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1. Who was Deborah in the Bible?

Deborah was both a female prophet and a judge who, according to the Book of Judges (4:4) used to sit under a palm tree and the Israelites would come to her for judgment. She was the Judge Judy of her time! During Deborah's time, a century after the Israelite entry into the land of Canaan, the valley in which she lived was controlled by King Jabin of Hazor. Deborah summoned the warrior Barak and instructed him in God's name to take 10,000 troops and confront Jabin's general, Sisera, and his army's 900 chariots, on Mount Tabor. The Israelites are able to defeat Hazor's army in a successful battle. The famed "Song of Deborah" in chapter 5 (and sung each year on Shabbat Shira -- the Sabbath of the Song) exults in the breaking of the Canaanite stronghold over much of the country.

2. Who was one of your most important teachers in rabbinical school?

Probably the one teacher that immediately comes to mind that is both famous in the Jewish and the non-Jewish world is Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, often thought of as the Jewish equivalent of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. -- the quintessential Jewish leader and social activist. I keep a picture in my office of Heschel marching arm in arm with King during the 1965 civil rights march in Selma, Ala. Heschel and his writing have taught me many things over the years. One is to stay amazed and appreciate the beauty of nature and other wonders in the world. Another is the importance of paying attention to the ethical laws of Judaism, remembering that ritual is the string around our finger to help us remember the ethical thing to do. A third is not to rush our prayers, but rather as Heschel once wrote, "take hold of a word" while praying and stay with it for a while. Heschel died a couple of years before my rabbinic ordination. Since his death, he has become probably the greatest hero produced by the Conservative movement in the United States, and many Conservative day schools and other institutions bear his name.

Rabbi Ron Isaacs is the spiritual leader of Temple Sholom, a Conservative congregation in Bridgewater. His forthcoming new book is "Siddur Or Shalom," a Shabbat morning prayerbook. Contact him at www.rabbiron.com or "Ask the Rabbi," c/o Rabbi Ron Isaacs, Temple Sholom, P.O. Box 6007, Bridgewater, N.J. 08807.