Spotlight on CLAL Archive
CLAL Quarterly Report
Winter 2000-2001
Many Voices. Strong Communities. One People.
More people, more engaged in Jewish life, in more ways.
That has been CLAL’s goal since it began more than 25 years ago. Today, we are seeing that vision realized. As technological and economic changes have impacted our lives, CLAL has
been in the forefront of addressing the roles these shifts have in shaping Jewish identity
and community. Whether it is working with rabbis across denominations, Jewish community
leaders throughout the country, opinion makers in America or scholars across disciplines, CLAL brings together people to promote its unique
message of pluralism, diversity and inclusiveness in contemporary American Jewish
life.
HIGHLIGHTS
RELIGION ON THE POLITICAL
STAGE
What is the relationship between our moral and spiritual concerns
and our political activism? Recognizing the impact of Joseph Lieberman’s nomination
as the first Jewish vice presidential candidate, CLAL galvanized its efforts to address
the questions of religious and civic engagement in American life. CLAL’s President, Rabbi Irwin Kula, held
numerous interviews with reporters to discuss the implications that the nomination had for
American Jews. Issues raised included church
versus state concerns, the Jewish value of social responsibility, and the mitzvah
of civic duty as a reflection of ethical conviction.
Many reporters had little familiarity with halacha (Jewish
law), and the diversity of Jewish practice and expression.
By providing a context in which to view the nomination, Rabbi Kula offered a
CLAL perspective:
“What is significant here is that the
Jewish community, once marginalized, has become fully integrated into American life. Senator Lieberman’s selection reflects
this acceptance.…The integration of his public life and personal practice has opened
up the debate on what it means to be Jewish, not only privately but in the public square.
At the same time, it provokes the question of how we articulate our spiritual, ethical and
religious identities in our political discourse while maintaining a respect for the
diversity of beliefs in American life. ”
CLAL JOINS IN
RE-OPENING OF AUSCHWITZ SYNAGOGUE
In September, Rabbi Brad
Hirschfield joined a 50-member American delegation to re-open the first synagogue near
Auschwitz since World War II. The trip
included visiting the death camp in Birkenau, and Berlin, where the group met with leaders
of the German government and the Jewish community. In
Berlin, Rabbi Hirschfield made havdallah (the transition between Shabbat and the
week) on the roof of the Reichstag, the seat of German government, with Acting President
Kurt Biedenkopf participating. “Havdallah
is a kind of kiddush on the rest of the week,” Hirschfield said. “It marks a moment to recover our connection
to a sense of the sacred that is less defined by separateness and retreat, and more by
unity and engagement across boundaries.”
In
discussing his trip, Rabbi Hirschfield talked about the importance of reaffirming life in
the face of death. “How do we move
beyond the Shoah without leaving it behind? By re-opening the synagogue, we realize
that the Jewish people are more than the ghosts of Auschwitz. We are a living presence here to stay.”
CLAL
PARTICIPATES IN ASPEN INSTITUTE’S 50th CELEBRATION
Marking its 50th anniversary, The Aspen Institute, a
prestigious global forum that brings together leaders from diverse disciplines to address
critical issues confronting societies, organizations and individuals, held a three-day
program in August on “Globalization and the Human Condition.” Guest speakers included former U.S. President
Jimmy Carter, Queen Noor of Jordan, and James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank. As part of its program, the Institute invited
Rabbi Irwin Kula to participate in a panel on “Globalization, Religion and Social
Justice,” with J. Byran Hehir, Dean, Harvard Divinity School, Helena Cobban, Middle
East journalist and independent scholar, Weiming Tu, Professor of Chinese History,
Philosophy and Confucian Studies, Harvard University and Garry Wills, Adjunct Professor of
History, Northwestern University.
In his remarks, Rabbi Kula discussed the paradox of the increased
availability and accessibility of wisdom from ancient traditions (including Judaism) with
the decreased role of institutional and
clerical authority. “The democratization of information has led to a free flow of
information. This means that people have unprecedented freedom to pick and choose, and as
a result, they are empowered to construct identity, especially their religious identities,
in new ways.” This results in new roles
for religious “officials” and their institutions in deciding the meaning of
inherited traditions and practices as well as the boundaries of community.
