collective growth in a community as well as those that are mised-
ucative;
•
Nurturing community by sustaining values, engagement, and em-
powerment of members, participation, diversity, and a pervasive
sense of purpose and responsibility for the community’s welfare;
•
Probing the purposes, practices, ideas, and values of Jewish people-
hood over time and its challenges for contemporary Jews.
Melissa Simon
,
N ’10, credits the Mandel Fellows Program for
transforming her vision, saying “I seek to serve a pulpit where there is
an opportunity to be a part of a change process through dialogue, open
communication, understanding of our collective history, and commu-
nity-building educational initiatives.” She has already begun to work on
re-imagining congregational education as part of her internships at Con-
gregation Beth Simchat Torah in New York City over the past two years.
Stollman concludes, “As I struggle with the essential question
of the value of a Reform Jewish education and how to articulate
a compelling answer that truly speaks to families, my perspective
has evolved. Hearing from educators and rabbis who work in a
multitude of settings has expanded my thinking, helping me realize
that building community means bringing people into Judaism, not
only into a synagogue.”
“
The Mandel Fellows meet with leaders of Kibbutz Ketura during the
Mandel Leadership Institute in Israel, June 2009.
SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY:
“
WHAT’S NOT OK
IS NOT CARING”
Our students must emerge from their years at HUC-JIR with
finely honed, successful strategies for social change and a vision
for the core values of
tikkun olam
”
says Rabbi Jerome K. Davidson,
National Coordinator of Leadership Initiatives. “As they prepare to
serve as leaders of communities, our students need to be aware of the
‘
Obama shift’ and have a solid understanding of the new administra-
tion’s stances in foreign policy, Israel and the Middle East, church-state
boundaries, racism, the environment, immigration, and inter-religious
cooperation. They must learn how to apply Jewish ethical values to the
key social issues of the day and, without being partisan, exert a call to
action within their communities.”
To accomplish these goals, the Jerome K. Davidson Chair in
Social Responsibility infuses the five-year rabbinical program through-
out HUC-JIR’s four campuses in a myriad of ways. Faculty teaching
Bible and Rabbinics include texts that speak to these issues. Students
are required to take specialized courses in professional development,
social action and economic justice, community organizing, leadership
and organizational dynamics, and training in public policy advocacy.
Prominent guest lecturers focus on social issues. Infield experience is
gained through supervised internships and learning opportunities with
the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) (see pages 25 and 41),
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) and Commission
on Social Action of Reform Judaism, Rabbis for Human Rights, the
Jewish Funds for Justice, PANIM, Hazon, the Coalition on the Envi-
ronments and Jewish Life, Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty,
One-LA/IAF (see page 39), Progressive Jewish Alliance, MAZON,
Bet Tzedek, and programs for the homeless in Cincinnati, Los Ange-
les, and the Soup Kitchen on the New York campus. Ongoing
mentorship and self-reflective writing assignments are integrated with
the requirement to implement an institutional change project to gain
hands-on experience in leading social change in their congregational
internship settings.
As part of their social responsibility requirement, rabbinical stu-
dents
Ariana Silverman
,
N ’10, Tisch Fellow
Matthew Soffer
,
N ’10,
and Schusterman Fellow
David Segal
,
N ’10, participated in a semi-
nar during which they interviewed 20th-century Jewish leaders who
have had a significant impact on society, including Rabbi David Saper-
stein (RAC), Ruth Messinger (AJWS and Darfur), Leonard Fein
(
hunger and Mazon), and Elie Wiesel (Soviet Jewry and genocide).
Here is an excerpt from their interview with the renowned social ac-
tivist Rabbi Arnold Wolf, C ’41,
z”l
:
18
| THE CHRONICLE
Jean Bloch Rosensaft
