Hebrew Union College in the Berkshires
Songs Ascending
July 24 – 25, 2026
Register Schedule Speakers FAQs
Join Hebrew Union College in the Berkshires for a song-filled shabbaton with faculty, leadership, and alumni, celebrating the sounds of the Jewish world.
This year’s programming will showcase the vibrant music of the Reform movement and beyond. From soulful, song-filled Shabbat services to engaging conversations exploring emerging trends in contemporary Jewish music scholarship, our fifth annual gathering celebrates the sounds of the Jewish world past, present, and future.
Hebrew Union College in the Berkshires is generously funded in part by the Goldner-Panken Symposium Fund at the College, and is produced in collaboration with Hevreh of Southern Berkshire and Temple Anshe Amunim.
Host Committee
Rabbi Daniel Freelander ’79
Rabbi Elyse Frishman ’81
Rabbi Jodie Gordon ’14
Cantor Gail Hirschenfang ’81
Rabbi Howard Jaffe ’83
Rabbi Nancy Kasten ’90, MAJE ’89
Rabbi Valerie Lieber ’95
Daryl Messinger
Lisa Messinger
Rabbi Daniel Polish ’68
Mitchell Shames
Rabbi David Stern ’89, MAJE ’88
Richard L. Wasserman, M.D., Ph.D.
Tina Wasserman
Program of Events
Join us for one or more of these programs; open to all. Note that program location, date and times are subject to change.
Friday, July 24
The Sounds of Jewish Music: Past, Present, Future
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Explore exciting new developments and trends in contemporary Jewish music scholarship. Join a dynamic conversation with Hebrew Union College’s Judah M. Cohen, Ph.D. (Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Provost) and Gordon Dale, Ph.D. (Dr. Jack Gottlieb Scholar in Jewish Music Studies and Associate Professor of Jewish Musicology).
Location:
Temple Anshe Amunim
26 Broad Street, Pittsfield, MA
Presenters:
Judah M. Cohen, Ph.D., is the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Provost at Hebrew Union College and a distinguished scholar of Jewish culture, previously serving as the Lou & Sybil Professor of Jewish Culture at Indiana University and Associate Dean at the Jacobs School of Music. A prolific researcher and author of four books and more than 50 articles, his work explores Jewish cultural expression as a dynamic, evolving process, with particular focus on music, identity, diaspora, and popular culture. Trained as both a musicologist and anthropologist, and holding a Ph.D. from Harvard, Cohen brings a multidisciplinary lens to the study of Jewish life, emphasizing the central role of sound in shaping and reflecting Jewish identity across time and place.
Gordon Dale, Ph.D., the Inaugural Dr. Jack Gottlieb, z”l, Scholar in Jewish Music Studies, serves as the Associate Professor of Jewish Musicology in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. Dr. Dale has most recently conducted extensive research in the Hasidic communities of New York and Israel, and has lectured across the United States on topics related to Israeli popular music, and Jewish music and mysticism. His book, The Life and Complete Works of Rabbi Ben Zion Shenker (Jewish Music Research Centre, The Hebrew University) received The Jordan Schnitzer First Book prize. Dr. Dale is currently the Executive Director of The Jewish Music Forum, a project of the American Society for Jewish Music, and is a past president of the Society for Ethnomusicology’s Special Interest Group for Jewish Music. He holds a Ph.D. from The Graduate Center, CUNY, an M.A. from Tufts University, and a B.S. from Northeastern University.
Musical Erev Shabbat Services and Oneg
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Welcome in Shabbat at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire with an uplifting and musical Friday night service led by Rabbi Jodie Gordon ’14, featuring guests from Hebrew Union College.
Location:
Hevreh of Southern Berkshire
270 State Road, Great Barrington, MA
Presenters:
Rabbi Jodie Gordon ’14 has served Hevreh of Southern Berkshire since her ordination from Hebrew Union College. She grew up with strong connections in the Reform movement, especially through her time at URJ Eisner Camp, which instilled in her a lifelong love for Jewish learning and the Berkshires. Through original programming at Hevreh Community Shabbats, Intergenerational Women’s Seder, or Boker Tov Hevreh, Rabbi Gordon is always seeking ways to bring people together through music, learning, and shared stories that connect us to the story of the Jewish people.
Newly ordained Cantor Sarina Elenbogen-Siegel ’26 is thrilled to join the Hevreh community as their inaugural Cantor-Educator. Prior to Hevreh, Sarina served as cantorial intern at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue in NYC and Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase, Maryland and was engaged in the Tisch Fellowship. She looks forward to partnering with Rabbi Gordon in clergy responsibilities, particularly immersed in every facet of education at Hevreh as Director of Education. Sarina is grateful for the opportunity to meet the community at every point in their journeys and uplift them through song and spirit.
Saturday, July 25
Trails and Torah
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Enjoy a restorative and thought-provoking Shabbat morning experience, choosing between two options in the Berkshires’ Pleasant Valley: a Torah study and gentle hike or a meditative exploration of nature and Jewish thought.
All are welcome, comfortable shoes encouraged.
Location:
Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
Lenox, MA
(rain location: Temple Anshe Amunim)
Havdalah at Tanglewood
6:00 p.m. (prior to the BSO performance) at Tanglewood
Bring a picnic and the whole family to Tanglewood for an evening of beautiful music, beginning with Havdalah. During the Prelude, find the Hebrew Union College area for a havdalah service before the concert. Note: Guests will need to purchase their own entrance tickets to Tanglewood to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s performance.
Location:
Our Speakers
FAQs
Hebrew Union College is North America’s premier institution of Jewish higher education and the center for professional leadership development of Reform Judaism. A multicampus academic and spiritual learning community in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and New York, HUC builds vibrant progressive Judaism in North America, Israel, and around the globe. Its resources include the Klau Library, Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, museums, and publications. Learn more about HUC.
This program is open to all members of the community. Jewish identity and community extends beyond religious practice, and the topics for discussion are intended to be of interest and accessible to everyone.
Hebrew Union College in the Berkshires shabbaton brings together community members, HUC faculty, and alumni for discussions around Jewish life. Programming is designed to be welcoming, building community around learning and engagement with Jewish culture.
Registration will close as capacity is reached for each program. Advance registration closes on July 17. After this date, please email events@huc.edu for additional information and availability.
Upon registration, you will receive an email confirmation with a link to your personalized registration kit. To edit or update your registration, use the “Go to your Registration Kit” link and use the “view registration details” link to re-open the registration form with your existing details. Once in the form, you can “book” or “edit” the programs you (and any of your guests) plan to attend. Contact events@huc.edu with any questions or if you would like assistance with your registration.
Programming was designed to be intergenerational and open to all.
You can attend one, many, or all of the programs. We encourage you to join us for as many as possible to contribute to and learn as much as possible during the weekend.
All programs are being generously funded by an HUC donor. We hope you will consider making a donation to the College to help make community programming, like this, available in the future. Please make sure to register in advance and let us know as soon as possible if your plans change.
All food will be kosher style, either dairy or meat depending on the meal, and vegetarian options will be available.
We are not reserving blocks of hotel rooms, but this Berkshires tourism website provides a variety of suggestions for where to stay.
This Berkshires tourism website offers a variety of information related to traveling to and throughout the Berkshires.
Safety is of utmost importance to HUC and we are in contact with our local community partners about how best to serve our constituents at our events.
In order to create an historical record of the HUC in the Berkshires programming, some of the proceedings will be photographed and video recorded.