Thirteen New Rabbis to Be Ordained at 121st Ordination Ceremony of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati

Thirteen new rabbis will be ordained Saturday, June 5 at 9:30 a.m. at Plum Street Temple at the 121st ordination ceremony of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Cincinnati. The ordination class has invited Dr. Jonathan Sarna to deliver the ordination address. President David Ellenson and the family and friends of those ordained welcome the community to be a part of this most historic event.

The following students will be ordained as rabbis: Andrea Jennifer Cosnowsky, Shana, Rachel Goldstein, Oren Jacob Hayon, Kari Lyn Hofmaister, Jennifer Alysse, Tisdale Kroll, David Louis Locketz, Randi Chudakoff Nagel, Scott Myron Nagel, Jody Heather Riches, Adrienne Pollock Scott, Benjamin Aaron Sharff, and Aaron Leslie Starr.

Ordination speaker, Dr. Jonathan Sarna is one of America’s foremost commentators on American Jewish history, religion, and life. Born in Philadelphia and raised in New York and Boston, he attended Brandeis University, the Boston Hebrew College, Merkaz HaRav Kook in Jerusalem, and Yale University, where he obtained his doctorate in 1979. From 1979-1990, Dr. Sarna taught at HUC-JIR Cincinnati, where he rose to become Professor of American Jewish history and Director of the Center for the Study of the American Jewish Experience. He has also taught at Yale University, the University of Cincinnati, and at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Dr. Sarna now chairs the Academic Advisory and Editorial Board of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. In addition, he serves as chief historian both of the National Museum of American Jewish History and of the 350th commemoration of Jewish life in America, 1654-2004. Dr. Sarna has written, edited, or co-edited more than twenty books. His most recent work is the acclaimed American Judaism: A History, praised as being “the single best description of American Judaism during its 350 years on American soil.”

In total, the College-Institute will ordain 32 rabbis (13 men, 19 women) in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and New York this year. These new rabbis and cantors will be serving Reform Jewish congregations and community organizations around the country.

Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the nation’s oldest institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional development center of Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, educators, and communal service professionals, and offers graduate and post-graduate degree programs for scholars of all faiths. With campuses in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York, and Jerusalem, HUC-JIR’s scholarly resources comprise renowned library, archive, and museum collections, biblical archaeology excavations, and academic publications.

For any additional information, please contact Sarah Strouse at (513) 221-1875 ext. 234