Ben Davis, a conservatory-trained musician, found that music became his entry point for a deep connection to Judaism.
Davis grew up in a nonobservant Jewish household in suburban Chicago. In fourth grade, he began to play the cello. Later, he took up the clarinet, the bassoon and the flute; earned a master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; and embarked on a successful career playing and conducting chamber music.
Though he immersed himself in music, he found that it was "fulfilling, but not enough." His search for community led him to attend progressive synagogues and eventually to RRC, where he began his studies in 2005. At the College, his growing rabbinical identity continues to center very much on music.
"Music is very often my entry point into Judaism, what I connect with most immediately," he says. He feels that in both musical and religious practice, one can follow a highly structured course and then, through emotional connection, take off into an unexplainable realm. "That’s what happens when I bring a piece of music to life or have my own moments of connection with the divine," Davis says.
"Knowing that’s my experience, I think it’s got to be happening that way for other people," he explains, adding that the rabbi’s role in some ways parallels the conductor’s. "I try to incorporate musical connection into the way I lead services—providing space for people to express themselves musically, regardless of their background or ability. It’s really about applying that to my vision of what a rabbi can be."
RRC, he notes, welcomes each student to engage with Judaism in a different way. "It’s the excitement itself that’s infectious," he says. "Knowing that there are other ways that I can reach that level of engagement—that’s what I find inspirational."
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