HUC Press is pleased to announce the publication of Benny Kraut's "The Greening of American Orthodox Judaism: Yavneh in the 1960s," the history of the Yavneh religious students collegiate organization that flourished in the 1960s. This fascinating historical study tells a story within a story. Benny Kraut's primary aim was to reconstruct the history of a relatively unknown and short-lived Jewish collegiate organization, Yavneh: The National Jewish Religious Students Association, particularly during its heyday in the sixties. But his historical narrative of Yavneh-its surprising appearance in 1960, its mission and organizational efflorescence, its stunning educational innovations, its problematic engagement with inter-Jewish pluralism, and its lamentable but understandable demise in 1980-81-is framed within the context of an evolving American Orthodox Judaism that during these precise decades began to undergo both a remarkable religious revival and a deep-seated religious polarization. The history of Yavneh thus exposes both trends in bold relief. On the one hand, in so many intellectual, religious, and cultural ways, Yavneh and its members and supporters contributed significantly to the (modern) Orthodox revitalization. On the other hand, the organization and its students experienced the gamut of internal Orthodox divisions over religious ideology, educational priorities, and openness to non-Orthodox movements and secular culture. Kraut's book includes a detailed and wonderful foreword by Dr. Jonathan Sarna, Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University. The book is available from HUC Press's distributor, Wayne State University Press. Click here to purchase the book.

HUC-JIR is pleased to announce that Dr. Kristi Garroway will be joining the faculty at HUC-JIR's Jack H. Skirball Campus in Los Angeles as Visiting Assistant Professor of Bible, as of July 1, 2011. Dr. Garroway received her Ph.D. from HUC-JIR/Cincinnati in 2009, on the topic "The Not-Yet-Adult: The Construction of "Child" in the Ancient Near East: Towards an Understanding of the Legal and Social Status of Children in Biblical Israel and Surrounding Cultures." Dr. Garroway's scholarship and teaching interests include Biblical Israel and ancient Near Eastern cultures, archeological and anthropological theory, and gender and minority studies. Dr. Garroway will be teaching for the School of Rabbinical Studies and the Jerome H. Louchheim School of Judaic Studies. Dr. Josh Holo, Dean and Associate Professor of Jewish History at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles Jack H. Skirball Campus, said, "Dr. Garroway brings a unique set of skills and interests to our Bible curriculum in HUC-JIR/Los Angeles's School of Rabbinical Studies and Louchheim School. She knows the programs well, having already successfully taught in both, and her approach to Bible incorporates the fullness of our contemporary grasp of Biblical civilization-not only literary and religious but also archeological. Her scholarship on the status of children in the Bible represents the best of the Reform Judaism's combination of critical analysis and committed engagement with our heritage, modeling that richness for our students."

Miriam Farber, a rabbinical student at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem, writes, "I have a confession. It may be shocking for some, completely expected for others. I am a Zionist, a lover of Israel. I have lived here, in Jerusalem, for two years. To my deep sadness, I will be flying to New York in less than three weeks - and this time, there's no already-purchased, return ticket back to Israel. I spend plenty of my student loan money in Israel, I eagerly discuss Israel with my classmates, teachers, and friends, and I celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut joyfully. I also have spent this year participating in Encounter's Advanced Leadership Seminar, learning about Palestinian civic society, and facilitating trips of Diaspora Jewish leaders to visit Bethlehem and hear Palestinian narratives. I have visited friends in the West Bank, and eaten countless meals of delicious hummus and falafel. I do not hesitate to share the stories I've heard over the past two years with my friends in Jerusalem and in North America. In fact, I see this as part of how I express my love for Israel. Unlike some, I do not see the two paragraphs above as at all contradictory. In Rabbi Daniel Gordis' recent articles on his website and in the Jerusalem Post, he paints a black and white, one-dimensional picture of the anti-Zionist rabbinical student."

Students at HUC-JIR began serving meals, on an ad hoc basis, to needy people in Greenwich Village in the early 1980s, making the Monday night soup kitchen a formal institution in 1988. Every week-no matter the weather, no matter what holiday occurs that day, no matter the state of the economy-a few dozen volunteers from the Reform seminary, and a cadre of other volunteers, welcome and serve more than 100 guests. "People are greeted personally" and seated in a HUC-JIR conference room, at tables decorated with flowers and tablecloths, says Rabbi Renni Altman, Director of the Rabbinical Program at HUC-JIR/New York. On Monday, May 2, 2011, a group of eighth- and ninth-grade students came from the Central Synagogue Religious School to volunteer at the Soup Kitchen. Before they helped serve dinner, they stood in line and took part in a discussion about the value of tzedakah. This week, Daniel Bar-Nahum, a fourth-year rabbinical student at HUC-JIR/New York, served as a student chef. Also available each Monday night is a clothes closet with various items distributed to those in need. "We try to make it real upbeat," Rabbi Altman says. "A place of dignity." Click here for further information on the HUC-JIR Soup Kitchen.

Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Dean, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem, writes, "These days are somber days in the State of Israel. This Shabbat is now known in Israel in our Progressive (Reform) Congregations as Shabbat Tekumah, the Shabbat of . . . it's not so easy to translate. The root this word is kuf-vav-mem, which means, to "stand up"; but in this form it really means, to "stand up for one's self," to "reestablish one's self." Perhaps the best translation would be: the "birth of a nation!" This is the Shabbat between Israel's Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and Resistance (Yom HaShoah V'HaG'vurah, and Israel's Memorial and Independence Days (Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzma-ut). These are the newest "holy" days in our Jewish calendar, coming in a ten-day cycle reminiscent of the Ten Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim). In fact, the late Rabbi Benjamin Hollander (beloved teacher of Torah at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem), was the first to explain to me that these days are indeed, the contemporary Days of Awe. We begin a few days after Passover with the Memorial Day for the Holocaust and Resistance. The setting of this date was a fascinating negotiation."

Among other pioneering women clergy, reactions to Kaya Stern-Kaufman's decision to call herself 'rabba,' the Hebrew feminized version of 'rabbi,' rather than 'rabbi,' produced mixed responses. Rabbi Jacqueline Koch Ellenson, Director of the Women's Rabbinic Network, said, "For me, I felt completely comfortable inhabiting and using the title 'rabbi.' In fact, it was extremely important to me that my title be the same as that of my male colleagues, and now, 27 years after my ordination, I wear the title proudly."

On Tuesday, May 10, 2011, the American Jewish Archives at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati will host the premiere of the film, "Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story." The story is brought to life through Dustin Hoffman's narration, and interviews with dozens of passionate and articulate fans, writers, executives. Fans including Ron Howard and Larry King connect the stories of baseball to their own lives, and to the turbulent history of the last century. Their stories are inter-cut with dramatic and never-before-seen film clips and photos of great Jewish players, unforgettable games, and the broad sweep of American history.

On Wednesday, May 11, 2011, from 5:30-7:30 pm, the HUC-JIR Museum at the New York campus will host the opening reception of "Siona Benjamin: Esther Megillah." Originally from Bombay, painter Siona Benjamin was raised Jewish in a predominantly Hindu and Muslim area of India. Now living in the US, Benjamin creates work that combines the imagery of her past with the role she plays in America today. Her work is inspired by both Indian miniature paintings and Jewish and Christian illuminated manuscripts. The Esther Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of the festival of Purim. The exhibition is on view through June 30, 2011. Photo ID and RSVP required: Allison Glazer at aglazer@huc.edu or 212-824-2293. Free and open to the public.

Paul Ben-Haim's Three Songs without Words for Viola and Piano, W. A. Mozart-The Piano Quartet in E flat Major KV 493, and Gabriel Faure's The Piano Quartet in C Minor Op. 15 will be performed. Reception with musicians to follow. Free and open to the public. RSVP to outreach@hucinci.org.

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Jack H. Skirball Campus in Los Angeles will hold Ordination Ceremonies on Sunday, May 15, 2011 at 10 am at Wilshire Boulevard Temple (3663 Wilshire Boulevard) and Graduation Ceremonies on Monday, May 16, 2011, at 3 pm on campus (3077 University Avenue). Rabbi David Ellenson, Ph.D., President, HUC-JIR, will present honorary degrees to leading academic, communal, and civic leaders; award earned degrees to HUC-JIR's graduates; and ordain the Rabbinical Class of 2011. Rabbi Ellenson will speak at Ordination and C.L. Max Nikias, Ph.D., President, University of Southern California, will speak at Graduation.

Join the HUC-JIR/Cincinnati campus for a special 100th anniversary celebration on Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 4:00 pm. Rabbi David Ellenson, Ph.D., President, HUC-JIR, will present "The Contribution of the Jewish Seminary to American Life and Scholarship." Reception to follow. Free and open to the public.

The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati will host 'Travels in American Jewish History - A Journey of Jewish Identity & Discovery to Historic Savannah, Georgia" from June 1-5, 2011. This unique program will offer participants the opportunity to travel to Savannah to examine its particular Jewish heritage while studying with the foremost scholars of American Jewish history.