Spotlight on CLAL

CLAL Report

Fall, 2003

Dear Friends, 

In the last months, CLAL has brought a diversity of ideas, materials, and resources to the larger public square.  Through such vehicles as “Simple Wisdom with Irwin Kula,” the new 13-week, half-hour public television series; Embracing Life and Facing Death: A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care (CLAL, 2003); and CLAL’s website, www.clal.org, CLAL has reached tens of thousands of individuals and families with Jewish insights to enhance their lives.       

“Simple Wisdom,” now available in most parts of the country, has received wide recognition for helping people cope with life’s daily challenges.  Bringing Jewish thought to such issues as family, relationships, spirituality, money and work, the series speaks to a broad audience on how to access an ancient tradition in meaningful ways today. 

Called a “transcendent contribution” to palliative care by Senator Joseph Lieberman, CLAL’s Embracing Life and Facing Death offers patients, family members, care givers, and a host of other professionals a spiritually rich and practically informative response to confronting serious illness.  Using Jewish texts, stories, humor, and medical perspectives, it combines the wisdom of Judaism with contemporary ethical and spiritual concerns.   

Most recently, CLAL’s cutting-edge website received special recognition by Blackbaud, a leading manufacturer of software systems for non-profits.  Awarded a Silver Medal, the site was honored for its design, clarity and accessibility.  The centerpiece, CLAL’s online weekly magazine, offers compelling commentary on culture, public policy and spirituality and is fast becoming a “must read” on how Jewish life and contemporary culture intersect. 

Through the power of these varied mediums – television, print, and technology – CLAL’s ability to touch the lives of countless old and new friends continues to grow.  With you as our partner, we are working to ensure a vibrant, pluralist Jewish future, regardless of what may come.  The mediums might change, but the message remains the same – Jewish wisdom has much to offer in expanding the boundaries of people’s inner lives and their capacity to improve the world. 

B’Shalom, 

Thomas O. Katz, Chairman         
Irwin Kula, President          
Donna M. Rosenthal, Executive Vice Chairman                 
Brad Hirschfield, Vice President

CLAL RECEIVES NATIONAL RECOGNITION

CLAL Faculty Member Receives Prestigious Reisman Award for Article of the Year

In June, at the UJA-Federation of New York, Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Ph.D., CLAL’s Director of Organizational Development, received the 2003 Bernard Reisman Journal of Jewish Communal Service Article of the Year Award for “How to Think About Being Jewish in the 21st Century: A New Model of Jewish Identity Construction” (Fall, 2002).  The Journal, recognized as the leader in the field of Jewish communal service, grants the award each year to the “most important, informative, and innovative submission.”  

In his article, Rabbi Blanchard explores how the existing models of Jewish identity, shaped by the experiences of Jews as a minority immigrant group, do not consider the tremendous freedom and openness of American society, which is based on individual choice.  No longer bound by fear, Jews today can create their own identity and, as a result, new models of identity construction need to be developed founded on choice.  

“Many of our models of Jewish identity were inherited from pre-20th century Eastern Europe,” he stated.  “But from the outset, Jewish migration to America demanded creating new paradigms appropriate to the new world.”  Some of his proposals recommend that we:

• Connect Jewish identity construction with other significant life choices.
• Begin to teach how to create and maintain a Jewish identity throughout the lifecycle.
• Spend less time creating standards for existing categories we deem Jewish, and more time increasing the range of expression of any given category and adding new ones.

“At CLAL, we’ve been working on contemporary Jewish identity formation for the last several years,” said Rabbi Blanchard.  “As a leadership training institute and think tank, CLAL is always looking for new models as part of our revitalization of communities.  For Jewish life to remain invigorated in the 21st century, we need to step out of the box.”  

