The year before I was ordained a priest, I entered the Chaplain Corps of the United States Navy. After completing the officers’ training program in the summer of 1993, I began my last year of seminary training in Washington, DC. As a reserve naval officer, serving in the capacity as a “chaplain candidate” since I was not yet ordained, I landed a billet at The United States Naval Academy since Annapolis was only a half hour away. (It also helped that the Command Chaplain was an Oblate). Fr. John Friel, OSFS, was a man steeped in the Salesian tradition and spoke about St. Francis de Sales in every talk, conference, and service I heard him give at the academy. However, the person who became most influential in my life at that time was my direct supervisor, Rabbi Bob Feinberg.
Since Fr. Friel held the rank of captain and was the Command Chaplain of the entire Naval Academy community of midshipmen, teachers, and staff, he did not have the time to mentor a junior chaplain with the mere rank of ensign. Lieutenant Commander Robert Feinberg was given that task and I immediately wondered what I had to learn from a rabbi chaplain whose faith I believed to be so different than my own. Little did I know that he would be one of the best teachers in my training for the priesthood.
One of Rabbi Feinberg’s favorite expressions was, “see one, do one, teach one.” This phrase is believed to have been coined by Dr. William Halstead, MD who created the first surgical residency-training program in the United States at John Hopkins. It emphasizes the importance of teaching by example and is still widely used as a teaching model among medical professionals today. This teaching strategy has been embraced for millennia by the Jewish understanding of the role of a Rabbi as teacher of the faith. In short, a good rabbi is one who leads and teaches by example.
Rabbi Feinberg believed that the best way to teach me to be a good chaplain was to be at his side and observe. On the way to a meeting or before he picked up the telephone, he would look at me and say, “see one, do one, teach one.” I observed him very carefully during these times as he was a fascinating man and had a remarkable way of connecting with people. After every interaction, whether with a low-ranked seaman or the Admiral of the Naval Academy, he would ask me what I saw, what I heard, and what I learned. What always struck me most was the loving way he treated each person despite rank, status, or even the importance of the matter at hand. My experiences at the Naval Academy, under the tutelage of Rabbi Feinberg, were among the most rewarding of my life.
I learned that to be a good priest I had to authentically live what I preached and taught; I had to be a true example for others. That does not mean I am perfect, or that I ever will be. Rabbi Feinberg taught me by example the true meaning of the Salesian motto, “be who you are and be that well.” Part of our human nature is to stumble and fall, but we are to never give up. We are called by our Creator to continually strive to be our best self, which is essentially to love God, love our neighbor, and to love ourselves.
I also learned there was not the huge difference between being a good rabbi and being a good Oblate. In fact, there are many more similarities than differences. When someone asks us to define our spirituality, we Oblates often say, “Salesian Spirituality is best caught, not taught.” Our patron, St. Francis de Sales, spent most of his time teaching about the most fundamental nature of both the human and the divine, which is love. He dedicated his greatest work, “Treatise on the Love of God” to this theme and taught its practical applications in his other great work, “An Introduction to the Devout Life.”
What made DeSales such a great teacher were not these books, but that he authentically lived their message in his interactions with others. His ability to love was the ultimate “see one, do one, teach one.” For this reason, St. Francis de Sales earned a title given to very few saints, Doctor of the Church.
Much like the training of modern medical doctors, DeSales taught by example. Even though Dr. Halstead may have coined the term “see one, do one, teach one” in training medical professionals, our Doctor of the Church was living it by word and example hundreds of years before. Despite my ten years in the Oblate seminary before arriving at the Naval Academy, Rabbi Bob Feinberg taught me the great value of how this motto is lived each day. He expanded my world view beyond my Catholic Christian education, an even beyond Jewish teaching, to help me see the true applications of the Salesian Spirituality that is the very core of our humanness; to love and to be loved.
May God be Praised!
Fr. Bill McCandless, OSFS
Oblate Development & Communication
Lieutenant Commander, Untied States Navy, Retired
