The EMA program reminded me that I am a lifelong learner. Try to stay open to what the journey holds. Stay true to the mission and be open to what the mission looks like in today’s constantly changing world

Academically, I’m fascinated by the Hebrew Bible, and I care deeply about promoting positive and informed relationships between Jews and Christians.

We’ve all played a role in each other’s stories now, and as we begin to move on to what is next, whether it be a new job, a new city, or just practicing new skills, our story will always be linked to Hebrew Union College – in my and my classmates case, specifically to the Zelikow School

The opportunity to interact with those professionals is something I cherish – being able to get different perspectives and see how things are done in different communities around the world, and get ideas on how to translate that work and transform what we do in Poland.

For me, Hebrew Union College is a family of supportive, innovative individuals who encourage growth, exploration, and a generation of confident Jewish future leaders

I found in my rabbinate what I call a blessing of doubt — the constant questioning of my role became a source of strength and growth.

I was so excited to enter into rabbinical school, and Hebrew Union College in particular. This leap of faith is worthwhile.

In my teachings and programming, I regularly raise the importance of inclusion and accessibility. I do my best to accommodate any needs that arise in my community and hope to continue finding new ways to make Jewish spaces more accessible and welcoming to all.

I am proud to be an alum of an institution like hebrew union college-JIR which prepares its students to create those pathways into Jewish life with an eye toward inclusion, curiosity, and creativity

My five years at Hebrew Union College were tremendous. I loved my classmates. I met my husband. My professors were outstanding and remain my mentors and trusted confidants to this day. The learning was challenging and inspiring. Our practical learning in the field was invaluable. During my four years stateside as an hebrew union college-JIR student, I served as a congregational intern at two large synagogues, a hospital chaplain, a student rabbi for a small pulpit, and a research assistant to Dr. Eugene Borowitz. The variety of these experiences launched me with enough confidence into the rabbinate to allow me to build upon and grow into the profession. This career is a work-in-progress where experience in the field is paramount, but having the credibility of learning and knowledge of tradition afforded by the years in the classroom at Hebrew Union College proved critical.

I’m very grateful to Hebrew Union College for providing me with tremendous colleagues who have offered support and advice.

Describe hebrew union college in one word: Greenhouse or in Hebrew, חממה.

I was inspired to become a Rabbi at Hebrew Union College because it offered a variety of paths into the rabbinate. While in training I served in congregations, hospitals and in non-profits. The experience of learning shaped my vision in becoming a congregational rabbi.

I am still doing management work and now use the finance side of my Zschool education, working with small businesses who don’t have full-time bookkeepers. It’s the perfect partner for Jewish nonprofits and the perfect transition from the work I was already doing

Hebrew Union College has helped me understand the different stages of Hebrew and Aramaic, the allegorical interpretation of Scripture by Philo of Alexandria, translating and interpreting a treatise, and more, to understand early rabbinic literature and liturgy.

One of my friends said that I should become a rabbi. I thought, “Wait a minute, me? You think I should become a rabbi?” I prayed on it, and I realized that as a rabbi, I could serve God and serve my community.

For twelve years I was the spiritual leader of this small, remote, fragmented community in Queensland, Australia. I helped ensure that my community remained connected to the mainstream of Jewish life in our region and the wider Jewish world.

The DFSSM is a living example of legacy and innovation; we study music of past generations together with contemporary musical expressions to enliven the liturgy and inspire communities to sing.

Being Jewish means never being alone. We bring more light to the world when we do it together.

When I finally discovered what it meant to be a cantor – to be a member of clergy, a spiritual leader, a teacher and interpreter of Jewish text through music – it truly felt like a calling.

The reason why I am able to be a pioneer in nonbinary liturgy is because of the work that I did as a student at Hebrew Union College.

In the Zelikow School I learned so many practical skills, including how to work with nonprofit boards, handle conflict in the workplace, and how to learn from failure. I have found that my classmates are incredibly helpful, and it has been such a joy learning together as a cohort.

Over six years have passed since we started in the Executive M.A. Program in Jewish Education Program, and [my cohort and I] continue to text, e-mail, and call each other for both personal and professional guidance. This gift of maintaining and building a relationship with educational professionals committed to my success in the program was invaluable.

In a time when spiritual counseling is not a luxury but a necessity, the [Sugiyot Chaim] program gave me tools of mindfulness, bibliotherapy, and so much more. By the end of the year I felt ready to embark on a new learning journey, this time to become a rabbi.

When HUC-JIR thrives, liberal Judaism thrives. Reform Judaism needs a strong institution that can recruit the brightest and the best. We see, collectively, that we are making a difference. As long as I can, I will continue to support the College.

Rikma deepened my understanding of Jerusalem, of the organizations and people working within Jewish pluralism, and of the potential for connection, coordination, and partnership between them.