“SIMPLE WISDOM WITH IRWIN KULA”

Now available in most major markets around the country, “Simple Wisdom with Irwin Kula” has been described as “where religion, self-help and spirituality meet.”  The innovative public television series, produced by Jewish Television Network,  has inspired new conversations on how to access Jewish wisdom in fresh ways, and has sparked local events and teachings with hundreds of people. 

Traveling to many parts of the country over the last few months, Rabbi Kula, CLAL President, held screenings and discussions on Judaism in the public square and how to draw upon Jewish insight for guidance in meeting life’s tough challenges.  The programs brought together a variety of participants to look at meaning making in contemporary American Jewish life. In one community, at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, Rabbi Kula also participated as a scholar-in-residence at their Shabbaton.   

The series, acclaimed by American Public Television as one of its recommended shows, has aired in such key cities as New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Denver, New Orleans, and Chicago.  Call your local public television station if it is not available in your area.        

CLAL wishes to express its thanks to Debra and Ken Tuchman, Robyn and Bob  Loup, Mort Meyerson, Elissa and Tom Katz, Wendy and Jeffrey Schwarz, Rabbi David Gelfand of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, and Executive Director Eric Stillman of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans for hosting “Simple Wisdom” events in their communities.

EMBRACING LIFE AND FACING DEATH

Training in Palliative Care for Rabbinic and Medical Students  

Both rabbis and physicians hold positions of power that can influence the decisions of patients and their families facing serious illness.  They also hold the role of healer and can help sick patients find meaning and growth.

This new project, in partnership with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, has been made possible through the support of UJA-Federation of New York. It draws on the work of CLAL’s new guidebook, Embracing Life and Facing Death: A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care (see information below).  A curriculum and pilot training program will be developed and implemented for medical and rabbinic students to help them gain skills for addressing the spiritual, ethical and emotional issues associated with serious illness.  

The project will include designing an integrated curriculum, recruiting and selecting 24 student participants, convening four sessions, and holding a large-scale conference.  An evaluation of the project and its impact will also be conducted.

“This project extends our network in new ways,” said Donna M. Rosenthal, CLAL’s Executive Vice Chairman.  “It melds Jewish tradition with medical science

to deliver spiritually sensitive, quality health care.  It offers medical and rabbinic students the unique opportunity to learn together how to work in partnership to help patients and their families through this difficult time.”     

Palliative Care: A Seminar on Life and Death Issues for Jewish Professionals

In September, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, CLAL Vice President, and Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard presented a daylong seminar, based on the principles of CLAL’s new book on palliative care, for the Jewish Funeral Directors of America.   The goal was to help these Jewish professionals think about their work in meaningful new ways as they deal with clients and families. 

Discussion ensued on how more people are turning to palliative care as they face end-of-life issues.   In addition, due to technology, many can anticipate their own demise and want to prepare for it.   “Palliative care now puts us on a frontier between life and death,” said Rabbi Hirschfield.  “But there are ways of talking about death that are both honest and life affirming.  The challenge for these professionals is to see their role as more than transitional.  They have the opportunity to help people shape their own end-of-life-plans.” 

Palliative care covers such topics as selecting a health care proxy and creating a living will.  Issues of pain management, the life cycle of illness, advance care planning, and making peace are all part of the decision making process patients must face.

PLURALISM AT WORK

Unity and Diversity

A good example of pluralism in action is the Unity and Diversity project.  Working with the UJA-Federation of New York Commission on the Jewish People, CLAL is helping participants to recognize religious diversity as a great strength to community building.

Two interdenominational groups, in Riverdale, New York and the Upper West Side of Manhattan, have been brought together to meet and engage in mutually respectful dialogue.  Through this exchange, participants learn to value the Jewish lives of others who make different choices from their own.  The initial success of these groups gives hope for future success in bringing cross-denominational lay leadership together.

“We’ve already seen a positive, supportive response from our participants who represent all of the denominations,” said Rabbi Blanchard.  “It is clear that their commitment to diversity has increased and that this is a powerful model for community dialogue.”

