New Beginnings

Given how often our secular calendar is at odds with the Jewish calendar, in early fall I am always grateful that the start of the academic year coheres with the onset of a new Jewish year. As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we on the New York campus find ourselves in the midst of preparation, putting all in order spiritually as well as materially even as classes begin.

This year, like none most of us can remember, we do this in the context of economic crisis. The uncertainty in which we find ourselves is disorienting for all. Yet, despite the challenges we face, and perhaps as a result of them, too, I find myself more deeply inspired than ever by our faculty, staff and students whose commitment to the mission of the College-Institute remains firm. Our mood is somber at times as we recognize the very significant decision-making process in which we are engaged to determine the future of this institution we love. At the same time we are hopeful. Our President, Rabbi David Ellenson, and our Board Chair, Barbara Friedman, are working tirelessly together with the administration, faculty and board to ensure that wise decisions will put our seminary on strong footing. If, in relation to this process, you have questions, ideas or concerns you would like to share, please do not hesitate to be in touch with me (sidelson@huc.edu). The process is moving forward at a steady pace, but it is by no means over.  Your input is extremely important, and I want to hear from you.

Nothing is more inspiring than seeing our community in action, doing collectively what we do best--transmitting the values of our tradition from one generation to the next -- through scholarship, teaching, prayer, art, music, and acts of love, kindness and justice.  To this end, I share with you recent developments and plans for the new year here on the New York campus.  Our faculty remain the most valuable resource we have at the College-Institute, ensuring that the teaching and learning we provide is top notch.  Our staff work devotedly to make sure the institution runs well.  And our students--on whom the future of liberal Judaism truly rests--invest their hearts and souls in their studies and their work serving the Jewish people every day.

During the year the pulse of our community can be felt each day in the classroom and the sanctuary at One West Fourth Street.  And every afternoon and weekend our presence is felt far beyond our building, as students head out to serve in over 150 positions not just across the metro-area, but throughout the East Coast. 

And so, before students began commuting to pulpits from Brampton, Ontario to Palm Beach, Florida, the entire New York faculty and student body began the year at our annual Kallah, an opportunity for us to coalesce as a community through classes, programs and tfillah held in a retreat setting for two and a half days. This year I am particularly grateful to Steve Lefkowitz, Vice Chair of the New York Board of Overseers, and his wife Clarissa, for underwriting the Kallah. Planned by Rabbi Renni Altman, Associate Dean and Director of the Rabbinical Program, and a committee of faculty and students, the Kallah focused on the theme "Me'ayin Yavo Ezri: Sources of Strength in Challenging Times."  A few highlights included: Sunday night, after we had a chance to greet one another and pray ma'ariv together,a thought-provoking discussion ensued with Professors Larry Hoffman and Steven Cohen on "Leading Jews and Judaism in Changing Times." This offered students a rare opportunity to hear two leading thinkers of the Reform Movement encourage them to consider Jewish and synagogue life in new ways. The Monday afternoon program focused on self-care and what that means for clergy, particularly during these challenging times. Delivering a critical message to our students Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman, Cantor Benjie Schiller and Dr. Adriane Leveen spoke frankly about their own struggles to maintain spiritual and physical health while meeting the demands placed upon them as Jewish professionals. In addition, over the course of the Kallah students attended their first two days of classes, and had additional opportunities to study High Holy Day texts and music with our faculty.
See the full story here: http://huc.edu/newspubs/pressroom/article.php?pressroomid=566

This week was a sad one in the life of our College-Institute community. Our beloved Chancellor Emeritus, Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk, z"l, was laid to rest after a moving funeral service at the Plum Street Synagogue in Cincinnati. Dr. Gottschalk was an extraordinary man, a visionary builder who devoted his life to our seminary, and to advancing liberal Judaism here, in Israel, and throughout the world. Many of us on the faculty and staff are blessed to have known Dr. Gottschalk, and we hold strong memories of his powerful presence on campus and in our lives, his tremendous achievements (which include the building of our New York campus), his deep commitment to Judaism and Zionism, his mesmerizing oratory, and his kind and generous spirit. For us, there is no question his memory will always be for a blessing.
You may read more about Dr. Gottschalk here: http://www.huc.edu/newspubs/pressroom/article.php?pressroomid=567
Zecher tzadik l'vrachah--may the memory of this righteous man be, for all of us, a blessing.

Tenure and Promotions

Daily our faculty fulfill the sacred obligation of transmitting Jewish tradition m'dor l'dor, from one generation to the next. Faculty on the New York campus speak passionately about why they have chosen to teach at our Reform seminary, in service to the unique mission of HUC-JIR. They believe in the importance of liberal Judaism; they value the role they play mentoring emerging rabbis, cantors and educators; and, they believe that central to the HUC-JIR endeavor is the production of scholarly work of the highest caliber. Through their scholarship, the faculty are transforming our generation's understanding of Bible, Rabbinics, History, Philosophy, Literature, Chazanut, and professional fields like Education and Pastoral Care and Counseling.

