Cincinnati Campus Celebrates 135th Anniversary and Receives New $500,000 Grant for Rabbinical Student Scholarships
With 550 guests gathered in the ballroom of the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday evening, October 24, the Cincinnati Associates of Hebrew Union College hosted its 27th Annual Tribute Dinner honoring Karen Hoguet, Chief Financial Officer and executive vice president of Macy's Inc., and James A. Miller, Chairman of Bartlett & Company-a Cincinnati-based investment advisory firm. The event marked the formal celebration of the 135th anniversary of the founding of the College in Cincinnati.
Grant from Society for Classical Reform Judaism (SCRJ) and the Edward and Wilhelmina Ackerman Foundation Supports Rabbinical Student Scholarships at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati
The Society for Classical Reform Judaism (SCRJ), with the support of the Edward and Wilhelmina Ackerman Foundation, has announced a five-year grant in the amount of $500,000 to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). This grant will support rabbinical students on the Cincinnati campus with scholarships, Prize Essay Awards, a Student Travel Fund, and an annual SCRJ Institute. "We are grateful to the Society for Classical Reform Judaism and the Ackerman Foundation for their generous commitment to sustaining HUC-JIR's pluralism and openness to all views, which represents our strength as the academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center for the Reform Movement," said Rabbi Kenneth Ehrlich, Dean of HUC-JIR's Cincinnati campus.
Please click here to watch "The Cincinnati Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion: Planting for Our Future."
Please click here to watch the tribute to Karen Hoguet and Jim Miller.
The Jerusalem campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion held its Ordination and Academic Convocation on Friday, October 29, 2010 at 13 King David Street, Jerusalem, Israel. Please click here for the program. Four new Israeli Reform rabbis were ordained: Zohar Ufaz-Lipsky, Gabriel (Gabby) Dagan, Myra Hovav, and Haim Shalom. Rabbi David Ellenson presented certificates to the graduates of the Sugyot Chaim and to the graduates in Pluralistic Jewish Education. Special honors and honorary degrees were presented to:
- President's Medallion - Nurit Eldar, leader of the Tali (Enhanced Jewish Studies) educational systems, leader of Tali Bayit Vegan, principal of the junior high school division, and later principal, at Tali Beit Hinuch School
- Doctor of Jewish Communal Service, honoris causa - Javier Simonovich, Ph.D., urban community consultant and lecturer emeritus at Haifa University, lecturer at Jezreel Valley Academic College, and former director of the Leo Baeck Community Center, Haifa
- Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa - Cantor Prof. Eliyahu Schleifer, Director of Cantorial Studies and Associate Professor of Sacred Music at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem (1987-2010)
- Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa - Tsvia Walden, Ph.D., head of the Institute for Initiatives, Language and Computers and Senior Lecturer at Beit Berl College and Ben Gurion University
The National Office of Recruitment and Admissions has exciting events coming up in the final days of October and throughout the month of November:
- During the Fall High School Retreat in Cincinnati on October 29-31, 2010, students and faculty will discuss "Jewish Sacred Text Messages: What our sacred texts say about 21st-century relationships."
- The topic of the Fall College Retreat in Cincinnati on November 5-7, 2010 is "The Book of Jon...Stewart: Judaism's Influence on American Culture and American Culture's Influence on Judaism."
- Join HUC on the Road in Boston at Temple Israel of Boston for a day of learning on Wednesday, November 10, 2010.
- From the comfort of your home computer, learn all about the graduate program of your choice during HUC-JIR's Information Session Webinars on November 15-19, 2010.
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Among the 50 men and women recognized by the Forward for having made a significant impact on the Jewish story in a Jewish way, and whose religious and cultural values propelled them to engage, serve, lead, entertain, educate, create, advocate and exasperate in a decidedly Jewish voice, are HUC-JIR faculty and alumni, including:
Steven M. Cohen
Debbie Friedman
Rabbi Jacqueline Koch Ellenson
The Society for Classical Reform Judaism (SCRJ), with the support of the Edward and Wilhelmina Ackerman Foundation, has announced a five-year grant in the amount of $500,000 to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). This grant will support rabbinical students on the Cincinnati campus with scholarships, Prize Essay Awards, a Student Travel Fund, and an annual SCRJ Institute.
