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Shalom,

This month, at Graduation and Ordination ceremonies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), I have charged each new rabbi, cantor, educator, and community leader to transform the Jewish world while remaining forever rooted in our Jewish tradition.

From Aspen to Afghanistan, We Are Energizing the Jewish World.

For 140 years, HUC-JIR has been training the inspired vanguard who make Jewish life come alive in communities throughout the U.S., Israel, and around the world.

If you agree that excellent Jewish leaders are the key to Jewish survival, I am sure you will enjoy “meeting” four of our thousands of graduates who are strengthening Judaism today, while transforming the Reform Movement and the Jewish world at large.
TRANSFORMING JEWISH LIFE IN ASPEN, CO
Cantor Rollin Simmons ’10, and Rabbi David Segal ’10, met at HUC-JIR during their Year-In-Israel Program.  Today, this wife and husband clergy team at Jewish Congregation in Aspen has transformed the culture of the congregation.  In just five years, they stabilized the congregation both financially and spiritually.  By heightening their congregants’ sense of belonging, they bring greater meaning to each person’s synagogue experience, whether in the sanctuary or on the ski slope.
FROM THE BATTLEFIELD TO THE BEMA: MINISTERING TO OUR TROOPS IN KABUL, AFGANISTAN
Cantor David Frommer ’11, is the first and only cantor to serve our nation as a Jewish military chaplain. During his service, Cantor Frommer led Passover Seders for Jewish troops serving our country in Kabul, where he also interacted with Christian military chaplains.  “Teaching non-Jewish soldiers about the Shoah for their first time was a powerful reminder that the work we do for non-Jewish soldiers is as important as our work for our Jewish soldiers.”
ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE CHANGING JEWISH COMMUNITY  IN NEW YORK, NY
“Jewish memory was never meant to be frozen or finished. We live in remembrances that are authentically rooted in tradition, but in each generation, evoked in new ways.  If we want Judaism to be essential today and tomorrow, we must continue to transform it,” says Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl ’99, ’01, Senior Rabbi, Central Synagogue,
New York, NY.

Throughout our history, no Jewish community has survived without a strong institution of higher Jewish learning at its core. At HUC-JIR, we create the Jewish future.

Our graduates will leave HUC-JIR to serve in schools, hospitals, camps, the military, on college campuses, and in diverse Jewish organizations worldwide.  And they serve nearly 900 congregations—in big cities and rural areas alike—helping Judaism come alive throughout North America and around the globe.  Their influence on Jewish life is nothing short of remarkable.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Aaron Panken ’91, Ph.D.
President