The Chronicle
Fall 2011
Page 15
Rabbi Edward Goldman, C ’69, Ph.D. ’74;
Bettan Chair Emeritus
in Midrash and Homiletics, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati,
Cincinnati
Ordination Address, May 21, 2011
Although one’s character is a
sine qua non
for the rabbinate,
Ordination itself is the ultimate source of rabbinic authority. Earlier I traced the chain of rabbinic authority back to Moses. But it is in-
cumbent upon each individual ordinee to bring personal content to the title Rabbi. Each of you has studied long and hard. You have
grappled with questions of philosophy and theology, meaning and purpose. You have mastered significant portions of our tradition, and
are eager to share what you have learned. But you also know how much can yet be learned. Ordination is a beginning, not an end. It is
the beginning of one’s shaping of his or her rabbinate. We who represent your
alma mater
hope that your rabbinates will be character-
ized by continued study and learning, no longer to fulfill assignments and pass courses, but because the act of studying is not only a
privilege but a religious obligation. My teacher, Rabbi Eugene Mihaly,
z”l
,
used to refer to Torah study as “praying the text.” I hope you
will zealously leave time in your lives to “pray the text.” We study, not out of a sense of antiquarian interest, but rather to bring classic
Jewish texts to bear on our own experiences. Through study, we engage in an ongoing dialogue with the text.
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huc.edu/gradord/11/cnord
C i n c i n n a t i G r a d u a t i o n /O r d i n a t i o n
Rabbi Marc Saperstein, Ph.D., N ’72;
Principal, Leo Baeck College,
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters recipient;
Cincinnati Graduation Address, May 19, 2011
What is the state of health of the sermon today? My sense is that we have moved back to the model of the early 19th century with a sermon
expected to educate, edify, and entertain, not to provoke and disturb. Perhaps one reason is that the tradition of prophetic condemnation of so-
cial injustice is so widely available in the opinion pieces of our newspapers and other media, where pundits and politicians and would-be
prophets weigh in day after day, that the rabbi’s role in speaking out on controversial social issues may seem superfluous. But should rabbis be
content to speak only about the
parashah
and ‘stick to religion,’ while avoiding the issues that most deeply trouble our society? Is it an abuse of
the rabbinical position to take a strong stand from the pulpit on a matter of controversy and contention? While we are certainly not prophets or
the children of prophets, personally I believe it is an abnegation of an important component of the role of the Progressive Rabbi to abandon the
prophetic role that is indeed taken up so impressively by many of our Christian colleagues.
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huc.edu/gradord/11/cngrad
Hono r a r y Do c t o r s o f Humane L e t t e r s
1.
Ph.D. recipients.
2.
Pre-Doctoral M.A. in Jewish Studies recipients.
3.
The rabbinical class of 2011.
4.
Graduation at Isaac M. Wise Temple.
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3
(
from left:)
Cincinnati Graduation:
1.
Thomas G. Cody,
Retired Vice Chairman, Macy’s Inc.;
2.
Professor Samuel Greengus, Ph.D.,
Morgenstern Professor Emeritus of Bible and Near Eastern Literature, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati;
3.
Reverend Damon Lynch, Jr.,
Pastor, New Jerusalem Baptist Church, Cincinnati
;
4.
Rabbi Michael Morgan, Ph.D.,
Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Jewish Studies, Indiana University;
(
pictured at top of this page)
Rabbi Marc Saperstein, Ph.D.,
Graduation Speaker;
Principal, Leo Baeck College
Los Angeles Graduation:
5.
Howard I. Friedman,
Chair, Skirball Cultural Center; National Civic Leader; (see page 16)
C. L. Max Nikias, Ph.D.,
Graduation Speaker;
President, University of Southern California
New York Graduation:
6.
Barbara B. Dobkin,
Chair, Board of Trustees, American Jewish World Service; Founder, Ma’yan, The Jewish Women’s Project; Founding Chair, The Jewish Women’s Archive; Founding Chair, Hadassah Foundation
;
7.
Jack Gottlieb, D.M.A.,
z”l, Posthumously; Composer and Professor of Music, The Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, HUC-JIR/New York; (see page 17)
Rabbi Arthur Green, Ph.D.,
Graduation Speaker;
Irving
Brudnick Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Religion and Rector, Rabbinical School, Hebrew College;
8.
Rabbi Leonard S. Kravitz, Ph.D.,
Professor of Midrash and Homiletics, HUC-JIR/New York;
9.
Philip E. Miller, Ph.D.,
Director Emeritus, The Klau Library, HUC-JIR/New York
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