Plans are now underway to both continue and expand this program in other parts of the New York metropolitan area.

Unity and Diversity Through the Generations

New for the Denver community, this project will explore the challenges of Jewish identity formation in contemporary American life with an interdenominational group ranging in age from teenagers to older adults.  Supported by Rose Youth Foundation, and building on CLAL’s expertise in strengthening communities through fostering pluralism and diversity, it will address some of the hard issues facing American Jewish life, such as, the rise of anti-Semitism, and the relationship of American Jews to Israel.  By working across the ages, and through the use of traditional Jewish texts, popular cultural resources, and personal experience, this “pilot program” will help participants understand each other better, and form deeper connections through the generational and ideological differences.

CLAL is very proud that the members of Rose Youth Foundation have chosen to fund this important subject across the generations together with the CLAL faculty.

The first phase is recruitment.   Having worked closely with Denver’s rabbis, communal professionals and volunteer leaders over the years, and having identified Jews seeking to connect to Jewish life, CLAL is well positioned to help build a core group of constituents of all ages for the program. 

CLAL AROUND THE COUNTRY 

Leadership Development On Campus

Can you have a pluralist perspective and be an effective advocate for the U.S.–Israel relationship? Can dissent and loyalty co-exist?  These were the pivotal questions posed by Rabbi Irwin Kula to student advocates at the annual AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC this past spring.  Speaking to more than 750 campus representatives, the largest group ever assembled, Rabbi Kula challenged student leaders to consider the multiple truths and see the perspectives of those they oppose. 

“On Capitol Hill, lobbyists must carry an unambiguous and single-minded message to be effective.  But in college, students are encouraged to wrestle with a diversity of opinions, new ideas, and unimagined frameworks,” said Rabbi Kula   “When these young people go back to their universities, their ability to listen to the nuances of other people’s views, especially those with which they disagree, may be the first step in truly reaching out to create a pro-Israel campus community.”        

As the keynoter, Rabbi Kula talked about how the Jewish community over the past decades has attained a level of political maturity, requiring us to acknowledge both the power we possess and the responsibility that power brings.  “An ethics of power is very different from an ethics of powerlessness.  Power demands greater restraint (tzimtzum).  The ethical use of power not only necessitates tolerating differences of opinion, but also requires dissent to ensure it retains its ethical character.  Political and military power is still a new condition for Jews and demands new self-understanding, modes of behavior, and much greater comfort with disagreement.”   

The student plenary brought together young people from all across the country.  As young leaders on their campuses, they represent the next wave of Jewish leadership in the coming decades.  CLAL, as part of its longstanding relationship with AIPAC, continues to serve as a bridge between the student and adult community.  It helps provide the tools that young people will take back with them to their schools to create effective advocacy.

Remembering for Life

On Yom Hashoah, we commemorate the horror of life’s suffering, but when do we celebrate the beauty and life lessons of the survivors?  “Remembering for Life” is a new project drawing on the survivors’ recollections from their early years to post-WWII as a way to affirm our own lives more fully.  Edited by Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, it will assemble the stories and dreams of survivors (gathered by the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation) for a collection of short readings linked to the Jewish calendar. 

The book will provide a ready resource for regular use by synagogues, other Jewish institutions, individuals and families.  More than focusing on the incomprehensible nightmare, this anthology will look at the daily fabric of survivors’ lives in a world that no longer exists, but from which we can learn so much.  It will offer future generations a new way to remember and affirm what was lost rather than focus on the destruction.

“History teaches us that between 50-150 years after even the most profound tragedies, people either begin to forget, or they learn to remember in new ways.  Because the former must be inconceivable, we choose the latter,” said Rabbi Hirschfield.

The series will be published in a book, with a special section designed for children.  It will be the first of its kind to be published.  “Remembering for Life” was conceived and is becoming a reality through the vision of Sherman Jacobson.