Rabbi Joel Simonds (HUC-JIR/Los Angeles '09) doesn't just talk about social justice - it's the reason he became a religious leader. His sermons typically include storytelling and underscore the importance of morals and ethics in modern life. During his Yom Kippur sermon, Simonds spoke on Reform Judaism's 200-year roots in social action and the need to fight for justice in an unjust world. The rabbi differentiated between social action and social justice. He noted that the local Jewish community has been very strong on social action but we have not aggressively moved toward social justice. Simonds declared that although any time is the right time for social action, the time for social justice is now. "Don't wait for the Messiah to solve the world's problems," he rightly concluded. Justice cannot wait. The environment cannot wait.
For Jewish professionals, Cheshvan is both a moment to catch our breath and to catch up. This week, Rabbi Andrea Goldstein (HUC-JIR/Cincinnati '98) of Shaare Emeth in St. Louis captures beautifully the struggle of trying to do both.
Dr. Michael Chernick, Deutsch Professor of Jewish Jurisprudence and Social Justice at HUC-JIR/New York, will be participating in the Global Day of Learning on November 7, 2010 in the San Francisco area. The event will take place at Pacifica Jewish Community Center, Foster City, CA. He will also be presiding at the meeting of the Consultation on the Sabbath in Text, Theology, and Tradition. The Consultation meets at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Dr. Chernick's recent publications include "The Meaning and Purpose of Contemporary Talmud Study" in Why Study the Talmud in the Twenty-first Century, ed. Paul Socken and "Brisk, Jacob Neusner, and the Stam: Significant Methodologies for Meaningful Talmud Teaching and Study," published by Brandeis Mandel Center in its on-line working paper series.
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Dr. Susan Einbinder, Professor of Hebrew Literature at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, will be speaking at Yale for the Medieval Studies program on October 28, 2010.
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Rabbi Reuven Firestone, Professor of Medieval Judaism and Islam at HUC-JIR, will present "Is There Room in Islam for a Jewish State?" at Valley Beth Shalom College of Judaic Studies on November 3, 2010. Click here for further information.
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Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, Professor of Liturgy, Worship, and Ritual at HUC-JIR/New York, will present the Annual Cohon Memorial Lecture on October 29, 2010, at 7:30 pm at Temple Sinai of Brookline, MA. He will discuss "Builders, Baby Boomers and Beyond: Looking for American Jewish Identity," a nostalgic revisiting of baby boomers growing up.
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Christopher Eli Kraus, JD, MTS, Visiting Instructor in Jewish Education at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, is leading a seminar for the World Day of Jewish Learning, co-sponsored by Jewish Education Society of North America and Jewish Community Centers around the world, including the one in Cincinnati, titled "Love and Relationships in Jewish Life", at the Mayerson JCC on November 7, 2010.
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Rabbi Charles A. Kroloff delivered an address on October 19 on "The Current State of Marriage and Intermarriage in the United States" before the National Council of Synagogues and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Participants included William Cardinal Keeler of Baltimore, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York City.
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Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx, Assistant Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at HUC-JIR, will participate in a conference with the FCTB in Berlin next month. The conference topic is "A Woman in the Temple Court? Women in the Temple." Click here to view the program. Marx's lecture title is "Tractate Qinnim: Between Margins and Center." Click here to read the lecture abstract.
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Rabbi Haim O. Rechnitzer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Jewish Thought at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, will teach as part of the Global Day of Jewish Learning on Sunday, November 7th. He will lead a workshop entitled "Playing Hide & Seek with God in His Orchard: Modern Mystical Quests" from 2:30 -3:20 PM in one of the main floor classrooms at the Mayerson JCC in Cincinnati. Click here for further information. Rechnitzer was asked to participate in "Establishment Debate: Rules of Civic Engagement," a scholars' panel from Xavier and Cincinnati Universities dedicated to the question of Church and State. The debate will take place on Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 5:30 pm at the Mayerson JCC in Cincinnati.
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Dr. Richard Sarason, Professor of Rabbinic Literature and Thought and the Associate Editor of the Hebrew Union College Annual, participated in a "Roots to Reform" visit to Germany in mid-July on the occasion of the bicentennial of the dedication of the first Reform place of worship in Germany: the Tempel founded by Israel Jacobson as the chapel for his progressive school for indigent boys in Seesen. Click here for further information. In June, he was appointed by President David Ellenson to be the HUC-JIR vice-chairperson on the Joint Commission for Worship, Music, and Religious Living. Click here for further information. In late November, he will be participating in a panel at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Atlanta on the soon-to-be-published book by Deborah A. Green (University of Oregon), The Aroma of Righteousness: Scent and Seduction in Rabbinic Life and Literature (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010).
