We Take Pride In...
(April-August 2002)

Dr. David Aaron, Professor of Bible, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, was invited to deliver a paper on "Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible" at a special session of the 2002 European Society of Biblical Literature in Berlin (July 2002). His paper, "Discourse Theory, Metaphor and Biblical Interpretation: Methodological Considerations," will be published in the proceedings of the conference.

Dr. Isa Aron, Professor of Jewish Education, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles, wrote an article "Learning as a Portal for Synagogue Revitalization," with Robert Weinberg, which was published in Jewish Education News (Winter 2002); her article "Rethinking and Redesigning the Religious School," with Sara Lee and Robert Weinberg, was the lead article in Sh'ma (March 2002).

Rabbi Marcus Burstein (NY ‘99) has been named Associate Rabbi at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia.

Dr. Michael J. Cook, Sol & Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judaeo-Christian Studies, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, wrote an essay "Destabilizing the Tale of Judas Iscariot: a Vehicle for Enhancing Christian-Jewish Understanding" which was published in A Festschrift in Honor of the Rabbinate of Walter Jacob (Pittsburgh, 2001), pp. 109-49; and "Evolving Jewish Views of Jesus" was the opening chapter of Jesus through Jewish Eyes, B. Bruteau, editor (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1991), pp. 1-24.

Rabbi John D. Cooper (NY ‘78, SJCS Certificate Program ‘76) was appointed to the National Advisory Council of the Council for the Encouragement of Philanthropy in Australia (CEPA).

Cynthia Cummins, Office of Development, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, performed at the 19th Annual Cincinnati Associates Tribute Dinner and at Carol's on Main in Cincinnati. Accompanied by Greg Dastillung, formerly with the Showboat Majestic, she performed jazz, standards, Broadway, and pop tunes.

Dr. Susan Einbinder, Professor of Hebrew Literature, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, wrote a book, Beautiful Death: Jewish Poetry and Martyrdom in Medieval France, which was published by Princeton University Press.

Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Professor of Bible, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles, was featured in the Los Angeles Times for her new project – she is editing a Torah commentary by female scholars that highlights women's roles in the Torah.

Dr. David Ellenson, President, HUC-JIR – in a milestone for religious pluralism in Israel – was the first President of HUC-JIR to delivere a lecture at Bar-Ilan University, which has been published under the aegis of that university. The lecture, entitled "The Varied Views of the Decisors of Germany on Matters of Conversion in the Modern Period" has been published under the imprint of The Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Cathedra For the Research of the "Tora im Derekh Eretz" Movement, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 2002.

Dr. Ellenson participated in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem's Victor Rothschild Memorial Symposia, entitled "Women and Their Families: Changing Images and Realities in Jewish History," June 26-July 4, 2002. Sponsored in cooperation with the Center for Advanced Jewish Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, this Symposia was organized by Hebrew University's 12th Jerusalem Summer School in Jewish Studies, which this summer focused on continuity and change in the roles and structures of Jewish families within differing periods, communities, and political/cultural settings. Special attention was given to women's roles in economics and education, as social providers, communal leaders, and mediators. Dr. Ellenson taught a session on issues of women's suffrage in the land of Israel during the first half of the 20th century.

Dr. Ellenson also taught and lectured at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He delivered the Charles Bronfman Lecture, attended by a record-breaking audience of 700 people. He lectured on Holocaust theology to lay learners and taught four seminars on "Re-forming Images of God in Modern Jewish Thought" in which he discussed the work of Mordechai Kaplan, Abraham Heschel, Leo Baeck, and Rachel Adler, among others.

He met with the HUC-JIR/Jerusalem Board of Overseers, had Shabbat dinner and meetings with the new first-year students just beginning their year of study in Jerusalem, and met with Israeli press.

On August 12th, Dr. Ellenson returned to Jerusalem, where he greeted the incoming class, met with Israeli political and religious leaders, as well as with academic colleagues and the extended HUC-JIR family of faculty, administration, staff, and friends.

Rabbi Morley T. Feinstein (C ‘81) received the "Exemplary Leadership" award from the Human Rights Commission of South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana; keys to the city from the Mayors of South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana; the Founders Award from the CommUnity Religious Effort; and the "Hearts Afire" award from the United Religious Community of St. Joseph County, Indiana. Rabbi Feinstein served Temple Beth-El of South Bend, Indiana for 15 years (1987-2002), and became the Senior Rabbi of University Synagogue in Los Angeles in July 2002.

Rabbi Ruth Gais, Director, New York Kollel and Community Outreach, wrote a chapter "Torah Study" which was published in The Rituals and Practices of a Jewish Life (Jewish Lights Publications, Summer 2002).

Dr. David Gilner, Director of Libraries and Associate Director of the American Jewish Periodical Center, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, was elected President of the Council of Archives and Research Libraries in Jewish Studies of the National Foundation of Jewish Culture.

