Spotlight on CLAL Archive
CLAL Quarterly Report
Spring, 2000
Dear Friends,
For many years CLAL has made the bold claim that Jewishness is big enough to embrace all of human experience—that is, that the particular languages we cultivate in our homes, schools and institutions can enhance North American life, and in turn be enhanced by it. Recently a number of activities have confirmed this vision, from our President’s appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and at a major high-tech conference to the appointment of our President Emeritus, Rabbi Irving Greenberg, as chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. As CLAL’s influence spreads, so too does our mission of creating compelling and vital Jewish conversations for the new era in Jewish life.
CLAL entered the new millennium by imagining that the Jewish communities in which we take part should be as big and as expansive as our dreams allow them to be. Thank you for supporting CLAL and helping turn those dreams into reality.
1. HIGHLIGHTS
"Oprah," Major High-Tech Summit Hear CLAL Message
Rabbi Irwin Kula, President of CLAL, was a guest on the March 1, 2000 broadcast of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Rabbi Kula joined Oprah for an extended discussion of "Who’s Cheating and Why." Stressing key CLAL themes, Rabbi Kula explained that people cheat on their taxes and at school not because of an erosion of values, but because our ethical and religious conversations are still struggling to keep pace with the explosion of personal freedom and responsibility; because people lack a connection to the institutions and individuals who are the victims of cheating; and because society has narrowed the definition of success.
Earlier that week, Rabbi Kula delivered the closing address at the tenth annual TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Conference, held Feb. 23 to 26 in Monterey, Calif. Rabbi Kula was the only religious figure to address the sold-out conference, described by The New York Times as "the annual powwow of the New Economy’s power elite." Rabbi Kula told the audience of top technology and media leaders, including Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos and AOL/Time Warner chief Steve Case, that this era’s challenge is to create a conversation among the architects of the new technology, their spiritual lives and the inherited traditions of religions like Judaism so that technology becomes a force for affirming life.
"In appearing at TED and on ‘Oprah,’ I wanted as a ‘religious spokesperson’ to openly acknowledge that, as the new economy and new technology usher in a new world, religion doesn’t have all the answers, but that in its inherited wisdoms religion can contribute to the building of a world that is more just and whole," explained Rabbi Kula. "I wanted to invite people into a new conversation in which solutions will only emerge through genuine listening. And I wanted to show how CLAL is making it possible to imagine a Jewish language that is global and that speaks to the broader public."
Founding President Irving Greenberg to Chair Holocaust Council
CLAL conducted an afternoon of study and a reception in honor of its President Emeritus and founder, Rabbi Irving "Yitz" Greenberg, on his being named as chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council (USHMC) by the White House. Over 175 friends and supporters of CLAL attended the event, held Monday, March 6, 2000 at the Harmonie Club in New York City.
Rabbi Greenberg spoke movingly about the influences that shaped his thinking on the Holocaust and his work at CLAL. "The Shoah’s lesson, and CLAL’s message, has always been that we must all take responsibility to see and affirm the indelible qualities of every human being," said Rabbi Greenberg.
Among CLAL’s earliest accomplishments was the founding of Zachor, the first Holocaust Resource Center in the country and a forerunner of President Carter’s Commission on the Holocaust, of which Rabbi Greenberg served as director. CLAL remains a central resource for publications and new practices that confront the Holocaust and the challenges of a new era in Jewish and world history.
"Few if any modern thinkers have articulated, as Rabbi Greenberg has, the universal implications for affirming life that arose from the deeply, tragically Jewish nature of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Irwin Kula, President of CLAL. "His appointment is important and appropriate, not only for CLAL, but for the Jewish people and the world."
Helping Supporters of an Israeli University See the Big Picture
CLAL Senior Teaching Fellow Rabbi Steve Greenberg was the scholar-in-residence at a recent retreat weekend in Scottsdale, Ariz. for 85 volunteer leaders and professionals
serving the American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. As a so-called "boutique" philanthropy allowing individuals to connect directly to an Israeli institution, American Associates is an example of how, following the success of the great 20th century Jewish missions of rescue and relief, Jews are able to express their more personal, passionate interests in their philanthropic work. As a leadership development consultant to such institutions, CLAL helps them see how this pluralist expansion of Jewish expression becomes, through a dialogue with the inherited Jewish tradition, part of the much larger Jewish journey.
In the case of Ben-Gurion University, that meant connecting support for one of Israel’s premier research institutions with a classic Jewish story of becoming a vehicle for world blessing. Rabbi Greenberg introduced the retreat with a two-hour leadership session that focused on God’s promise to Abraham: "All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants" (Genesis 22:13). "The job of becoming a blessing to the families of the earth is easier to talk about than to accomplish," said Rabbi Greenberg. "But the claim becomes reality at an institution that works to produce nutritious foods with little water and to develop new water conservation methods for arid lands. It is a new era for Judaism when Israel can be portrayed less as the safe haven of desperate Jews and more as a resource for world blessing."
