Perhaps the most interesting and eye-opening exercise each one of us participants has been asked to do in the coach training program I take this year is to make a three-minute presentation about one coaching skill. After each presentation the rest of us give the presentator our respective scores (from 0 to 10) and tell him if we want to hire him as our life coach or not. I've done this exercise twice so far.
When I did it for the first time, I wasn't aware that I still remain an academic in my style of public speaking. A private comment one of the other participants kindly shared with me made me realize this.
"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic" is what is said about alcoholics. Though I stopped drinking completely about two and a half years ago, I remain an alcoholic in that I still have the potential of being unable to control my drinking after the first drink. I'm a "dry alcoholic".
This may apply to academics, that is, "Once an academic, always an academic." Though I still belong to academia officially, I've already left it to all intents and purposes. Nevertheless, I feel I still remain an academic and perhaps will always remain so. In short, I may also be a "dry academic".
On the eve of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot last Thursday evening I had one powerful revealing experience. In a festive sermon by a distinguished modern Orthodox rabbi I heard at the shul where I regularly daven on Sabbaths and holidays I suddenly realized that true Torah study fills its students with fire. This rabbi spoke with such enthusiasm - fire of Torah!
Then I decided to become a hot "dry academic" instead of remaining a dry "dry academic". I have no role model for this new style of Jewish public speaking for academics as I don't remember hearing any academic give his talk with such enthusiasm. On the contrary, if he spoke this way, his colleagues would think something is wrong with him.
Not only would purely academic study of Judaism probably be unable to fill its students with such fire of Torah, but also have I witnessed many such scholars drift away from Torah with no fire. Of course, I'm not deligitimizing this approach, but it's not for me and my new practice as a Jewish life coach.