And so in June we celebrated the Board of Governors decision, at their May 2009 meeting, to grant Dr. Alyssa Gray tenure as Associate Professor of Codes and Responsa Literature; and, to grant Dr. Wendy Zierler tenure as Associate Professor of Feminist Studies and Modern Jewish Literature. Earlier in the year we celebrated, as well, the promotion of Dr. Andrea Weiss to Associate Professor of Bible.

Our faculty represent the future of our institution, and our campus is truly blessed with scholars like Drs. Gray, Zierler and Weiss, already accomplished and still so full of promise.

Curricular Developments

We have added several new electives to the curriculum, including: Philosophy of Jewish Education (Rabbi Jan Katzew); Accompanying Families on their Spiritual Journeys (Cyd Weissman); The Qu'ran (taught electronically from Los Angeles by Dr. Reuven Firestone); and, Gender and Family in Israel (Dr. Larissa Remennick, Chair of Bar-Ilan University's Sociology and Anthropology Department and Schusterman Visiting Professor in Israel Studies). In addition, the School of Sacred Music will begin the year with vocal master classes taught by voice teachers, and Tel Aviv University Professor of Music Mira Zakai will run a master class on Israeli art songs for HUC and JTS students in October.

Our efforts to cooperate more significantly with the JTS Miller Cantorial School are moving forward too. In Israel, JTS students will join our own students for Musicianship, History of Jewish Music, Hebrew, and Israel programming. Our students will study Ethnomusicology with JTS Professor Edwin Seroussi. In addition, here in New York, students from both cantorial programs will share Musicianship and Conducting classes, and join together for Choir.

Under the guidance of Cantor Bruce Ruben, creation of the SSM Core Curriculum is well underway, and this year we are launching a Liturgical Core for Shabbat, integrating the Contemporary and Traditional Shabbat Workshops, Shabbat Liturgy, and modes. If successful, this will become the proto-type for synthesis across the entire curriculum. In Jerusalem we have hired a new musicianship teacher, and increased the integration of contemporary and traditional repertoire by hiring a contemporary coach and requiring students to work in both areas.

New Fellowship Program for Cantorial Students Joins Tisch, Mandel and Schusterman Leadership Programs

This year we inaugurate The School of Sacred Music Leadership Fellows Program. Through a generous anonymous donation, an endowment has been established which will allow a SSM student to participate in leadership training along with the Bonnie and Daniel Tisch Rabbinical Leadership Program Fellows. During their two years in the program students will receive full tuition benefits, a living stipend, and funds to cover programming, retreats, and travel costs.

The Tisch Fellows program continues to thrive, with the newest cohort of rabbinical students joining the current Fellows for a shabbaton of intensive study, prayer and reflection under the leadership of Rabbis Larry Hoffman and Darcie Crystal immediately preceding the Kallah. Meanwhile a new cohort of Mandel Fellows (Education students) participated in the Mandel Fellows Israel Seminar, three weeks of intensive leadership training with visits to educational sites around the country. And beginning this fall, Schusterman Rabbinical Fellows will study leadership, collaboration techniques, and key issues in American and Israeli Jewry.

Jewish Educators Convene on New York Campus

Thanks to the efforts of Jo Kay, Director of the New York School of Education, One West Fourth Street was a central convening place for hundreds of Jewish educators from across the country this summer. First the Leadership Institute, which included teaching by HUC faculty Rabbis Aaron Panken and Larry Hoffman, as well as Debbie Friedman, Jo Kay, Evie Rotstein, Cyd Weissman, and then the Summer Family Education Conference, brought over 150 educators to our campus for intensive study and professional development.

And, thanks to an extremely generous grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation, nine full-time MARE students will receive full tuition and a living stipend this year. This winter, many of these students will be joining Dr. Lisa Grant on the School of Education's bi-annual Israel Seminar.

Welcome New Members onto our Board of Overseers

Under the superb leadership of our Chair, Marjorie Miller, the New York Board of Overseers continues to grow. This fall we will be inducting Jane Himmel of Temple Sinai, Stamford, CT and Gene Hoffman of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, Short Hills, NJ. The Overseers play a critical role in the life of our campus through their investment of time, energy and resources, and participation on committees including Academic Affairs, Board Membership, Student Affairs and Recruitment, Technology and Public Relations, and others. During Sukkoth, the Overseers will be hosting a cocktail party for our new students in the sukkah on the roof of our building.

Selected accomplishments of the New York HUC-JIR faculty

Dr. Eugene B. Borowitz, Sigmund L. Falk Distinguished Professor of Education and Jewish Religious Thought, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Hebrew Letters at the 115th Commencement Exercises of The Jewish Theological Seminary.

Dr. Michael Chernick published A Great Voice that Did Not Cease: The Growth of the Rabbinic Canon and Its Interpretation (Hebrew Union College Press). Dr. Chernick also spoke on "Torah for Troubled Times: Jewish Values and the Financial Crisis," as part of a panel at the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning, and has an article on the meaning and purpose of Talmud study in the 21st century appearing in a volume edited by Paul Socken titled Why Study Talmud in the Twenty-first Century? (Rowan and Littlefield).

