Dr. Carole Balin (Associate Professor of Jewish History), Dr. Eugene Borowitz (Sigmund L. Falk Distinguished Professor of Education and Jewish Religious Thought at HUC-JIR/NY), Dr. Martin Cohen (Professor of Jewish History), Dr. Norman Cohen (Provost, HUC-JIR/NY; Professor of Midrash), Dr. Lawrence Hoffman (Professor of Liturgy and the Barbara and Stephen Friedman Chair in Liturgy, Worship, and Ritual HUC-JIR/NY), Dr. Leonard Kravitz (Professor of Midrash and Homiletics, HUC-JIR/NY), Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller (Professor of Cantorial Arts at the SSM/NY) and Dr. Nancy Wiener (Adjunct Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling) all participatrd in the program "Leading Intellectuals of Reform Movement discuss their new directions in Jewish Scholarship," a discussion of their new works at HUC-JIR/NY on November 12, 2003.

Leah Rachel Berkowitz (rabbinical student, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem) two essays "At the Same Table" and "Counting my Blessings. . . Counting Sheep" have been accepted for publication in the upcoming work Spirituality 101, a project of SkyLight Paths Publishing. The book is a collection of essays about spirituality on college campuses.

Dr. Eugene Borowitz (Sigmund L. Falk Distinguished Professor of Education and Jewish Religious Thought at HUC-JIR/NY) published, "The Pivotal Issue in a Century's Jewish Thought" which was published as the lead article in the current issue of Conservative Judaism, 55.4, devoted to 20th century Jewish thought. Another article will be published in the next issue of Conservative Judaism, entitled, "Jewish Ethics, From 'Choosing a Sex Ethic' to Today".

Michael Chernick (Arthur-Dora-Morton Deutsch Professor of Jewish Jurisprudence and Social Justice; Professor of Rabbinics, at HUC-JIR/NY) published "'Turn It and Turn It Again:' Culture and Talmud Interpretation" in Turn It and Turn It Again, editor Sheila Delany, issued by Pegasus Press. Professor Chernick was also one of the key note speakers in "Catholic and Jewish Responses to Adversity and Loss," a conference sponsored by the Center for Catholic/Jewish Studies at St. Leo University, St. Leo, FL.

Rabbi Norman Cohen (Provost, HUC-JIR/New York) has published his new book Hineini in Our Lives: Learning How to Respond to Others through Fourteen Biblical Texts and Personal Stories, published by Jewish Lights. The book explores each time the word hineini appears in the Bible, showing what these stories reveal about us as parents, spouses, children, siblings, lovers, and friends. He was a featured guest on The Voice of America, radio program on seminary education which, included guests Rev. Martha J. Horne, Dean and President, Virginia Theological Seminary; Dr. Ian Markham, Dean of Hartford Seminary.

Dr. Shaul R. Feinberg (Adjunct Assistant Professor of Jewish Education, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem) delivered a keynote talk at the opening session of the first World Curriculum Conference, hosted by the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, East China Normal University, Shanghai. Shaul was the only delegate from Israel; his talk was entitled "Beyond Competency-The Teacher As Text Person, You Shall Choose Life, The Value of Human Life in Israeli Society." In Beijing, Shaul served as the Rabbi of Kehillat Beijing, affiliated with the WUPJ, for the High Holy Days and participated in the celebration of Simkhat Torah in a WUPJ Congregation in Hong Kong.

Professor Reuven Firestone (Professor of Medieval Judaism and Islam and Director of the Edgar F. Magnin School of Graduate Studies, HUC-JIR/LA) published, "What Made Saddam Run?" in the op-ed section of the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles on December 19, 2003 and "Religions Hold Mix of Justice and Mercy" in the in the op-ed section of the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles on January 2, 2004.

Dr. Eitan P. Fishbane (Assistant Professor of Jewish Religious Thought, HUC-JIR/LA) has been asked to deliver a paper entitled "Confession, Mystical Experience, and the Language of the Self" at this year's annual meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies. His article "Authority, Tradition, and the Creation of Meaning in Medieval Kabbalah" is scheduled to appear in the March 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. He will participate in "Mystical Interpretation", a three-scholar interfaith and clergy symposium at Temple Emanu-El in New York City as part of a three-year series on mysticism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Professor Alfred Gottschalk (Chancellor, Professor Emeritus of Bible and Jewish Thought) was appointed to; the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, The Alliance Israelite University, New York, the Board of Regents of the Center for the Study of Jewish Civilization, Jerusalem, and the Board of Trustees of the Oxford Center for the Study of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Oxford, England

Alyssa Gray (Assistant Professor of Codes and Responsa Literature at HUC-JIR/NY) presented a paper at a Williams College conference called "New Methods of Reading Rabbinic Literature." She lectured to the Talmud Department Seminar at Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and her article "A Contribution to the Study of Martyrdom and Identity in the Palestinian Talmud" was published in the Journal of Jewish Studies. She was also nominated to the Board of the Women's Caucus of the Association for Jewish Studies.

Melbourne Harris, (C '27) on his 100th birthday and status as the school's oldest living alumnus

Malka Hershkovitz (Keeper of Antiquities, Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem) published; "A Carved Bone Plaque from Tel Dan" in Qadmoniot 124 (2003), [Hebrew]; "Gemstones" in Hillel Geva (ed.); "Jewish Quarter Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem, Conducted by Nahman Avigad," 1969-1982, Vol. II, Chapter Ten, Jerusalem 2003; "Lamps Decorated With Human Faces" from the Excavations at the Jewish Quarter In Jerusalem, in L. Chrzanovski (ed.), which was published in Nouveaut's Lychnologiques News, Geneve 2003; and "Jerusalemite Painted Pottery from the Late Second Temple Period," which was published in Michmanin 18, (Haifa 2003), [Hebrew] and [English].

