Hebrew Union College in the Berkshires

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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.

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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), including reflections from recently ordained College alum, Cantor Sarina Elenbogen-Siegel ’26.

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.

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.

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.

Cantor Jill Abramson ’02 is currently serving as the Head of Seminary Programs (interim) and Director of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. She previously served as the senior cantor at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, NY, cantor and director of education at Congregation Sukkat Shalom in suburban Chicago, IL, and sole clergy leader at Congregation Shir Ami in Greenwich, CT. Jill holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Grinnell College and a Master of Sacred Music and was ordained by Hebrew Union College. Cantor Abramson has a strong commitment to international social justice work, having lived in Cameroon, West Africa, taught English in Indonesia, and conceived an Israeli and Arab teenage choir as part of the international peace program, Building Bridges for Peace.

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)

Presenters:

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.

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.

Rabbi Valerie Lieber ’95 became the spiritual leader of Temple Anshe Amunim in July 2025, bringing decades of experience as a congregational rabbi and educational leader in New York, including 17 years at Kane Street Synagogue. Ordained by Hebrew Union College in 1995 and named one of the Jewish Forward’s “Most Inspiring Rabbis” in 2015, she is also a published contributor to major works of Torah and Haftarah commentary. Now based in the Berkshires with her wife, Leah Kopperman, she is an avid cyclist, environmental advocate, and active participant in Jewish communal life.

Rabbi Dan Ross ’18, D.Min ’25 serves as Hebrew Union College’s Director of Alumni Engagement, bringing experience as a rabbi at Central Synagogue and as Senior Jewish Educator at Yale’s Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life. Dan was ordained at Hebrew Union College in 2018, was a Wexner Graduate Fellow, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from HUC in 2025. During his studies, he received awards for his achievements in Hebrew, liturgy, homiletics, and ecumenical studies. Rabbi Ross lives in Queens with his wife, Rabbi Jade Sank Ross ’18, and their two daughters.

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 led by Cantor Jill Abramson ’02 and President Andrew Rehfeld. 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:

Tanglewood Music Center
Lenox, MA

Presenter:

Cantor Jill Abramson ’02 is currently serving as the Head of Seminary Programs (interim) and Director of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. She previously served as the senior cantor at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, NY, cantor and director of education at Congregation Sukkat Shalom in suburban Chicago, IL, and sole clergy leader at Congregation Shir Ami in Greenwich, CT. Jill holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Grinnell College and a Master of Sacred Music and was ordained by Hebrew Union College. Cantor Abramson has a strong commitment to international social justice work, having lived in Cameroon, West Africa, taught English in Indonesia, and conceived an Israeli and Arab teenage choir as part of the international peace program, Building Bridges for Peace.

Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D. is the 10th President of Hebrew Union College. A leading scholar of political representation and distinguished Jewish communal leader, Dr. Rehfeld’s career has bridged both the academic and professional worlds. He held the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in the Study and Practice of Federalism, McGill University, and had visiting faculty appointments at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago, and Libera Universita Internazionale Degli Studi Sociali (LUISS Guido Carli), Rome. Rehfeld currently serves as a member of the board of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and on the national board of directors for the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).