Also, this past July, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield participated in an
Aspen Institute forum entitled “Spirituality in Contemporary Life,” the first
such program to explore the role of spirituality in society today. The seminar, open to Aspen Institute Fellows,
explored people’s search for inner meaning and purpose in a world driven by economic
and technological change. Joining Rabbi
Hirschfield were Father Thomas Keating, former Abbot of Spencer and Saint Benedicts
Monasteries; Princeton University Professor Elaine Pagels, an Aspen Institute Board
Trustee; and Dr. Edward W. Bastian, founder and publisher of aspen.com and a
Buddhist scholar.
In his remarks, Rabbi Hirschfield spoke about spirituality in a
new era. “How do you create a
conversation between technology and other advances and the spiritual lives of individuals?
How do you use a tradition’s richness in a broader way?…Judaism, as a result of
the decentralization of the Diaspora experience, went from high ritual performed by a few
to a system which infused daily life with transcendence.
In this way Judaism offers a profound gift with which we can begin to
explore a more expansive spiritual conversation. The
sacredness is in the search for what is true in our experience of the ordinary.”
LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
CLAL’s
mission to create dynamic Jewish communities could not be fulfilled without the cadre of
committed volunteer leaders from across the country with whom we work in shaping Jewish
life. CLAL faculty traveled nationwide to provide seminars, classes and lectures to
individuals and communities. Recent
highlights were:
· Bux-Mont/Philadelphia.
Rabbi Steve Greenberg conducted a program with seven of the
area’s synagogues. Rabbis and lay
leaders were asked to address issues of synagogue renewal.
Rabbi Greenberg led the group in a brainstorming session on building the
“ideal” synagogue by focusing on its three main functions: study, prayer and
community.
· Princeton, New Jersey. Rabbi Jennifer Krause, Drs. Robert
Rabinowitz and Michael Gottsegen led a conference session for high school ethics teachers
on how to incorporate Jewish texts into the teaching of ethics. Participants represented
schools throughout North America.
· Broward County, Florida.
Rabbi David Nelson conducted a Shabbaton for Broward County’s
third CLAL Young Leadership group. Close to
100 participants have completed or are completing the program, creating a cadre of new
leaders. The Shabbaton, which included a service on the beach, expanded the ways in which
these new leaders experience and articulate their Jewishness. Graduates of the first two
programs (1993-95 and 1996-98) have become highly visible members of the Jewish community,
as board members of various organizations, president of the JCC, president of the
Women’s Division, president of the day school, and chair of the Jewish Community
Relations Council. Expectations are high for those in this third group.
· New York City. Rabbi
Daniel Brenner co-led a CLAL Torah Study Group of leading writers, artists and other
professionals on a tour of the Jewish Museum’s “Culture and Continuity: The
Jewish Journey.” The evening ended their
yearlong study of Pirkei Avot (classic rabbinic wisdom). The exhibit offered three reasons for why the Jews
were able to survive in the Diaspora: the constant questioning and reinterpretation of
Jewish traditions, the interaction of Jews and Judaism with other cultures, and the impact
of historical events on Jewish life. The Torah Study Group, convened by Letty Cottin
Pogrebin, is one of seven CLAL classes taught in the New York area.
· Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Shari Cohen and Rabbi Brad Hirschfield led a
symposium with 30 of Birmingham's emerging leaders and community professionals entitled
"Imagining Birmingham's Jewish Futures." Incorporating
“scenario planning,” a method of visioning used by CLAL’s Jewish Public
Forum, they took participants through a disciplined, yet highly imaginative process to
analyze the impact of societal trends on their community ten years into the future.
· San
Diego, California. Rabbi
Jennifer Krause led a program entitled “Practicing With Your Life: The Hidden
Blessing of New Year” for a standing room only audience. The event explored the
central metaphors of the High Holidays as they relate to people’s lives, and the ways
in which we shape our identities at peak times. The group included alumni of CLAL’s
programs.