Dr. Lawrence Hoffman (Professor of Liturgy and the Barbara and Stephen Friedman Chair in Liturgy, Worship, and Ritual HUC-JIR/NY) received, the Berakah Award from the North American Academy of Liturgy.

Yuri Hronsky (SJCS '01, MAJE '01) upon his appointment to Vice Principal of Abraham Joshua Heschel West Day School in Los Angeles.

Rabbi Sarah Hronsky (L '03, MAJCS '01) upon her appointment to Assistant Rabbi at Temple Beth Hillel, in Los Angeles.

The Joint Commission for Sustaining Rabbinic Education has provided educational opportunities to over 500 HUC-JIR rabbinic alumni worldwide. In the fall of 2003, over 75 rabbis participated in distance education mini courses. In spring 2004, the Joint Commission will be offering a new program, Mahaloqet L'shem Shamayim or "Debate for the Sake of Heaven" on the subject of "Post-denominationalism," featuring Dr. Jack Wertheimer of the Jewish Theological School and Dr. Tsvi Blanchard of CLAL. Later this year, during the counting of the Omer, the Joint Commission will again be offering its very popular Sefirah Study Program, featuring Dr. Linda Thal, Dr. Norman Cohen, Dr. Elsie Stern, and Dr. Eitan Fishbane on the topic of "Talmud Torah as Spiritual Encounter."

The Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health co-sponsored, along with The University of California Medical School and the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, a major national conference on the importance of collaboration in addressing contemporary health issues. The Institute will be a partner in sponsoring a major national Jewish Bio-Ethics conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the subject of the place of the quality of life in Jewish medical ethics deliberations.

Dr. David Kaufman (Associate Professor of Contemporary American Jewish Studies, HUC-JIR/LA), Professor Bruce Phillips (Professor of Jewish Communal Service, HUC-JIR/LA ), and Steven Windmueller ( Director, School of Jewish Communal Service, HUC-JIR/LA) are all featured in California Jews, a Brandeis University Press Publication (and published by University Press of New England), edited by Ava Kahn and Marc Dollinger . This lavishly illustrated volume is the first to look at a variety of issues that have shaped California Jewry over its 150-year history..

Dr. Amira Meir (Lecturer on Bible, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem) published, "On the Study of Pentateuchial Poetry in "God's Word for Our World, Biblical Studies in Honor of Simon John De Vries," issued by T&T Clark. The article portrays the different attempts to deal with the definitions of poetry, starting with the discussion in Tractates Rosh Hashanah, Megillah and Soferim, continuing with the discussion in the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, and on to the writing of Menahem Ben Saruq, Rabbi Judah Messer Leon, Azariah Dei Rossi, and Robert Lowth about Biblical poetry, and concluding with the definitions of biblical poetry by M.H. Segal, Y. Kaufmann and A. Berlin.

David Palmer, (Graduate student, HUC-JIR), was recognized by The Cincinnati Area Chapter of Mensa, the high IQ society, with their annual scholarship. Ronald Hardin (Graduate student, HUC-JIR) also received Regional Scholarship Recognition.

Dr. Aaron Panken (Dean of HUC-JIR/NY) received his Ph.D. from New York University.

Shankari Patel (Financial Aid Administrator, HUC-JIR\LA) has been named Outstanding Graduate Student at California State University, Los Angeles.

Julie Pelc (rabbinical student, HUC-JIR/LA) has published "Joining the Sisterhood: Young Jewish Women Write their Lives" issued by SUNY Press and edited by Julie Pelc and Tobin Belzer. The book is a collection of poems, essays, and stories from young women across the spectrum of Jewish life - from Orthodox to secular, Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi, speaking about the intersections between femaleness, youth and Jewishness.

Dr. Avraham I. Rivkind participated in the CBS News show 60 Minutes and in an HUC-UC Ethics Center program, "Ethical Dilemmas That Arise When Offering Emergency Treatment in Time of War."

Joyce Rosensweig (Artist-in-Residence, HUC-JIR/NY) presented a series of recitals at the Charlotte Yiddish Institute and the Chicago Yiddish Institute. She collaborated in concert with Zamir Chorale of Boston, performed at a concert at the Jewish Public Library in Montreal and taught classes at the American Conference of Cantors' Convention and the North American Jewish Choral Festival.

Diane Tickton Schuster, Ph.D. (Director, Institute for Teaching Jewish Adults HUC-JIR/LA) published "Jewish Lives, Jewish Learning: Adult Jewish Learning in Theory and Practice," issued by UAHC Press. The book helps Jewish professionals to understand adult Jewish learners and how to effectively respond to their educational and developmental needs.

Steven Windmueller (Director, School of Jewish Communal Service, HUC-JIR/LA) published "Consensus as a Symbol of Jewish Citizenship, "in the October 2003 edition (34/604) of Sh'ma magazine.

The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education received exhibition grants for its programs, including: Mapping Our Tears, a permanent interactive environmental theater, located on the gallery level of the Skirball Museum. The Cintas Farmer Family Foundation joined the Founding Benefactors and awarded a grant to the Center to expand Mapping Our Tears to include: WWII Liberators The Men in Uniform. The Center has been awarded a Fisher Family Grant, and a Grant from the Cincinnati Public Schools for the Community Outreach initiative, promoting and creating curriculum for Hana's Suitcase. A Three Year Assessment of Holocaust Education in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky was recently concluded in an independent study by the University of Cincinnati Educational Services Evaluation Center. This was the first comprehensive study in U.S. history and clearly hails the need and demand for Holocaust education availability and curriculum needs.