HUCNews is
a weekly e-newsletter produced by HUC-JIR's National Public Affairs Office.
Contact
the National Public Affairs Office.
Subscribe
to receive the weekly e-newsletter.
How to Support HUC-JIR
|
|
|
Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro Appointed to Board of Overseers at HUC-JIR/LA
Sue Neuman Hochberg, Chair of the Los Angeles Board of Overseers of HUC-JIR, has nominated Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro to the Board of Overseers for the Los Angeles Campus. "I am so honored to be a part of this incredible Board. I believe in how progressive Judaism has shaped modern thinking, and I take pride in HUC-JIR's mission to train our future leader," said Shapiro, who was ordained at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati in 1997 and has been at Temple Akiba in Culver City, CA since 2006. "My mission in life is to bring goodness into the world. I do not believe in random acts of kindness, but rather in purposeful acts." More...
|
HUC-JIR Student Involvement in Haiti Relief
HUC-JIR students throughout the country are actively involved in relief efforts to aid those in Haiti. Students at HUC-JIR/New York donated $280 to the American Jewish World Service and $140 to Israeli Haiti Relief. Students at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles are planning a silent auction on Purim to raise funds for Haiti. Students at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati are asking for donations at services and discussions on Purim to raise funds for Haiti. Jordi Schuster gave a sermon at Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles on January 22. Miriam Terlinchamp, a Kol Tzedek Fellow with American Jewish World Service (AJWS), spoke at Temple Chai and Congregation Beth El in Phoenix, as well as at the Phoenix Federation, in order to raise awareness and funds. Click here for sermons by Jordi Schuster and Miriam Terlinchamp: More...
|
HUC Soup Kitchen Celebrates 21 Years of Service
Last week, the New York campus community came together to celebrate 21 years of serving the local population by feeding those in need. This year, the planning committee decided to shake things up and organized a black-tie soiree for the community, complete with a red carpet, cocktails and appetizers, a photographer and music. At the end of the night, $5,000 had been raised for the soup kitchen. The annual soiree is an opportunity for more students to get involved and to further develop their leadership skills. More...
|
Master Class with Cantor Ida Rae Cahana at HUC-JIR/NY
On February 8, 2010, we will welcome Cantor Ida Rae Cahana, class of 1993. She will present a Master Class and share with us her insights from her illustrious and varied career - including Toledo, Providence and Central Synagogue in New York. From 11:00 to 11:45, Cantor Cahana will sing and speak about her career and recordings. Cantor Cahana will then join us for a discussion from 11:50 to 12:20. More...
|
Archaeology Lecture at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem
The Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology will present a slide lecture by Dan Bahat on "The Transition between the Hashmonaean Temple Mount and Herod's Temple Mount" on Thursday, February 18 at 5 pm at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem, 13 King David Street. This lecture, in Hebrew, is part of the lecture series "News in Archaeology 2009-2010" supported by the Fellner Foundation and its Trustee, Frederick L. Simmons. Admission is free. More...
|
Student Services, Sermons, Recitals, Education Presentations, and more!
Cincinnati - at 10:50 am unless otherwise noted:
Feb. 6 at 10:30 am: Leading Services: Karen Kriger-Bogard
Feb. 8: Leading Services: Ariel Boxman; Reading Torah: Jessica Huetlner Rosenthal
Feb. 9: Leading Services: Samuel Rose-Cormack
Feb. 11: Leading Services: Meredith Kahan; Reading Torah: Nicole Roberts
Los Angeles - at 10 am:
Feb. 8: Schaliach Tzibbur: Daniel Brook; Reading Torah: Callie Souther; Dvar Torah: Lauren Luskey; Gabbai: Keren Klein
Feb. 9: Founders' Day
Feb. 11: Schlichai Tzibbur: Daniel Brook and Cantor Kent; Reading Torah: Joel Abramowitz; Sermon: Jake Singer Beilin; Gabbai: Beau Shapiro
New York - at 10 am unless otherwise noted:
Feb. 8: Leading Services: Rabbi: David Levin; Cantor: Lauren Phillips; Educator: Igor Khokhlov; Reading Torah: Scott Fox; Gabbai: Adam Scheldt
Feb. 8 at 11 am: School of Sacred Music Master Class with Cantor Ida Rae Cahana
Feb. 9 at 11: NY School of Education Practica: Igor Khokhlov and Olga Zelzburg on 'A Family Curriculum: Celebrating Jewish Time"
Feb. 10 at 10:45 am: School of Sacred Music Practica: Julia Rubin-Cadrain and Vicky Glikin on "The Music of Moshe Wilensky (1910-1997)"
Feb. 11: Leading Services: Rabbi: David Levin; Cantor: Lauren Phillips; Educator: Igor Khokhlov; Reading Torah: Amanda Winter; Gabbai: Julia Rubin Cadrain; Rabbinic Thesis Fair
Jerusalem:
Feb. 11 at 8:30 am: Leading Services: Allison Tick; Dvar Torah: Allie Harris
Feb. 13 at 9:30 am: Leading Services: Rabbi Naamah Kelman, with Rachel Levin and Keara Cummings; Dvar Torah: Ethan Prosnit More...
|
HUC-JIR Recruitment Staff Is Coming to YOU!
Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz will be meeting with students and faculty at the University of Miami, February 8-10. On Monday, February 8 at 7pm, please join Rabbi Dantowitz at Hillel to learn about Jewish Spiritual Practice and find out about Jewish career paths. For more information, please contact fdantowitz@huc.edu. More...
|
|
|
|
|
Why Doing Good is Good for Business - Fortune
A trained moral philosopher and Los Angeles-based management guru, Dov Seidman has built a highly successful business on the theory that in today's wired and transparent global economy, companies that "outbehave" their competitors ethically will also tend to outperform them financially. Seidman received an honorary doctorate at HUC-JIR/NY in April, 2009, when he performed as the graduation speaker. His ethics are also informed by the rabbinical tradition. Although Seidman is not a particularly devout Jew, he speaks fluent Hebrew and quotes the Talmud and Heraclitus with equal facility. "Our 3,000-year tradition has always recognized the infinite power of values," he said. More...
|
10 Questions for Rabbi Oren J. Postrel of Congregation Beth Sholom - The Napa Vallery Register
Rabbi Oren Postrel had two childhood ambitions: to become a rabbi or a ballet dancer. "I did both," he said. From age 16 to 24, Postrel trained and performed with, among others, Robert Joffrey, the Boston Ballet and the Oakland Ballet. But his plan to become a professional dancer would soon change. "I realized that I couldn't completely let go of my intellectual pursuit and my religious background," he said. Enrolling in undergraduate school in Berkeley, Postrel eventually earned a graduate degree from HUC-JIR/NY and he became a rabbi in 1993. Do dance and his work as a rabbi have certain parallels? Yes, said Postrel. "Focus, discipline and a very high standard." More...
|
A Jewish Voice Against The "Burqa Ban" - The Pakistan Christian Post
Joshua M. Z. Stanton, co-editor of the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue and a rabbinical student at HUC-JIR/NY, writes: "In my opinion, it is easy to see how the "burqa ban" might be misused as a part of a broader effort to stigmatise a religious population, one that already perceives itself to be on the margins of society.Admittedly, I am fundamentally opposed to any garment or religious practice-including those found in my own Jewish tradition-that suggests women hold a different or subservient position than men. But the burqa ban in France will not achieve the aim of gender equality. If anything, it will strengthen religious conservatives in France's Muslim population by convincing members of the moderate majority of Muslims that the rest of French society will never accept them. While there are said to be only 2,000 women who wear burqas in all of France today, the entire Muslim population, estimated to be around five to six million, will take umbrage at another measure that singles out their community." More...
|
Mirta Kupferminc: Wanderings 1999-2009 - Contemporary Impressions
Born in Buenos Aires, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Mirta Kupferminc's work refers to their experiences of family loss and dislocation, and the capacity for survival and renewal. In her search for answers to a legacy of such trauma–both during the Shoah of her parents' generation and during the era of political repression and the "disappeared" in the Argentina of her own time–Kupferminc often turns to the prophetic visions and dreams in Jewish mysticism of the Kabbalah and to magic realism in the writings of Jorge Luis Borges. "Kupferminc's works allude to feelings of uprootedness, fragility and mystery, as well as a passionate affirmation of life," says Jean Bloch Rosensaft, Director of The HUC-JIR Museum. "She manipulates the artifacts of childhood and of Jewish tradition to serve as memorials to a vanished past, or to celebrate the transcendence of a heritage." More...
|
More Volunteering from Local Teens - Roslyn News
Sixty students in grades 7, 11 and 12 from Temple Sinai of Roslyn volunteered at the HUC-JIR/NY Soup Kitchen last month. They helped set up for dinner, served the guests and assisted with cleanup. They also assisted with distributing clothing to the guests. Many of the students brought food and clothing items to donate to the kitchen. More...
|
Rabbi Alysa Stanton, The New Face of Judaism - The Grio
Alysa Stanton, 45, is the first African-American woman to become a rabbi in any mainstream Jewish denomination, according to HUC-JIR. Ordained in June 2009 at HUC-JIR/NY, Stanton took over in August as rabbi of Bayt Shalom synagogue in Greenville, N.C. "I am thrilled to begin serving as your new Rabbi!" Stanton wrote to her congregation of 60 families in the synagogue's newsletter. Stanton has high hopes for the congregation that she leads and for her faith as a whole. At the start of the New Year, she said, "May we each strive to reflect that which is good, purposeful and uplifting." More...