Exploring Truth, Faith and Doubt in Religion: Two Aspen Forums

In August, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield offered a compelling series on religion, faith, and doubt in the world today in Aspen, Colorado.  The series addressed fundamental questions on the future of religion and identity in America.  Participants discussed the relationship between our beliefs and the communities we construct.  Part of a four-day program hosted by Elissa and Gary Davis and Fern Hurst, it included a (public) hike and text study linking the mind, body and spirit.  The event concluded with a screening of Rabbi Hirschfield’s interview on Nightline UpClose (ABC-TV) discussing the dark side of religion as a launch for conversation on how religion has been used as both a force for good and for evil.  “We have never lived at a time when religion was so damaging and damaged, and yet the world needed it so much,” said Rabbi Hirschfield.  

While in Aspen, Rabbi Hirschfield participated on a panel at the esteemed Aspen Institute on solutions to the cultural collision between Islam and Western religions.  Hosted by Walter Isaacson, President of the Institute, former Chairman of CNN and managing editor of Time magazine, the program also featured Feisal Abdul Rauf, Imam of Masjid al-Farah, a mosque in New York, and Dr. Elaine Pagels, Professor of Religion at Princeton University.  Panelists discussed terrorism, fundamentalism, and how to read religious traditions for the betterment or detriment of humanity. 

While CLAL has had a long-standing presence in Aspen, this year’s programs galvanized the community and initiated a new kind of relationship between CLAL and The Aspen Institute, one of the most important think tanks in North America.  The Institute has begun to see CLAL as a partner that could re-integrate the “spirit” in their intellectual agenda, while CLAL is forging a new connection with top thinkers at one of the most renowned institutes in the country.

Interreligious Dialogue: Why We Need It

Is there a moral imperative to engage in interfaith dialogue?  “Yes,” argues Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, keynote speaker at a symposium sponsored by the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding (CCJU).  Held at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut last spring, “What Do We Want the Other to Teach About Us?” concluded a five-part series with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim intellectual and religious leaders.

Rabbi Blanchard discussed the importance of interfaith dialogue based on several sets of values, the increased good will generated through greater mutual understanding, and the new insights gained about our own traditions from those of other backgrounds.   “In an increasingly global world, there is a moral imperative for people of all faiths to speak with each other,” he said.

At the last symposium, held two years ago in Rome, interfaith leaders came together to discuss: What does each community want the other to know about its prayer and liturgy?  Rabbi Blanchard talked about rabbinic prayer and the meditative and spiritual practices found in Judaism that connect the individual to his/her inner life and to the larger universe.    

Jewish Healing: Mining the Tradition for Its Wisdom

In May, Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, a leader in the Jewish healing movement, participated in an innovative conference entitled “Mining the Jewish Tradition for its Healing Wisdom,” in Scottsdale, Arizona. The program brought together rabbis, communal leaders, educators, and healthcare professionals to look at the link between healing and Jewish wisdom. 

“Jewish tradition offers an enormous amount of insight for health, healing, and coping with serious illness,” said Rabbi Blanchard, who led a session on the importance of reaching out – a concept grounded in the Talmud.  “By using the wealth of Jewish resources, we bring new approaches to helping patients, families, and even health care professionals with the psychological and spiritual issues on life’s difficult questions.”

More than 300 people attended the three-day event, which was sponsored by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health, and Temple Chai of Phoenix - Deutsch Family Shalom Center.

EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES

Trembling Before G-D

Two years ago, this award-winning documentary addressing the profound difficulties of living as both a gay and Orthodox person was released.  Created by filmmaker Sandi Simcha DuBowski, and featuring CLAL Senior Teaching Fellow Rabbi Steve Greenberg, it is based on a series of interviews with six men and women who describe their experiences and struggles with religious faith and gay self-acceptance. 