Rabbi Fred Greene (NY ‘01) was appointed to the Advisory Council of the New Israel Fund's New York/Tri-State Region.

Rabbi Joseph Gutmann (C ‘59, Ph.D. ‘60) edited For Everything a Season: Proceedings of the Symposium of Jewish Ritual Art (Cleveland State University, 2002). He wrote "With this Ring I thee wed: Unusual Jewish Wedding Rings" for this symposium, pp. 133-144. His article "My Life of Jewish Learning: In Search of Jewish Art, The Forgotten Image" was published in Occasional Papers in Jewish History and Thought 21 (Hunter College, 2002), pp. 1-16.

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Professor of Liturgy, HUC-JIR/NY, gave the keynote address to the annual convention of the CCAR, "Re-imagining Jewish Worship" which was published in the CCAR Journal (Winter 2002). He wrote a book The Journey Home: Discovering the Deep Spiritual Wisdom of the Jewish Tradition, which was published by Beacon Press, and edited Minhag Ami: My People's Prayer Book, Vol. 5, Birkhot Hashachar (Morning Blessings), which was published by Jewish Lights Publishing. He published articles on "A Theology of Memory," "The Role of Women at Rituals of their Infant Children," and "Zoning Out and Tuning In to Education for Jewish Journeys." He was one of two Jewish participants in a scholars' colloquium on Worship and Jewish Identity at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Rabbi Brett R. Isserow (C ‘91) is the new Senior Rabbi of Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia – Virginia's oldest synagogue.

Rabbi Samuel K. Joseph, Professor of Jewish Education and Leadership Development, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, wrote a chapter "Leadership for Profound Change: A Means for Transforming the American Reform Synagogue" which was published in Contemporary Debates in American Reform Judaism, edited by Dana Kaplan (Routledge, New York and London, 2001).

Dr. Mark Kligman, Associate Professor of Jewish Musicology, HUC-JIR/New York, recently had four of his articles published: "Contemporary Jewish Music in America," American Jewish Yearbook, vol. 101 (2001), pp. 88-141; "Syrian Jewish Life," co-authored with Walter Zenner, and "A Music of their Own: New Jewish Music in the Orthodox Community," chapters in Jews of Brooklyn, edited by Ilana Abramovitch and Sean Galvin (Hanover & Londong: Brandies University Press, University Press of New England, 2001), pp. 44-51, and 190-194; and "The Bible, Prayer, and Maqam: Extra-Musical Associations of Syrian Jews," in Ethnomusicology: Journal for the Society for Ethnomusicology vol. 45 (2001), no. 3, pp. 443-479.

Dr. Frederic Krome, Managing Editor, American Jewish Archives Journal, was named the "Book Reviewer of the Year, Non Fiction" by the highly esteemed periodical Library Journal; his achievement was recognized at the annual meeting of the American Library Association in June. His article "Creating ‘Jewish History for Our Own Needs:' The Evolution of Cecil Roth's Historical Vision, 1925-1935" was published in the fall issue of Modern Judaism 21 (2001), pp. 216-237.

Dr. Adriane Leveen, Assistant Professor of Bible, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles, wrote an article "Falling in the Wilderness: Death Reports in the Book of Numbers" which will be published in PROOFTEXTS; and her article "Variations on the Theme: Differing Conceptions of Memory in the Book of Numbers" will be published in the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament.

Dr. David Levine, Lecturer on Talmudic Literature, Culture, and History, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem, wrote a book, Communal Fasts and Rabbinic Sermons – Theory and Practice in the Talmudic Period, which was published by HaKibbutz HaMeuchad.

Rabbi Ellen Lewis (C ‘80) gave the commencement speech at the Baccalaureate Service at Stanford.

Dr. Jerome Lund, Senior Research Associate, Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, wrote an article "Converse Translation in Peshitta Ezekiel" which was published in TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism, 6 (2001).

Dr. Natan Ofek, Lecturer on Jewish Thought and Literature, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem, wrote a book, Kafka and Jewish Existence: The Abused, Rupture and Hope, which was published by Tzivonim.

Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky (C ‘81) and Rabbi Daniel Judson (N ‘98) edited The Rituals and Practices of a Jewish Life: A Handbook for Personal Spiritual Renewal, with illustrations by Joel Moskowitz, which was published by Jewish Lights Publishing.

Dr. Stephen Passamaneck, Professor of Rabbinics, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles, wrote an article "Mayhem, Homicide, Pardon, and Forgiveness" which was published in the Hebrew Union College Annual, Volumes LXX-LXXI.

Rabbi Joshua Plaut (C ‘86) was appointed Executive Director of the Center for Jewish History in New York, which is comprised of a partnership of five major institutions of Jewish scholarship, history, and art: American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and YIVO Institute for Research.

Dana Rawitch Sheanin (MSW/MAJCS ‘96) is the new Program Associate for Jewish Life at the Walter and Elise Haas Fund in San Francisco.