THE COLORADO INITIATIVE
A guiding principle of CLAL’s community building is that
dynamic Jewish communities thrive best when genuine, inclusive conversations are nurtured. One example of this is The Colorado Initiative,
supported with major funding from The Sturm Family Foundation. The program has been key in bringing close to a
thousand people into conversations about their Jewishness, building bridges between
established Jewish institutions and denominations, and infusing provocative new energy
into local Jewish life. In recent months, CLAL faculty have been engaged in a variety of
activities in the Denver/Boulder community. They include:
· Boulder JCC Celebrates First Year. The Boulder Jewish Community Center celebrated its
first anniversary with a community wide program featuring scholar-in-residence Rabbi Irwin
Kula and CLAL associate Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. More than 300 people participated in this
“town hall“ like event which focused on imagining and creating a Jewish future. Local rabbis from all denominations led sessions,
enabling them to teach beyond their usual constituencies. This two day conference was a
result of CLAL’s six month effort to bring people together in conversations about new
ways of constructing identity and community. A
plan is now underway to establish an ongoing
community wide series of conversations exploring both personal and communal Jewish
possibilities. It will culminate in an annual
Boulder Reimagining Institute which hopes to attract national attention to the Boulder
Jewish community.
· Denver Women’s Leadership Group. In an innovative series of programs, CLAL faculty
helped empower a core group of women in key leadership positions both within Jewish
communal life, and in the Denver community at large, to develop a network in which they
can connect to Jewish life and reimagine leadership.
With CLAL’s support, the group has developed its own resources
and will function independently in the coming year.
· Conversations. CLAL
faculty led close to 25 small group sessions, bringing together people affiliated and
unaffiliated with the organized Jewish community. These sessions, in which CLAL faculty
employed its newly developed conversation method, are convened by peers for peers, and
take place outside of the traditional institutional boundaries of Jewish engagement.
Animated discussions, offered primarily in people’s homes, were held on a variety of
Jewish issues. Topics included: “The
Changing Nature of Jewish Identity,” “Creating Community That We Would Commit
To,” “New Markers of Jewishness: Work, Philanthropy, and Leisure,” and
“Spirituality: Does It Need Organized Religion?”
These conversations are one example of CLAL’s new method for
engaging people in Jewish identity and community building.
· Professional Development.
CLAL faculty led “Lunch and Learn” sessions hosted by the
JCC for its staff and other Jewish professionals from Denver based organizations. Participants included representatives from the
Federation, the JFS (Jewish Family Service), local synagogues, the Mizel Museum and CAJE
(Central Agency for Jewish Education). Sessions in Boulder will begin soon. These
sessions help create a community wide cadre of professional leaders and have dealt with
issues such as “Professional-Volunteer Relations,” Changing Models of
Philanthropy,” and “Reaching Baby Boomers and Generation X Jews.”
· Consultation. As
a direct result of the work of The Colorado Initiative, Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard was invited
to provide a series of programs for a broad audience of
the CAJE Commission on Jewish School Excellence which included lay
leaders, professionals, principals, educators and funders.
The sessions explored new ways of creating powerful educational experiences
in supplementary school settings. “Out
of the box” approaches were discussed, resulting in staff renewal and the development
of a variety of new materials. With CLAL’s help, the agency, under the leadership of
Daniel Bennett, has repositioned itself as one of the leading visionary institutions in
the Denver Jewish community.
THE JEWISH PUBLIC FORUM AT
CLAL
Is the office supplanting the family as the place where people
seek love, companionship and a sense of belonging? What
happens to a religious community when its members move to on-line chat rooms? These were some of the questions addressed at the
Jewish Public Forum’s seminar, “The Virtual, the Real and the Not-Yet-Imagined:
Meaning, Identity and Community in a Networked World,” held June 4-6, 2000. The program brought together 30 influential
thinkers from such fields as religion, technology, business, architecture, new media,
artificial intelligence and anthropology. Key
participants included leading cosmologist Saul Perlmutter, and media expert Douglas
Rushkoff.
Discussion ensued on how
the Internet and related technologies, along with accelerating economic trends like
globalization, affected the work of “meaning-makers”
or those who create the ways and places in which people connect to each other and to
religious communities. The conference focused
on how rapid economic and technological changes are reshaping the ways and places people
seek and create meaning in their lives. To
get a firsthand look at new meaning-making venues, participants spread out across New York
City for on-site “learning journeys” to cutting-edge businesses, on-line
communities, public spaces and cultural venues. The sites were chosen to reflect new
settings where people learn, pray, shop, celebrate and make sense of their world.
“Learning journey” sites included the new Times Square; the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the
American Museum of Natural History; the downtown arts space, The Knitting Factory; the
on-line religion magazine, Beliefnet.com; the technology and new media labs at
Manhattan’s Beacon High School; and the African-American community Web site,
Blackplanet.com.