Hebrew Union College was a 5-year life investment representing a pivot point in my life. I am grateful I made the choice. It was a watershed experience. The program is rigorous and multi-faceted. The people there strive to prepare all students for their lives after ordination. I have taken what I learned there, and continue to expand horizons and thoughts, as I move into my new phase of life.

What’s most rewarding about my Hebrew Union College program are the tools I take away from each class. I have seen exponential growth within myself, in my educational leadership practice, my Judaism, and myself. I have been changed for the better because of Hebrew Union College.

The most rewarding part of being an HUC-JIR student is watching your classmates and yourself grow. I’ve watched us grow into our roles as teachers, pastoral presences, and leaders with a vision for our future.

As we learn the cantorial arts, we are encouraged to draw on our diverse musical and academic backgrounds to craft our own vision of what the cantorate can be. HUC-JIR pushes me to imagine what is possible in the cantorate and broader Jewish community.

Being a student gave me access to fundraising professionals and nonprofit managers.

It was Judaism, in the form of studies, ritual, and tikkun olam that provided me with guidelines for how to raise a family, how to lead, and how to act in the world. Jewish traditions and teachings are central to how I want to live my life.

Hebrew Union College provides a unique experience, not only with its rigorous academic environment, but also with its warm and welcoming interfaith community. I pray Hebrew Union College continues to write its glorious history, and make this world a better place.

I love Torah deeply, and I’m working to build a strong and beautiful Jewish future for everyone. I think Torah is at the center of that world, but we need new voices and ideas to share in that text to create a more vibrant Jewish world to come.

I hope I am impacting the communities that I serve by bringing them queer and feminist scholarship that offers a modern and inclusive lens to examine Judaism. If I’ve impacted them the way that they’ve impacted me, then I’ve done an excellent job.

I learned from Hebrew Union College to bring academic scholarship to the study of religious texts. These skills are crucial for exploring where things have been in the past and how to interpret religious texts ethically in the present and future.

My degree from Zelikow (and the University of Southern California School of Social Work) is foundational for who I am as a Jewish professional. It gave me a sophisticated understanding of the organized Jewish community, deepened my Jewish knowledge and appreciation for pluralism in the Jewish world, and gave me the technical skills to run an organization. I left with colleagues and mentors who have continued to support my professional growth and success. The Zschool allowed me to simultaneously learn in the classroom and in the field

I’ve had to do a lot of learning on my own to understand the world of higher education of which I’m a part, and I have the complete support of the College to do so. The College continues to support me in gaining the skills and knowledge I need to be successful in my career

I’m a religious person in that I have a connection with the divine, but I need this relationship to be practiced. I feel blessed every day that I decided to attend Hebrew Union College, which became my spiritual home.

I’ve been a rabbi for a long time, and I feel I am able to provide warmth and comfort to my congregants, but I joined the D.Min. program to become better grounded in skills that would help me talk through challenging topics such as mortality.

I’ve learned to trust my instincts and be comfortable in my own skin. I’ve learned that I’m successful being me, and I don’t have to be something I’m not. It models for the students that professionalism needs to come with a sense of authenticity.

Jews should always be bridge builders. We are about partnerships – not always with those with whom we agree, but also with those with whom we do not always agree. This can prove to be productive and in the best intrest of the Jewish community.

We have such a diverse group of people who are all committed to understanding the idea that, when it comes to Jewish life and Jewish leadership, tomorrow is going to look different – whether we like it or not. We embrace change in a really wonderful way.

I am a bit like a tour guide, guiding a group or individual through one of the seven wonders of the world. The wonder is right there in front of them, all around them, and my role is to help them see it, to explain it, and to give context so that it makes an indelible impression upon them.

Serving a community for many decades is a special blessing! My congregants and my work as an advocate and activist for the LGBTQ+ community have shaped me. My teachers, both rabbinical and lay leaders, have enriched my Jewish heart and soul.

I’ve found that Hebrew Union College prepared me to do the day-to-day work of a rabbi—writing dvrei torah, writing lesson plans and teaching, and leading services—largely through the experiential learning opportunities I had. I had the opportunity to work with amazing mentors in my internships and that hands-on experience has been invaluable in preparing me to work as an assistant rabbi in a large congregation.

I see it as my duty to present the voice of progressive, liberal Israelis to Jews around the world. To be a legislator for the Jewish and democratic state is for me holy work, no less holy than being in the Beit Haknesset (synagogue).

I am proud to accept this papal honor while remembering the many colleagues and friends who have been so important on my incredible interreligious journey.

We spent a week backpacking in the Grand Canyon talking about Judaism as I know it, which is a really interactive, environmentally sensitive religion. Afterwards we all changed our lives. I moved to Boulder and started the Adventure Rabbi program.

