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Rabbis Without Borders (RWB) – A New CLAL Initiative to Help Rabbis Make Jewish Wisdom a Resource for All

RWB to Create a Network of Religious Leaders
Who Can Bring Jewish Insights to the American Spiritual Landscape

RWB Seeks Applications
for Two Innovative Fellowship Programs

Recognizing the impact of Jewish influence on American culture, and the fact that rabbis are the key conveyers of Jewish wisdom, CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership is launching a new initiative, Rabbis Without Borders (RWB), to help rabbis and rabbinical students make Jewish wisdom a widely available resource to the American public. The program will create a network of religious leaders from across the denominations that will nurture rabbis as spiritual innovators who can make Jewish thought and practice more accessible to anyone for enriching his or her life.

"We live in a moment when the borders between groups are more permeable," said Rabbi Irwin Kula, CLAL Co-President. "Globalization invites all people to bring their cultures, traditions, and practices into conversation, creating a great marketplace of ideas. Developing a cohort of rabbis who can disseminate Jewish wisdom in an accessible way will not only nurture better teachers and community builders, but will create American religious leaders with unique tools to offer the broader public."

Bringing together rabbis from a variety of communities, institutions, and synagogues, RWB is developing a series of seminars and resources to help rabbis enhance their skills for addressing a variety of audiences. From online learning to one-on-one conversations, participants will work with CLAL faculty and outside experts to develop methodologies that draw on the texts and tradition in new ways. The goal is for participants to start to see their congregations as more than just the members of their school, community or institution.

"Rabbis today are called on to work in a number of different settings, from health and environmental centers to business and interfaith forums," said RWB Director Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu. "RWB gives rabbis and rabbinical students the tools to meet the changing needs, making Jewish wisdom more useful and usable to a wide range of people."

In keeping with the mission of RWB, the program is now seeking applications for two innovative fellowship programs. The first, for rabbinical students, is designed to augment their studies to help them bring Jewish wisdom to a larger audience. Working with the CLAL faculty, students will explore what Americans really believe about God and the sociology of the American religious landscape. The importance of pluralism, how to translate Jewish insight into contemporary idioms, and the use of technology as an effective communication tool will also be examined.

The second fellowship will bring rabbis together from all streams and parts of the country to study with leading thinkers, authors, and influential people from a variety of fields, including politics, public policy, and religion. These experts will work with participants to help them spot the trends and identify the ways in which Americans make meaning in their lives. By learning with these notables, who may include Jon Meacham, Managing Editor of Newsweek magazine; Steve Waldman, Editor-in-Chief of Beliefnet; Bill Donahue, President of the Catholic League; and Ingrid Mattson, President of the Islamic Society of North America, rabbis will be better able to contribute to the American religious landscape beyond the borders of their respective institutions and communities.

"We want to nurture participants‘ ability to think big precisely because history shows us that when rabbis think big, they enhance the life of the Jewish people and make significant contributions to the world at large," said Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, CLAL Co-President. Since CLAL‘s founding in 1974, its mission has been to help prepare the Jewish people for the unprecedented freedom and openness of America. Started by Rabbi Irving "Yitz" Greenberg and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, CLAL formed a network of rabbis capable of translating Jewish wisdom and practice into useful idioms that speak to the issues in people‘s lives. RWB is the next phase of this work. For more information on RWB or the fellowship programs, please check the RWB website, www.rabbiswithoutborders.org , which should be up in late March, or contact Rabbi Sirbu at www.rsirbu@clal.org. Information is also available on the CLAL website, www.clal.org.