Rabbi Dr. Michael J. Shire (NY ‘83; MARE, NY ‘83; Ph. D., LA ‘96) wrote The Jewish Prophet: Visionary Words from Moses and Miriam to Henrietta Szold and A.J. Heschel, featuring illustrated manuscripts from the British Library, which was published by Jewish Lights Publishing.

Cheri Ellowitz Silver (MAJE/MAJCS ‘82) wrote the Mitkadem Hebrew Language for Youth Student Workbook, Ramah 1 and 2 for teaching Hebrew, which was published by UAHC Press.

Richard Weiland, Vice-Chair of the Board of Overseers, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, was named Chairman of The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education at HUC-JIR.

Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, Instructor in Liturgy and Homiletics, HUC-JIR/New York, presented a sermon "God is a Woman and She is Growing Older" (published for the 9th time, for the 3rd time in German) which was published in Beggegnungen:Zeitschrift fur Kirche und Judentum, NR. 4 (2001); her sermon "Their Lives A Page Plucked From A Holy Book" and a chapter on her process of sermon preparation were published in Birthing the Sermon: Women Preachers on Creative Process, edited by Jana Childers (Chalice Press, 2001). She edited A Reader and Web/Bibliography on Gender Identity, the Intersexed and Transsexuals: Religious, Legal and Policy Issues. "Bringing Congregants into the Classroom or Learning from the Listeners," was published in Papers of the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Homiletics (Dec. 2001); "Tender Truths" was published in Reform Judaism Magazine (Spring 2001) and was reprinted in an expanded form as "Truth Telling and Meaning Making in Eulogies (sic): Not For Clergy Only" in The Reconstructionist (Spring 2001); "And The Lord Came Down To See the City and the Tower" was published in The Living Pulpit, Vol. 11, No. 2 (April-June 2002); "Oops! I Shouldn't Say This...Or Should I?" (a reconsideration of lashon hara in congregational life) was published in Reform Judaism Magazine (Summer 2002). Her forthcoming publications include "When Madness Comes Home: a spiritual resource for families of the mentally ill," with Miriam Frank, in the Life Lights series, edited by Nancy Flam (Jewish Lights); "There's a Place for Us: Gays and Lesbians in the Jewish Community," with Sharon Kleinbaum, in the Life Lights series, edited by Nancy Flam (Jewish Lights); a sermon, "The Torah's Personal Responsibility Act," in Just Preaching, edited by Andre Resner Jr. (Chalice Press); and a sermon "Mizmor L'David," in Biblical Texts in Community: The Psalms in Jewish and Christian Traditions.

Rabbi Nancy Wiener, Fieldwork Coordinator; Clinical Director, The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Center for Pastoral Counseling, wrote Meeting a the Well: A Jewish Spiritual Guide to Engagement, with Daniel Judson, which was published by the UAHC Press. She wrote an article "Jewish Marriage Innovations and Alterations: From Commercial/Legal Transaction to Spiritual Transition" which was published in the CCAR Journal (Fall 2001).

Dr. Steven Windmueller, Director, Irwin Daniels School of Jewish Communal Service, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles, wrote a chapter, "‘Defenders': The National Jewish Community Relations Agencies," which was published in the book Jewish Polity and American Civil Society: Communal Agencies and Religious Movements in the American Public Square, edited by Alan Mittleman, Jonathan Sarna, and Robert Licht (Rowman and Littlefield).

Dr. Elliot R. Wolfson, HUC-JIR Visiting Professor, presented The Israel and Ida G. Bettan Lecture on "Between Death and Truth: Time, Hermeneutics, and the Crafting of Zoharic Homiletics" at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati in April.

Laurel Wolfson, Deputy Librarian of the Klau Library, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, was installed as Treasurer of the Association of Jewish Libraries, where she has served for twelve consecutive years on its Council, begins her fifth year on its Executive Board, and has previously served two terms as Vice President for Publications.

Rabbi Paul Yedwab (NY ‘86) wrote The God Book: A Necessarily Incomplete Look at the Essence of God, Featuring: My God Diary, a textbook for 7th and 8th grade students which serves as "an antidote to premature atheism," which was published by UAHC Press.

Rabbi Moshe Zemer, Senior Lecturer on Rabbinics, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem, wrote a chapter "Transplant Organ Donations and Halakhic Pluralism" which was published in the Van Leer Book of Medical Ethics (in Hebrew, June 2002).

Dr. Wendy Zierler, Assistant Professor of Modern Jewish Literature and Feminist Studies, HUC-JIR/New York, wrote an article, "The Rabbi's Daughter In and Out of the Kitchen: Feminist Literary Negotiations," which was published in Nashim – A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues, Vol. 5: Feeding an Identity: Gender, Food, and Survival (The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, and The Hadassah International Research Institute on Jewish Women, Brandeis University).