Mexico. There’s something special about the place and there’s something special about the Jewish community here. The DNA of this congregation is exactly what I remember. There are members that I’ve known all my life and then a lot of new members, which is good, it’s healthy. But the DNA is the same. I’m home.”
As far as having a rabbi for a father, Rabbi Micah says, it’s “delicate.” They didn’t really talk about his becoming a rabbi until he was in college. Only then did they begin to talk about it, he says, but the conversation was not initiated by his dad.
About his son becoming a rabbi, Rabbi Paul Citrin says, “When I think of my son, Micah, who was ordained in Los Angeles in 2005, I remember the verse from Proverbs (10:1). ‘A wise son makes his father happy.’ Micah is a wise and talented teacher from whom I love to learn Torah and Talmud. He is wise about people, listening well, reflecting and supporting. He is wise to know how to bring out teens. His spirit is wise as he leads the congregation in spiritual song. Congregation Albert is a most precious community to me. Micah’s presence there is indeed joyous to me.”
And the Rabbis Citrin are the proud father and grandfather of twin sons Itai and Yonah, both in their first year of college.
Turning to the current situation in Israel, Rabbi Micah says, “I am a staunch Zionist, meaning that I believe not only in the right, but in the necessity of having a Jewish homeland in the state of Israel, and I believe in the democratic values that are expressed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. That it’s a country for all its citizens. And that it should be a place for Jewish pluralism.
“Israel knows how to defend itself and its goal is to create peace with its neighbors. The expression of my Zionism is that Zionism is really rooted in a sustainable future for a Jewish and democratic state, which means there needs to be a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel. I support the liberal Jewish community in Israel that is trying to see a vision of those Jewish and democratic values of a pluralistic society, one that is doing everything that it can for its part to find a way to live in a sustainable manner. I’m very concerned about the current government in Israel that has not been a friend to the Reform Jewish community or to democratic or pluralistic values. So that’s a deep concern. I’m troubled when we talk about support of Israel as a monolith. Having lived in Israel for several years I can tell you that Israeli support of Israel is by no means a monolith.”
As for the current troubling rise in antisemitism, Rabbi Micah says he is concerned by the permission given to voices that espouse antisemitism and racism. He is appreciative of the security measures the congregation is taking, but warns that “if we fence ourselves off, the antisemites win.” He believes in exchanging ideas with non-Jewish communities which share our values, for example Congregation Albert's participation in an annual Interfaith Thanksgiving.
Rabbi Micah says he is happy to be home, in New Mexico, in Albuquerque, and at Congregation Albert. “I like the variety of things I get to do: engaging people in prayer, teaching Torah, learning from my students, and participating with people in life-cycle events. I want to give people the tools to forge their own relationship with Judaism and God. To learn what it is to live a life with meaning and purpose. There are multiple points of entry. I like to help people find their own way.”
Norma Libman is a journalist, author and educator, a member of Congregation Albert and a NMJHS board member. Her award-winning books include "Lonely River Village" about the secret writing Chinese women wove into household linens, "The Story of the Story" about her more than 500 published articles, many for the Chicago Tribune, and "Hannah's Day at School," for young readers. Learn more about Norma at http://www.normalibman.com/index.html.
She received two 1st place NM Press Women Communications Awards for her articles published in the New Mexico Jewish Journal in its first year.
Diane Joy Schmidt is the publisher and editor of the New Mexico Jewish Journal. More at https://www.dianejoyschmidt.com.
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