Lea Mühlstein, 1999

Lea read Natural Sciences at Clare. She worked in science publishing and then as a research chemist at Munich University before deciding on a career change to the rabbinate.

Who was your greatest Clare influence and why?

Undoubtedly, my greatest Clare influence were my peers. During my four years at the college, Clare truly became my home and what made it that where the people that brought meaning to calling Clare a family. It was an incredible privilege to be part of such a diverse college community.

Lea's Story

In many ways, my career as a rabbi seems a long way from NatSci, which I studied at Clare. And yet, I think that my time at Clare has been formative both professionally and personally for a number of reasons: it nurtured my intellectual curiosity beyond the confines of my chosen degree; as a woman, it gave me the confidence to believe that my gender would not hold me back professionally; and, thanks to my time in Clare Boat Club, it also taught me the importance of sometimes having to just grit your teeth and bear the pain.

But most importantly, the Clare family modelled for me what it meant to be a good human being. One of my most memorable experiences at Clare was accompanying a friend to the bursar’s office, because she was unable to pay her rent for the term as her family had hit serious financial hardship. We had expected to be faced with complicated bureaucracy to make arrangements for delayed payments in instalments. Instead, my friend was met with enormous compassion and a reassurance that it was fine for her to pay whenever she was able to and however much she would be able to pay. I am often reminded of this story when I listen to congregants share how rarely they encounter this level of compassion when facing hardship and yet what an enormous difference these moments can make to a person’s feeling of self-worth.

I also experienced during my time at Clare first-hand how valuable community is in holding individuals at the most difficult times: being able to support a fellow student as he dealt with the death of both of his parents or coming together as a college community following the tragic death of Christopher Rutter. Today I have the privilege of building community as part of my job and much of my work is still inspired by my experiences at Clare.

Coincidentally, this year which marks the 50^th anniversary of co-education at Clare also marks 50 years of women in the rabbinate. I am blessed to be able to stand on the shoulders of the Clare women and the women rabbis who paved the way for my career. I hope to be able to pay it forward.