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For all those who have put their hearts and souls
into making this occasion so memorable and
meaningful: Mona Kerstine, Chair of the Inaugu-
ration, who has brought unending talent, grace,
and optimism to every element of this celebration;
our entire talented, imaginative, and hardworking
Inauguration Team, with special thanks to Jonathan
Cohen, Ken Kanter, Jane Karlin, Elliott Kleinman,
Sylvia Posner, and Jean Rosensaft and all their
outstanding helpers who have worked tirelessly; the
good people of Wise Temple led by our Governor
and dear friend, Rabbi Lewis Kamrass, I thank
you for all the many blessings you have offered our
College-Institute and my family. To my dear friends
and respected teachers who spoke at our Sympo-
sium, and those leading parts of this afternoon’s
service, please know how much you inspire our
community and me, and the lasting impact you
have had and continue to have on all of our lives.
And to my illustrious predecessors who are with
us today, Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman and Rabbi
Norman Cohen, you have illuminated the way for
us, and we have joyously followed in your footsteps.
To my dear friend and teacher in so many ways,
our Chancellor, Rabbi David Ellenson, who served
with such distinction these past twelve years –
David, please know the enormous sense of
gratitude I feel for your loving support and your
constant dedication to our College-Institute. Your
exceptional ways of leadership continue to be both
a blessing and model to me.
In our Talmudic tradition, Rabbi Akiva is said to
have left his family for years to attend the yeshi-
vah, studying there, eventually teaching there, and
ultimately encouraging thousands of students to
join him, thus fostering the next generation of
rabbinic scholarship. But the Talmud notes that
more so even than Rabbi Akiva, it was his wife who
gave up everything to make it possible for him to
attend and then serve in the house of study. When
he finally returns home after twenty-four years to
reunite with his family, some disciples attempt to
push his wife aside, not recognizing that she had
been his prime support each and every day. Rabbi
Akiva responds “
shivkooha, sheli v’shelachem shalah
hoo”
– “
let her be, for all that is mine and all that is
yours is hers.” In all my years of study and teaching,
I, too, have been blessed, in Lisa, with an unparal-
leled supporter, a profoundly astute partner in ev-
ery way. She shares my conviction that it is entirely
worthwhile dedicating one’s life to the exquisite
honor of committed Jewish leadership, for as long
as God will graciously allow us to do so.
Members of the HUC-JIR
Board of Governors
assembled for the
processional. Rabbi
David Posner, HUC-JIR
Governor and Senior
Rabbi Emeritus of
Congregation Emanu-El
of the City of New York
(
top, second from left),
sounded the shofar to
begin the Inauguration.
Rabbi Panken and his
wife Lisa Messinger
(
center), their children
Eli and Samantha (at
left), and his parents
Beverly and Peter
Panken (at right).