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Dr. Dvora Weisberg, Director of the School of Rabbinical Studies and Associate Professor of Rabbinics, will participate in a conference with the FCTB in Berlin next month. Her conference topic is "The Origins of Beit Honyo and the Feminization of the Priests in Tractate Menahot." Click here to view the program.
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Rabbi Nancy H. Wiener, Clinical Director of the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Center for Pastoral Counseling at HUC-JIR/NY, will present "Preparing LGBTQ Couples for Marriage" as part of the series on Topics in LGBTQ Pastoral Care presented by Congregation Beit Simchat Torah. Click here for further information.
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Dr. Steven Windmueller, Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk Professor in Jewish Communal Service at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles, will be speaking at Congregation Rodef Shalom in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 10:30 am as part of The Kaplan Institute on Jewish Ethics. The Institute's aim is to bring together the congregation and community with a Jewish academic who specializes in an area of ethics. Click here for further information.
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Registration is now open for the 2010 DeLeT-Pardes Alumni Conference. Day school teachers from Cohorts 1-8 are invited to this year's fully subsidized alumni conference. The conference will take place at Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center in Reisterstown, MD, just outside of Baltimore, from October 28-31, 2010. The conference theme is Chazak, Chazak V'Nitchazek: Exploring our Identity, Strengthening Our Teaching.
Rabbi David Ellenson, President of HUC-JIR, will speak at The Reform Temple of Forest Hills on Wednesady, November 3, 2010 at 7:30 pm on the teachings from Torah and scripture that command or inspire us to adopt a social action mentality, with examples of current needs in the community and the world at large that require social action initiative.
On Monday, November 8, 2010 at 7 pm, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem will hold a festive evening of study to celebrate the publication of Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx's book, "When I Sleep and When I Wake," a study of the prayers marking the transitions between day and night. The evening, entitled "Praise Befits You," [Psalm 65:2], will include a conversation among Professor Galit Hazan Rokem, Hebrew University; Professor Avigdor Shinan, Hebrew University; Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur, Vice President for Academic Affairs, HUC-JIR; and the author Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx, Assistant Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at HUC-JIR; and presentations of original liturgical writings by students of the College-Institute.
Join us in Boston at Temple Israel of Boston for a day of learning on Wednesday, November 10, 2010. Dr. Jonathan Krasner, Assistant Professor of the American Jewish Experience, will lead a special learning event for HUC-JIR alumni and Jewish professionals at 9:30 am on the topic "How Do We Teach Israel?" The greater Boston Jewish community is invited to participate in a presentation, discussion, and lunch from 11:30 am - 3:00 pm with Dr. Krasner on "American Jewish Identity in Film: Intermarriage, Spirituality, and Tradition." Free and open to the public. RSVP required.
Until his recent retirement, Cantor Davidson was the Nathan Cummings Professor of Nusach at the H.L. Miller Cantorial School, where he taught since 1977 and earned a Doctorate in Sacred Music. Davidson also served as the cantor of Congregation Agudath Jeshurun in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania from 1966 to 2004. Cantor Davidson has also been a prolific composer and arranger. His catalogue contains more than three hundred works, including of dozens of synagogue pieces., songs, choral cantatas, entire services, psalm settings, musical plays, theatrical presentations, instrumental works and a one-act opera based on Isaac B. Singer's story "Gimpel the Fool." His powerful holocaust cantata, "I Never Saw another Butterly," a setting of children's poetry from Terezin, has been performed all over the world. HUC-JIR/New York's School of Sacred Music Choir will perform a selection of his works as Cantor Davidson discusses them. This Master Class is presented through the generous support of a fund established by Cantor Harold Orbach.
Memory and Transformation, a new art exhibition opening at the Los Angeles campus of HUC-JIR, in collaboration with the Jewish Artists Initiative, is a juried show of 33 artists who were asked to approach the themes of memory and transformation from their own perspective. Their works reflect the dynamic process of cultural change and their individual connections with religious or political ideas to link phenomena previously thought unconnected. The Artists Reception will take place on Wednesday, November 17, 2010, from 6:30-8:00 pm with remarks by Donna Stein, Guest Curator, at 7:00 pm. The exhibition is on view through December 31, 2010.
Tallit with matching bag designed and created by fabric artist Reeva Shaffer in cream with white seed beads and metallic silk ribbon trim. Metallic silk ribbon around neckband without inscription.
Tallit and bag: $468, plus shipping and handling. Matching beaded Kippah, $60, plus shipping and handling.
To purchase, please contact: 212-824-2218, museumnyc@huc.edu.