Dr. Norman Cohen, Professor of Midrash and former Provost, and Debbie Friedman were presenters at the interdisciplinary conference, Midrash and Medicine: Imagining Wholeness. The conference, co-coordinated by the Hebrew Union College Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health and the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, marked an important milestone in the growing field of Judaism, health, and healing.

Debbie Friedman released a new CD, As You Go on Your Way: Shacharit - The Morning Prayers, which includes thirty-four tracks of liturgy from the morning service, based on the new Mishkan T'filah prayer book. The CD is accompanied by a 32-page booklet with Hebrew, transliteration, and English translation of each prayer or blessing, as well as a study guide and commentary.

Dr. Alyssa Gray spoke at Hebrew University alongside its President, on a panel on the Study of Charity in Monotheistic Religions, delivering a paper on "Certainty and Skepticism: Approaches to Redemptive Almsgiving in Rabbinic Literature of Late Antiquity."  Earlier this year she served as scholar-in-residence at Temple Emeth in Teaneck, NJ where she spoke on social justice issues in Jewish tradition, and as scholar-in-residence for the annual convention of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis (“PARR”) in Palm Springs, CA.

Dr. Lawrence Hoffman was profiled in Jewish Sages of Today: Profiles of Extraordinary People, edited by Aryeh Rubin. The book profiles 27 individuals from across the U.S. and Israel and their unique contribution, motivation, and commitment to the Jewish people. Dr. Hoffman lectured this spring at the University of Pennsylvania Hillel on "Liturgical Dispute, Ritual Wars, and the Future of Reform Judaism", and this year will be teaching for the Wexner Foundation in Pittsburgh, PA and in Westchester County, NY.

Dr. Mark Kligman presented on "Jewish Musical Studies in Ethnomusicology" at the Association of Jewish Libraries annual meeting in Chicago, IL, and at the World Congress of Jewish Studies at Hebrew University in Israel.

Dr. Sharon Koren presented a paper to the Jewish Feminist Research Group at the Jewish Theological Seminary on ”The Eve/Mary Dichotomy in the Zohar.”

Dr. Leonard Kravitz served as Visiting Professor at Abraham Geiger Kolleg in Potsdam, where he taught a seminar on Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed.

Dr. Adriane Leveen taught biblical texts in an all-day beit midrash at the Jewish Theological Seminary open to seminary students from HUC, JTS and other local seminaries on Judaism and the Environment; she also spoke on the Book of Numbers at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York, and presented a paper on the prophet Ezekiel to the Columbia University Bible Seminar.

Dr. Aaron Panken spoke at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia on "The Place of Jerusalem in the Jewish and Muslim Traditions" and in Omaha, Nebraska, as the Sidney Brooks Lecturer at the Ministers' Institute on "Messianism and Judaism". He also served as the Scholar in-Residence at Temple Israel (Omaha, NB) and at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York.

Joyce Rosenzweig served as Scholar-in-Residence at the American Conference of Cantors Convention (Chicago), and as Conductor at the North American Jewish Choral Festival; she also released a new CD, Chalamti Chalom (I Dreamt a Dream), with Cantor David Berger (SSM 2007).

Dr. S. David Sperling, Professor of Bible, participated in a panel discussion on "Religion and the Death Penalty" at the New York City Bar Association in collaboration with the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists and the Muslim Bar Association of New York.

Dr. Nancy Wiener, Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at HUC-JIR/NY, presented a workshop “Texts of our Disciplines/Texts of our Lives: A New/Old Model for Exploring Cross-Cultural and Cross-Disciplinary Creativity” at the Spiritual Care Collaborative 2009 Summit in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Wendy Zierler has been offered a fellowship with the Hartman Institute's North American Scholars Circle which brings together top scholars from across the spectrum of Jewish life to provide intellectually rigorous responses to the challenges facing North American Jewry today.  Earlier this year she spoke at the Skirball Center (Congregation Emanu-El) on the history of Jewish women's prayers, and served as scholar-in-residence at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons.

We have so much for which to be grateful. To all of you -- our faculty, staff and students, alumni, friends and supporters -- may you and your loved ones be inscribed for a happy, healthy and sweet New Year,

Rabbi Shirley Idelson, Dean

Mark your Calendar!

"Debbie & Friends," a concert to benefit HUC-JIR and its School of Sacred Music, will take place on Thursday evening, November 12, 2009, in the sanctuary of Central Synagogue in New York City.

The evening event will begin at six o'clock, with a cocktail reception for patrons to follow. Guest musicians will join Debbie Friedman, including SSM faculty, alumni and students, The Afro-Semitic Experience, The Western Wind, and Hazamir: The International Jewish High School Choir. For additional information, contact Maria Vento at 212-838-2660, ext 16 or mvento@loreleievents.com.