A
s part of the new partnership between HUC-JIR
and the Society for Classical Reform Judaism
(
SCRJ), a number of major new initiatives have been
launched over the past few months. With the support
of the SCRJ, an initial $500,000 grant was awarded to
the Cincinnati campus to provide for a broad program
of student scholarships and programs to enable the
students to encounter and experience the Classical
Reform tradition as a resource for their own personal
spiritual development and their emerging visions of
their rabbinates.
On May 16-18, the first annual SCRJ Institute was
held on the Cincinnati campus – an intensive series of
lectures, discussion forums, and worship experiences
for the HUC-JIR community. It was preceded by the
Society’s National Board meeting on May 15, which
facilitated the personal interaction of its leadership
with rabbinical students and faculty and the building
of collegial and mentoring relationships. For many of
the students, the SCRJ Institute was their very first
exposure to the Classical Reform tradition in any
meaningful way; for some it was a revelation of a par-
ticular perspective of Jewish faith, identity, and practice
with which they resonated and identified.
The culmination of the Institute was the inaugura-
tion of the Prize Essay Program, in which six students
presented significant works of serious academic research
and personal spiritual reflection. These papers will be
published in the Society’s journal,
The Reform Advocate.
The range of themes and subjects, and the conscien-
tious integration of the Society’s principles in each
project, was a powerful demonstration by these students
to their peers that the Classical Reform position is a
vital and valid voice in contemporary Reform Judaism,
and a genuine option for their own rabbinical growth.
Services in the Scheuer Chapel featured the first
ever use in that setting of the Union Prayer Book-Sinai
Edition, and probably the first genuinely Classical Re-
form service in that space in many years. Cantor Yvon
Shore, Director of Liturgical Arts, led a varied repertoire
of historical music, accompanied by piano. Many stu-
dents expressed appreciation for the beauty and
personal inspiration they found during this service.
A full shelf of the Union Prayer Books now graces the
entry to the Chapel, and contemporary Classical Re-
form liturgy will now become one of the regular options
for student-led services.
Furthermore, the SCRJ made
an additional gift of $30,000
for the purchase of a new organ
for the Scheuer Chapel. “We are
very excited to add this gift to
our ongoing support and the
broadening of our partnership,”
said Rabbi Howard Berman,
SCRJ Executive Director. “It is a
profoundly symbolic statement
of the full integration of Classi-
cal Reform values in the life of
HUC-JIR, and in the studies of
a new generation of rabbis. The
continued use of the organ in
Reform worship, both to preserve
the historic repertoire of the
Classical Reform tradition and
to inspire contemporary creativity in the composition
of new liturgical music, are major priorities of the SCRJ.”
Following the Institute, Rabbi Berman met with the
faculty, many of whom are already incorporating Reform
history and principles, as well as specific Classical
Reform perspectives, in their teaching.
In another major development, the SCRJ has initi-
ated discussions with the Jerusalem campus to initiate
programs there in the Spring of 2012. This would
enable the SCRJ to interact with first-year rabbinical
students during their Year-In-Israel, and help Israeli
rabbinical students understand their place in the
broader context of the history of Reform Judaism
and develop an understanding of Classical Reform
principles and practice.
The Chronicle
Fall 2011
Page 7
Student Government as
a Leadership Incubator
Julia Malkin, SJNM/MPA ‘11
T
he year I spent as Chair of HUC-JIR’s HaKesher, the student government
association on the Skirball Campus in Los Angeles, allowed me to put my
leadership education learning into practice. HaKesher’s constituents are a mix of
students training to be Jewish nonprofit leaders, rabbis, or educators; they serve
as a microcosm of the greater professional Jewish world that we encounter part-
time in our internships and pulpits, and full-time upon our graduation or ordination.
HaKesher provides an opportunity for us to work together, learn from each other,
and practice partnering on causes of common interest. Organizing each HaKesher
professional development seminar, campus-wide religious observance, or social
event becomes a case study in how these three different Jewish professions
interact in the Jewish communal sphere.
Participation in HaKesher allows us to model the professional roles we will
serve upon graduation or ordination. As Jewish communal leaders, we will need to
cultivate collective participation, develop deep relationships among ourselves and
our lay counterparts, and nurture investment in a shared mission to strengthen the
Jewish community. HUC-JIR’s student government serves as a successful incubator
for developing students’ professional leadership.
A
s the student rabbi at United Hebrew Congregation in Joplin, Missouri for
2009-2010,
I was distressed to hear about the devastating tornados on May
22
nd. Having formed a strong connection to the community there, I was worried
about my “family.” After a few anxious days, Ariel Boxman, their current student
rabbi, and I were relieved to hear that all of the congregants were safe and alive,
and only a few families had lost their homes.
The congregants were shaken up and in need of their Jewish community more
than ever. Ariel was scheduled to fly to Joplin that week and once she was able to
fully assess the situation, she asked that people donate financially to the URJ’s disas-
ter relief fund, which I communicated to the numerous individuals and congregations
throughout the country seeking to help. I was able to offer my support to Ariel
from Cincinnati by organizing a clothing and toiletries drive at our Cincinnati cam-
pus. Those supplies were shipped to the congregation in Joplin, which Ariel had
organized as a distribution center during her last visit of the school year. We were
especially grateful to United Hebrew Congregation in St. Louis, Missouri and Rabbi
Brigitte Rosenberg for driving vanloads of donations and supplies to Joplin.
The congregation in Joplin has just begun a long journey of healing. In
a time of disaster, the greater Jewish community reached out and held them in
a loving embrace. They will continue to be in need of this support, but are well
on their way to recovery and will return to a place of vitality.
Action in the
Face of Disaster
Stephanie Clark, C ’12;
Intern, Jewish Family Service, Cincinnati
tvnooz.com
Julia Malkin
(
first row, second from right)
and HUC-JIR’s softball team.
Excerpted from
The Reform Advocate,
Volume III, Number 2:
Summer 2011, published by the SCRJ;
renewreform.org
Society for Classical
Reform Judaism
Invigorates
Leadership Training
Services in the Scheuer Chapel at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati.
