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| THE CHRONICLE
MEET HUC-J IR’S STUDENTS
S
tudents leading services have asked if I
would come in and do a short perform-
ance piece or lead yoga during
tefilah
.”
Yoga during worship?
Rebecca Cottle
Epstein,
N’09,
who entered HUC-JIR’s rab-
binical program as a serious modern dancer,
has clearly become an innovator in her own
right. Her philosophy: “I think one of the
most important things about being a Jewish
leader is experimenting with different ideas
on how to get people engaged in Jewish life.
It’s hard, especially in communities that have
been established for a long time, to think
about innovation and change. But that’s al-
ways been a part of our tradition – it’s what’s
at the cutting edge.”
Epstein, a Vassar College graduate, cer-
tainly followed her mantra at HUC-JIR/New
York. For starters, she created the Eco Kosher
Potluck Group, which meets often to prepare
a meal with organic, kosher, local, and pack-
aging-free foods, to discuss environmental
issues and synagogue life, and to consider the
ethical standards of the companies from
which the food ingredients come, including
their treatment of workers.
Having studied ballet and modern
dance from a young age, Epstein has inte-
grated Jewish themes and music into her
dancing with the Avodah Dance Ensemble,
with whom she worked to choreograph a
piece based on her senior sermon. “As I was
wrestling to understand why God would
have wanted Moses to kill all those who had
worshiped the golden calf during the Exodus
journey through the Sinai desert, I wanted to
wrestle with it as a dancer, as well. So we cho-
reographed a dance that was performed at a
synagogue in Massachusetts. And then we
taught a dance
midrash
class in Dr. Norman
Cohen’s creative
midrash
class.”
She cites the amalgamation of dance and
Judaism as a wonderful way to bring together
two parts of her life. “I’ve always viewed
dance and performance as a way of bringing
more sensitivity and beauty into the world.
And I think that Judaism helps us do the
same thing. That’s also how my spiritual
life as a Jew has developed.” These goals
planted the seeds for her decision to apply to
HUC-JIR.
About three years after graduating from
college, Epstein had been busy dancing,
working, volunteering at a couple of organi-
zations, and even teaching Hebrew School.
“
Basically,” says Epstein, “I was kind of
checking out all these different ways that I
could help people.”
She cites September 11
th
, 2001,
as the
major turning point in her decision to go
to rabbinical school. “Anyone who was
here at that time remembers how the at-
mosphere in the city changed, as people
reached out to one another, strangers, to
help each other through this tragedy.”
Soon afterward, Epstein wrote
a letter to the parents of her
Hebrew School class express-
ing her hope that the Jewish
values and traditions she was
teaching would bolster the
children as they went
through this tough time.
It was then that she realized
that as a rabbi she could
build relationships with
people by giving them
a sense of community and
a set of positive values.
“
HUC-JIR and the
Reform Movement pro-
vide a wonderful platform
to express yourself and
your passions,” she says.
“
There are communities
out there who are hungry
for innovation and want to
see new things. HUC-JIR
gives you that pathway to
connect with them, and the
opportunity to go deeply into your own cre-
ativity and Jewish self, and then figure out
how to bring these ideas to people in order
to engage their interests and talents and cre-
ate synagogue life anew.” Epstein is now
implementing her vision for innovation as
Assistant Rabbi of Anshe Emet Memorial
Temple in New Brunswick, NJ.
Dancing Her Way
to the Rabbinate
Samantha Massell
Rabbi Rebecca
Cottle Epstein,
N’09,