|
Female Religious Leaders In Lubbock Share Their Experiences - Lubbock Online
Today, a growing number of women have taken roles as religious leaders. Whether these women have paved the way so that more young women can serve as religious leaders remains unclear. As with most career paths, women have been rising in religious ranks as leaders, and while many agree conditions are improving, a glass ceiling still exists. Often women are placed in small or poor churches and as a result receive lower salaries. Many women say they also have to deal with a stigma that men don't. Rabbi Vicki Hollander now serves as the leader of Lubbock's Congregation Shaareth Israel, but in 1979 she was one of nine women ordained as rabbis at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati. Today, those classes are now easily 60 percent female. "In 31 years, there's just been tremendous growing," she said. As one of the first female rabbis, Hollander faced many challenges. "When I entered seminary the prayer books were all masculine," she said. Nothing had been changed to represent the new women leaders. When she came to a new synagogue, the community was often surprised to see a woman at the altar. They expected to see a man and to hear a deep voice, she said. More...
|
|
|
|
HUC-JIR is proud of our accomplished faculty:
Dr. Michael Marmur, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Dr. Wendy Zierler, Associate Professor of Modern Jewish Literature and Feminist Studies, are Fellows of the North American Scholars Circle of the Hartman Institute. The Hartman North American Judaic Scholars Circle joins together a cadre of leading thinkers from across North America to provide sophisticated new responses to the particular moral and spiritual challenges facing contemporary North American Jewry. Representing a wide range of academic fields and Jewish denominations, the scholars constitute a unique new think tank on North American Jewish life.
Dr. Wendy Zierler was the Scholar-in-Residence at the recent NAORR conference of retired Reform rabbis.
|
Dr. Michael J. Cook will address "Islam's Problems with Jews & Christians: Why the Future's Not What It Used to Be," at The Global Shemin Trialogue Seminar, Florida Atlantic University, February 15, 2010.
|
Dr. Martin Cohen, an honorary member of the Board of the American Friends of the Jewish Museum of Greece, has been called upon for rabbinic officiation at several of their programs. On Thursday, January 28, 2010, he provided such at the Holocaust Commemoration of the Martyred Jews of Greece. The commemoration, established by the Greek parliament, was held at the Greek Consulate in New York, with the attendance of the consul of Greece, and many dignitaries, including his excellence, Archbishop Demetrious, who heads the Greek Orthodox churches in America.
Adriane Leveen, Assistant Professor of Bible on the Los Angeles campus, has an article to be forthcoming in the Journal of the Old Testament. The article's title is: Inside Out: Jethro, the Midianites and a Biblical Construction of The Outsider. She will be teaching a shabbat morning class March 6 and March 13 on the Prophet Ezekiel at Ansche Hesed Synagogue on the Upper West Side. She will be participating in a conference honoring Robert Alter and his translatons of the 5 Books of Moses, the books of Samuel, and the Book of Psalms. The conference will be held at the University of Florida in Gainesville March 14-15. She will be participating in a panel honoring Milton Steinberg and the publication of an unfinished novel, "The Prophet's Wife" at Park Avenue Synagogue on March 21.
Bible scholar Dr. Joel M. Hoffman will tour four communities in Alabama and Tennessee to speak about his new book, "And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible's Original Meaning," which focuses on English translations of the Hebrew Bible. Hoffman's tour, coordinated by the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, will put him in front of Christian, Jewish, and mixed audiences in Dothan, Montgomery, Huntsville, and Knoxville. In "And God Said," Hoffman contends that English translations of the Hebrew Bible are not just misleading but in some cases inaccurate. The book tackles the Ten Commandments, the description of the "virgin" birth and the surprisingly modern message in the Song of Solomon. Hoffman is an expert in translation, Hebrew, and the Bible. He holds a doctorate in linguistics and has served on the faculties of Brandeis University and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He is the chief translator for the 10-volume series "My People's Prayer Book" (winner of the National Jewish Book Award) and "My People's Passover Haggadah" (both from Jewish Lights Publishing). He is the author of the critically acclaimed "In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language," from NYU Press. More...
|
|
|
|
New at the HUC-JIR Judaica Gallery in New York
Participate in the tradition of giving with a timeless olive tree tzedakah box by the world's preeminent Judaic glass artist, Steve Resnick. $375 plus shipping and handling. To purchase, please contact: 212-824-2218, museumnyc@huc.edu.
Please click the icon to the left for a larger image.
|
|
|
Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the nation's oldest institution of
higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional development center of Reform Judaism.
HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, educators, and
communal service professionals and offers graduate and post-graduate degree programs for scholars of all faiths.
With campuses in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York, and Jerusalem, HUC-JIR's scholarly resources comprise
renowned library, and museum collections, the American Jewish Archives, biblical archaeology
excavations, research centers and institutes, and academic publications. HUC-JIR invites the community to an array
of cultural and educational programs that illuminate Jewish history, culture, and contemporary creativity, and
foster interfaith and multi-ethnic understanding.
Visit us at
www.huc.edu.
|
|
|