On January 14-16, 2001 the
Jewish Public Forum will hold the next, and most ambitious, of its innovative seminars. At the workshop, "Playing the Jewish
Futures: Scenarios on Religion, Ethnicity and Civic Engagement in the year 2015," an
impressive group of fifty people representing a wide range of fields, will pool their
expertise to identify the broad cultural, political, social and economic trends that will
most shape the environments in which the Jewish future will be created. They will then generate four plausible narratives
of possible futures, based on the most important trends.
The Jewish Public Forum is funded through the
generous support of The Eleanor M. and Herbert D. Katz Family Foundation.
NATIONAL
JEWISH RESOURCE CENTER
What’s Jewish about
Mother’s Day? How do American Jews
celebrate on July 4th? These are some of the
recent topics explored by CLAL’s National Jewish Resource Center, which creates and
publishes new practices connected to traditional Jewish thought.
The variety of ways Jews have experienced July 4th was addressed by the faculty at a CLAL breakfast in New York City, focusing on how we integrate the wisdom of our inherited tradition and of our American experience. To mark Election Day, CLAL held a program in New York City exploring the changing role of religion in political life. For the High Holidays, CLAL issued its new calendar. With the theme of Shehecheyanu: Reaching Each Moment, it offers a series of illuminating rituals, meditations, blessings and Jewish teachings for everyday moments and occasions. Called Sacred Days 5761-5762, it features collected writings by CLAL’s faculty.
NATIONAL UNITY SHAVUOT
Pluralist study events
across the U.S., a complete Shavuot Web site (www.Shavuot.org), and the publication of a
guidebook for planning pluralist programs were among the highlights of CLAL’s second
annual National Unity Shavuot. Made
possible,in part, through the generosity of The Nathan Cummings Foundation, CLAL’s
National Unity Shavuot program emphasizes pluralism and unity. Pluralist events across the
country planned by local rabbis (many of whom are CLAL rabbinic alumni) took place in
twelve cities, including Baltimore, New York, Denver, Chicago, and Miami.
For Internet users, the
Shavuot Web site provided an important educational resource. It offered concise information about the origins
and customs of the holiday; a trove of texts from biblical, rabbinic and contemporary
sources; and guidelines for using those texts in private or group study. An on-line study area enabled users to engage in
virtual learning sessions with fellow participants from around the world.
Also available on line was
a new guidebook for planning a interdenominational
Shavuot event. The guidebook offers tools and methods for
facilitating interdenominational dialogue, descriptions of successful Shavuot learning
programs, and a 20-page collection of core Jewish texts from which study programs may be
designed.
The new CLAL Rabbinic
Community On Line home, www.clalrabbis.net,
funded by the Nash Family Foundation, constitutes the cutting edge of CLAL’s
programming for rabbis. An important
component of the CLAL Rabbinic Community On Line is distance learning. Building on the
success of CLAL’s first offering a liturgy course developed by Rabbi Reuven Kimelman,
CLAL developed “Kavannah for
Living,” an on-line course taught by Rabbi Daniel Brenner. The course aims to assist rabbis in making
everyday Jewish rituals relevant to the contemporary lives of their congregants. The
curriculum follows the contours of the daily life cycle, suggesting rituals and kavannot
to accompany a typical day’s activities from waking in the morning to bedtime. It is based on CLAL’s work with Rav Zalman
Schechter-Shalomi through the project “Bringing the Spirit Into the Center”
funded by The Nathan Cummings Foundation, The Righteous Persons Foundation, Gigi and
Samuel Fried Philanthropic Fund,
Richard Goldstein Foundation, Yesod Foundation and
The course includes
dedicated study and discussion areas, and an archive for past study units. Moreover, we
have made it easier for rabbis to participate by distributing course materials via e-mail
and enrolling them in an e-mail group dedicated to discussing how to make the ritual
materials more pluralist and easier to use. The response to “Kavannah for
Living” has been very strong, with close to 7,000 rabbis contacted, and it will
continue in the 2000-2001 academic year. Plans to offer two new courses are also underway.
The first will help rabbis better convey the meaning of the Holocaust for Jews today; the
second will focus on the significance of new spiritual currents in America.
Editor: Judy Epstein
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