Matt Tuthill

Published in the Bennington Banner on August 28, 2006

NEW RABBI HAS FDR’s, ELEANOR’S DNA

BENNINGTON – For anyone else, the legend might have loomed too large. The footsteps would have been too massive. But for Rabbi Joshua Boettiger, being the great-grandson of Franklin D. Roosevelt is something he hasn’t allowed to overshadow his life.

Hailing from a presidential background and choosing to become a rabbi has made Boettiger, 32, somewhat of an anomaly. And yet Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt would likely be proud of their trail-blazing great-grandson, who became Congregation Beth El’s new rabbi on August 1.

Just as the history books have described his great-grandparents, Boettiger is confident and decisive. His speech is powerful, yet warm and he has a great love for his country. Like Eleanor, Boettiger says he feels a deep calling to public service. And in meeting with him, it’s easy to imagine that his leadership quality might be genetic.

Media Attention

In a 2005 New York Times article about FDR’s descendants and the myriad life paths they’ve chosen, Boettiger’s unique path to Judaism and becoming a rabbi served as the focal point.

“I have ambivalence around talking about it,” Boettiger said Tuesday. “It’s an interesting story for sure, but the media attention in the New York Times… it was interesting, but I guess it was surreal because it’s never been that big of a part of my life. It was something we were only dimly aware of growing up.”

Boettiger’s path to becoming a rabbi is made more unique by the fact that he grew up in an interfaith household, the son of an Episcopalian father and a Jewish mother. The traditions of both faiths, he said, were given equal time. Rather than a Bar Mitvah, he had what his parents called a “Josh Mitzvah,” a coming-of-age ceremony that incorporated traditions from both faiths. When it came time to choose a single faith, Boettiger said, it wasn’t really a choice at all.

“Growing up I got a minimal dose of both traditions,” Boettiger said.  “Both of my
parents were really respectful of the other’s tradition and said that I could choose whatever path felt right for me… [Judaism] was the tradition that most spoke to me as far as what I imagined my path being.”

Bennington Community

Boettiger, who took over for Rabbi Howard Cohen on August 1, was born in Maine, grew up in Northampton, Mass. and was introduced to the Bennington area during his internship under Cohen from 2001 to 2002. When Cohen gave up his post to become a Rabbi Emeritus, Boettiger said the choice of coming back to the area to take up his ministry was a simple one.

“This is a homecoming of sorts for me,” Boettiger said. In addition to the appeal of the simple New England lifestyle, Boettiger said the strength of the Beth El community played a big part in drawing him back.

“I think some people are stepping into rabbinic situations where they’re starting something from scratch,” he said. In Bennington, Boettiger said he been blessed with a situation where the congregation is loyal and involved, and he credits Beth El’s board of directors and Rabbi Cohen for laying the groundwork of a successful ministry.

Historical Shadow

Boettiger realizes how it must have been difficult for the first generation of FDR’s descendants, who may have felt pressure to live up to legacy left by the late president. But Boettiger has suffered no such pressure. If anything, he said he feels a distant connection to Eleanor and shares a deep respect for her call to public service.

As a Jew and FDR’s great-grandson, Boettiger is asked often, and perhaps unfairly, if FDR did all he could to save Jews during the holocaust. He has acknowledged that his great-grandfather did not do all he could to stop the genocide, but has also called FDR a great friend of the Jews. His apparently conflicting answers, he said, are representative of an incredibly difficult historical question.

“It’s a complex issue,” Boettiger said. “Historians have a raging debate about it and since I’m not a historian I try to stay out of that and just welcome the discussion and to say that it’s not a simple answer.”

Israel

The ongoing conflict in Israel and recent fighting with Lebanon is something that has hit particularly close to home for Boettiger, who lived for about three years in Israel. Much of that time was spent studying in Jerusalem.

“My time in Israel has had a big impact on my decision to become a rabbi,” he said. “I feel a lot of sadness at the trouble and the bloodshed that has become all too commonplace over the years. It is my abiding hope that in the future it can really be a safe homeland for the Jewish people and all people in that region.

In Jerusalem Boettiger met his girlfriend Vanessa who is currently a rabbinical student herself. “It added to the hold that Jerusalem has on my heart,” Boettiger said.

New Experiences

Boettiger promises to build on the strong interfaith ties that were a staple of Cohen’s ministry. When St. Peter’s Episcopal Church hosts an interfaith forum and prayer service on Sept. 13, Boettiger will be there just as Cohen was in years past.

In the fall, Boettiger plans on introducing the congregation and interested members of the community to Jewish meditation. Despite the name, Boettiger says Jewish meditation is really a non-denominational experience and is something he welcomes the non-Jewish community to enjoy.

“Meditation is meditation,” he said. “There’s nothing Jewish or Christian about breathing. What Jewish meditation is really about is using Jewish language to explore the practice of meditation.”

Meditation, Boettiger says, is just one of the things he’ll try to get his new congregation involved in. Shabbat morning services, family services and musical services are all in the works for his reconstructionist synagogue, a denomination of Judaism that welcomes all parts of the community.

Bridging a gap between Judaism and the community is something that holds deep appeal for Boettiger, whose Christian father never questioned his gravitation to the Jewish faith.

“You can define the rules and then build fences,” Boettiger said. “You can say ‘okay, this is the community.’ Or you can build a fire and see who comes.”