Since its opening, the film has received tremendous success.  From international film festivals to local Jewish centers, it has drawn packed houses.  Rabbi Greenberg has traveled throughout the United States and abroad leading discussions in a wide range of venues on faith, tradition, love and sexuality with Jews and people of all religious affiliations.  Orthodox rabbis have arranged screenings in their local synagogues.  Many attendees report that they gained a more profound understanding of the problems and a number of families have since reconciled.  

"The film lives as a community organizing tool," said Rabbi Greenberg. "Wherever it's been screened, individuals and families have thanked us for showing them that they are not alone.  The film has helped people find their place, and offers a tool for intervention." 

The film is now available on DVD and VHS.  In addition, a community outreach initiative, curriculum, and an Israeli education project are being developed, as well as a conference for mental health professionals.     

NEW TOOLS, ANCIENT WISDOM

Sacred Days Calendar Celebrates the Sacred in Everyday Places

Offering moving photos of everyday landscapes with selected texts by CLAL faculty, this year’s Sacred Days (2003-2004) calendar explores the beauty and spirituality of ordinary landscapes – a park bench, a window, a path in the woods – to seek comfort, to meditate or to dream.  Featuring the work of innovative photographer Dave Beckerman, it highlights the majestic in the daily moments and places of life. 

Holiday Cards

This Rosh Hashanah, CLAL’s holiday resource card asked: How are you blessed? How can you extend that blessing to others so that they too can benefit?  The card, which reaches close to 40,000 people, looked at the challenges of atonement and reconciliation. 

Embracing Life and Facing Death: A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care

Supported by the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, this new spiritually rich and practically oriented guidebook offers guidance and comfort for many.  Written by CLAL faculty and a doctor from New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, it looks at many of the concerns patients dealing with life threatening illness must face.  After reviewing it, one editor wrote:  “Frankly, it is an honor to bring such information to my readers….Those rabbis and doctors who pooled their intellect and spirits to create Palliative Care are noble.”  The cost, including postage and handling, is $18.

The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices: CLAL’s Guide to Everyday & Holiday Rituals & Blessings  

How do we find meaning and spirituality in our daily lives?  How can we use a tradition to celebrate everyday moments?   The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices: CLAL’s Guide to Everyday & Holiday Rituals & Blessings (Jewish Lights, October 2001), co-edited by Rabbi Irwin Kula and Vanessa Ochs, Ph.D., provides a new way to address many of these questions.  Written by CLAL faculty, this reader friendly volume connects the ordinary with sacred practice.  To purchase, visit your local bookstore, click on the CLAL Web site (www.clal.org) link to Barnes&Noble.com, or contact Jewish Lights Publishing at 800-962-4544. 

“Simple Wisdom With Irwin Kula” on Video

Soon to be available on video (VHS), the 13-part series “Simple Wisdom With Irwin Kula” may now be purchased through CLAL.  Episodes may be bought individually or as part of a complete set. Check the “Simple Wisdom” website for more information: www.simple-wisdom.com.

CLAL ONLINE

Recently recognized for its design and clarity by a leading software manufacturer, CLAL’s website, www.clal.org, continues to expand in new ways.   Its centerpiece, eCLAL: An Online Journal of Religion, Public Life and Culture, is fast becoming the address for timely, compelling articles on religion, public life and culture.  Now, with a new, easy-to-read format, the online magazine offers two additional columns: “News from CLAL” and “CLAL in the News.”  The first provides information on CLAL programs and activities, while the second provides links to articles from the press that feature CLAL.

“CLAL was one of the first Jewish organizations to develop a website and we have worked hard to ensure that it remains user-friendly and vital to our constituents, with current, thought-provoking material,” said Michael Gottsegen, Ph.D., CLAL’s Director of Internet Programs.  “Early on, CLAL understood the potential of the web and we are determined to stay on the cutting edge as we go forward.”

CLAL’s website receives more than 30,000 hits a month.  Its “Best of the Web” feature offers insightful articles that look at how Jewish and contemporary life intersect.