The Doctor of Ministry program was invaluable. First and foremost: the opportunity to return to the classroom, and engage on a regular basis with top-notch faculty and classmates was a gift. After 15 years in the active rabbinate, I was hungering for an intellectual experience that would inform the next phase of my professional life.

You cannot simply teach history and philosophy, you can shape your students’ formation; you can pray with them — they will become your congregation. That congregation will always be growing and changing as new students keep coming.

My role is to re-imagine Jewish life in North America and to educate and mobilize Reform Jews to leverage the power of our Movement to spread Reform Judaism in Israel, advocate for her security, and hold Israel accountable to our values.

I knew I wanted to make the study of Judaism into my life’s work. However, I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant. I went to Hebrew Union College unsure of where I was ultimately headed, but I knew it was the right place for me to find out.

My core belief as a Jewish educator is that Judaism offers guidance for how to live our lives. Jewish education is how we learn about what Judaism has to say; we can ask questions, debate, and hopefully find the guidance that we need.

I am a third-generation Hebrew Union College-ordained reform rabbi. I grew up embedded in the Reform Movement. My reform background exposed me to rabbis, cantors, educators, and teachers who walked the talk and taught me that the Reform Movement was about justice.

Seminaries have the unique privilege of training our future leaders of all gender identities; they need to provide their community with the tools to support safety. Modeling best practices is vital to bring about change in the wider Jewish community.

In the last thirty years, I have tried to open the hearts and minds of millions of Israelis living less than an hour from our community to the story of Reform Judaism, to tell them Judaism can be fun, interesting, vibrant, and modern. I believe that our mission is not only to serve our congregants, rather the entire community around us. Most of our activities are geared toward the secular population of the Tel Aviv region. We are there for them when they celebrate the joy of Judaism through lifecycle events and we support them when they reach difficult moments in their lives.

Over sixty women have transformed the Israeli rabbinate and Israeli society through ritual, liturgy, and scholarship; built new communities; and created new Hebrew words for egalitarianism, pluralism, and more. It has been an extraordinary journey.

I was appointed the first woman senior rabbi in Australia, which I hope not only paves the way for others, but also helps our youth of all genders take great pride in our movement and see their potential for Jewish expression as unbound.

I use Jewish texts as a basis for spiritual conversations to help. Wisdom comes from all places and all walks of life.

It was a joy to build relationships and learn Torah with my classmates — an incredible cohort of thoughtful, compassionate individuals who will be my colleagues and friends for life. I feel honored to play a small part in their Hebrew Union College experience, while strengthening my skills as a teacher and student of Torah.

As the only ordained Reform Deaf rabbi in the world, my role is quite unique. Everyone wants to be able to sit, talk, and connect with their rabbi and that is what I have done throughout the years for the Deaf Jewish Community.

I try to model the engagement, skills, aptitudes, and attitudes that I want my students to master and internalize, and connect students to additional learning and professional development opportunities.

Besides the Jewish upbringing that my parents gave me, and the fact that I grew up in the Jewish community in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and in a vibrant liberal congregation, Hebrew Union College strengthened my deep connection to the Jewish tradition and gave me the tools to translate that connection into the rabbi I am today.

I wasn’t looking to be a pioneer, and I didn’t think of myself that way. I just wanted to be a rabbi – something I decided when I was 16. Fortunately for me, my parents gave me the courage to dare and to dream.

Becoming a rabbi is a very delicate, spiritual, and individual process. It takes a whole village to train someone towards ordination as a rabbi. I am privileged to witness this process and to lead it with my colleagues and students.

During my time at Hebrew Union College, I became deeply involved in Hillel work, where I learned to value a relationship-first approach to community building. That approach now shapes my work in a large synagogue setting, where I see Torah not only as text to be studied but as a living guide for how we build and sustain community. Hebrew Union College gave me the skills, grounding, and supportive network to bring this vision to life, and it reinforced the truth that being a rabbi is as much about listening as it is about leading.

I care not only about the voice of our Movement but the voices of our students, and I want them to have the tools to face the challenges, harness the opportunities, and honor the history of Judaism. No institution does this as Hebrew Union College does.

I feel I have the proper tools and experience to successfully teach and transform children’s lives through learning. Hebrew Union College has become a second home to me, a place where I have learned, grown, and made relationships that will last a lifetime.

I originally went to college for a Bible degree because I wanted to be a minister at a Christian congregation. I ended up loving the academic study of the Bible, especially reading the Bible in its original languages and understanding it in its original context.

I use all the components of my Hebrew Union College education in my work. It is exciting to bring more congregations along the journey of innovation. For me, Judaism is about connecting with others in a community reaching very far back and very far into the future.