A Milestone Weekend in Sag Harbor

This August, Hebrew Union College and Temple Adas Israel came together in Sag Harbor for a weekend celebrating Temple Adas’s 130th anniversary and the lasting relationship between the two communities.  Cantor Jill Abramson ’02, Interim Head of Seminary Programs and Director of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, and Cantor-Rabbi Shani Ben-Or ’21, Cantorial Director for the Year-In-Israel, led “From the Bima to Broadway,” a cantorial concert at the heart of the weekend. They were joined by rising fourth-year cantorial students Dana Bederson, Will Brockman, and Carly Levin Santalone, all current or former Temple Adas Israel cantorial interns, with Hebrew Union College pianist and adjunct faculty member Scott Stein. Their music reflected generations of students, clergy, and congregants who have made the relationship between the two communities what it is today. 

Rabbi Daniel Geffen ’14, who leads Temple Adas Israel, welcomed the College community into a congregation where those connections are part of everyday Jewish life. The weekend’s learning reflected that same spirit. During a beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat, President Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., explored the relationship between Hebrew Union College and communities like Temple Adas Israel, while on Shabbat morning Cantor-Rabbi Ben-Or reflected on the past year in Israel, the hopes and challenges facing the year ahead, and the ongoing work of teshuvah with both honesty and compassion. 

Reflecting on what it means to carry Jewish life forward, Cantor-Rabbi Ben-Or offered a reminder about the responsibilities that come with each new chapter, “Just as the Torah ends before Israel enters the Promised Land, perhaps the most important Jewish experiences do not end with arrival or graduation. They send us somewhere else carrying new obligations.” 

The concert also recognized Wendy and Mark Biderman, Marty and Michele Cohen, John and Suzanne Golden, Rabbi Barton and Jane Shallat, Burt and Brenda Lehman, and Morris Kramer, z”l, for their leadership and generosity. Three generations of the Golden family were among those gathered, a fitting reminder of how Jewish values and traditions are carried from one generation to the next. 

During his D’var Torah, President Rehfeld reflected on the Jewish pursuit of a more just and meaningful world, and how that commitment asks us to engage thoughtfully with the difficult questions before us. Rather than asking us to arrive at a perfect or final answer, he spoke about the importance of remaining committed to the ideals that guide us, reminding us that, “Judaism recognizes effort without lowering the ideal. It honors the pursuit without declaring the task complete.”

Across the weekend, worship, learning, music, and conversation flowed naturally into one another. At a Saturday evening gathering, guests joined Cantor Abramson, Cantor-Rabbi Ben-Or, President Rehfeld, Rabbi Daniel Geffen ’14, and Rabbi Cantor Debra Stein ’86 for Havdalah at the home of Board of Governors member Ken Gilman and his wife, Carol Feinberg, where old friends and new acquaintances shared an evening of song and conversation.  

The weekend reflected what 130 years of Temple Adas Israel and 150 years of Hebrew Union College have made possible: relationships between teachers and students, clergy and congregants, and generations of people who continue to learn, sing, and build Jewish life together.  

“Moments like these remind me how fortunate we are to be part of a community that shows up for one another, celebrates together, learns together, and helps ensure that the next generation of Jewish leadership and Peoplehood will flourish,” said Cantor Abramson.