CLAL IN THE NEWS

Building on the momentum, CLAL’s impact through the media continues to expand.  In addition to increased coverage for our issues, CLAL’s ability to broaden its reach to new, large, and established audiences has significantly grown.  One good example is a recent interview with Rabbi Hirschfield for CBS Radio’s “The Osgood Files,” on the debate over Jewish law and circumcision.  The piece aired on 350 stations, and has a listenership of 12 million people.  Another is “Frontline: Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero,” (PBS-TV).  Featuring Rabbis Kula and Hirschfield, this highly respected show aired on the first anniversary of 9/11, and was repeated again this year.  It has received a huge audience response and was considered one of the most powerful shows on TV.   Below is a sample of some recent placements, with specific listings for two of CLAL’s key projects:

• The New York Times, “Who is a Jew?” (Letter to the Editor)
• Washington Post, “Across the Nation, Christian ‘Prayer Warriors’ Join Battle.”
• USA Today, “Trim the Pumpkin and Carve the Christmas Tree.”
• Philadelphia Inquirer, “For Many, War Defies Easy Understanding.”
• Chicago Tribune, “Hawks, Doves: Look for Foes’ ‘Partial Truths.’ ” 

• Tampa Tribune, “Messianic Israelites.”
• Aspen Daily News, “Religious Conflict at Heart of Institute Forum.”
• Religion News Service, “Scholars: ‘Battling for Islam’s Soul’ Term not Accurate.”
• The Jewish Week,  “A New Model for Jewish Identity.” (Op Ed)
• The Forward, “Few Large Donations Go to Jewish Causes.”
•  JUF News, “Unmasked: How Hollywood Revealed and Embraced Jewish Identity.”
• The Canadian Jewish News, “Rabbis Voice Opposing Views on Same-Sex Marriage.”
• The Westchester Journal News, “Rockland Adults Returning to Hebrew School.”
• The Jewish Exponent, “Surrender to the ‘Sacred.’”

“Simple Wisdom With Irwin Kula”                

• The Times-Picayune
• Chicago Sun-Times
• San Jose Mercury News
• New York Newsday
• Dallas Morning News
• Boca Raton News
• West Virginia Gazette Mail
• American Public Television Publicity Guide
• Jewish Telegraphic Agency
• Jewish Bulletin of Northern California
• The Jewish Week
• The Forward
• Texas Jewish Post
• Dallas Jewish Week
• Connecticut Jewish Ledger
• The American Israelite

Embracing Life & Facing Death: A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care

• Friends Magazine (National Association of Senior Friends, membership organization of 300,000)
• Senior Times
• The Montclair Times
• Las Vegas Senior Press
• Beliefnet
• The Jewish Journal
• National Jewish Post & Opinion
• Dallas Jewish Week
• Ohio Jewish Chronicle
• NJJN-Metrowest

ENHANCING JEWISH LIFE TODAY: ENSURING A BRIGHTER TOMORROW

CLAL: A Legacy for Tomorrow

For 30 years, CLAL has been bringing people together from across boundaries to discover what contemporary Jewish life might mean to them.  From generation to generation, CLAL has helped individuals, communities, and institutions prepare for the challenges ahead with the tools and techniques that touch people’s lives.

But what about in the years to come?  What can help ensure that the resources, training, leadership development, and insightful methods available today will be around tomorrow?  

A Bequest Gift to CLAL. A bequest gift to CLAL in your will helps assure that its groundbreaking pluralist work, linking Jewish wisdom to modern day experience, will remain viable for the next generations.  Your gift will become a lasting legacy to your vision and commitment for vibrant Jewish life.  

There are several ways that you can make a bequest to CLAL.  For more information please contact the Development Department at: (phone) 212-779-3300, ext. 107, (fax): 212-212-779-1788, or (email): cschupf@clal.org. 

Editor: Judy Epstein 

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