Bernie Moscovitz, the executive vice chairman of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University, said Rabbi Greenberg was an inspiration. "We recognized the challenge in bringing a religious voice to supporters of a largely secular Jewish institution, but the risk we thought we were taking turned out not to be a risk at all," he said. "As our president-elect, Steve Alon, said in describing the CLAL presentation: ‘Awesome.’ "
2. RABBINIC DEVELOPMENT (return to top)
Rabbis Expand Boundaries at CLAL Leadership Retreat
Pluralism is not merely the ability of various Jewish denominations to get along, but an appreciation for Jewish expression that transcends the usual denominational boundaries altogether.
The need to value diverse and emerging forms of Jewishness was one of the most important messages of the CLAL Rabbinic Leadership Retreat, held February 6-10, 2000 at Newport Beach, R.I. Nearly 40 rabbis from 13 states and representing every Jewish denomination took part in the retreat, which is the largest and most intense gathering of Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Orthodox and Renewal rabbis currently being held in North America.
The rabbis engaged in the day-to-day challenges of interdenominational cooperation and compromise. Rabbis divided into small groups to study with—and learn from—colleagues from across the ideological spectrum. In passionate, respectful conversations, they shared ideas for creating pluralistic community events at home. And the rabbis found a way they could all pray together, despite their differences. Morning services included introductory prayers and songs led by rabbis representing the Jewish Renewal movement, a Shacharit service conducted by an Orthodox rabbi, and an arrangement of chairs that satisfied the needs both of those who sought a separation of men and women and those who prefer an egalitarian service.
"The rabbis learned that pluralism is not merely a theory, but a way of living with mutual respect for others," said CLAL Senior Fellow Dr. Robert Rabinowitz, who coordinated the event with National Rabbinic Administrator Ruth Bregman.
Hoping to spread these lessons of expansiveness and pluralism, participants had no sooner arrived home than they began to take part in an ongoing e-mail listserv conversation created by CLAL with the help and support of the Nash Family Foundation.
The CLAL Rabbinic Leadership Retreat was made possible through the generosity of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies.
Rabbis-to-be From Every Movement Meet for Study, Dialogue
Three times a year, CLAL facilitates what is the only setting for interdenominational dialogue open to every senior rabbinical student in North America: the CLAL Student Chevra. This year’s Chevra events drew a total of nearly 150 students.
Each CLAL Student Chevra is a project of the 1999-2000 CLAL Rabbinic Internship Program, which with 17 students has twice the enrollment of the previous year. Interns choose the theme and texts for the events, distribute invitations to their colleagues at the major rabbinical seminaries, and moderate the events. Such planning puts into practice the lessons in intergroup cooperation and community programming learned in weekly sessions with CLAL faculty.
The November Chevra, held at the Manhattan home of CLAL Board Member Fern Hurst, focused on dispelling the stereotypes one movement often has of another. The second, held in February at the Manhattan home of Board Member Barnet Liberman and his wife, Phyllis, was a discussion of the professional joys and challenges shared by rabbis, no matter their ideology. The April Chevra was a study of CLAL’s "Nightwords," a liturgy on the Holocaust by David G. Roskies.
"Pluralism is understanding that your colleague base is broader than you think it is," said Rabbi Jennifer Krause, a CLAL Fellow and co-director, with Dr. David Kraemer, of the CLAL Rabbinic Internship Program. "The students learn that they can draw on the experiences of colleagues from other movements to strengthen their own professional lives within their own distinct communities."
The Student Chevra is made possible through the support of The Joseph Alexander Foundation. CLAL mourns the passing of two long-time supporters of the Rabbinic Internship: Pearl Resnick and Alfred Mackler. May their memories be a blessing.
3. THE JEWISH PUBLIC FORUM AT CLAL (return to top)
Fast Forward: Publications, Seminars Tackle the Jewish Future
The Jewish Public Forum at CLAL has moved into its second year of creating vital conversations among leading figures in academia, business, the arts and public policy, many of whom have not been involved in organized Jewish life. In January 2000, the Forum embarked on a multi-dimensional project that will examine the vast societal and technological changes that are transforming how individuals construct identity and form communities.
The Jewish Public Forum’s first major publication, "How is Leadership Changing?" edited by Forum director Dr. Shari Cohen, was published in April 2000. The monograph gleans key insights on the future of leadership from the Forum’s first year of seminars and research, and is being distributed to an influential audience of thousands of Jewish and general interest readers.
The Jewish Public Forum network now includes more than 120 business, policy and academic leaders. Among other activities, Forum participants have begun to bring fresh outside perspectives to CLAL’s monthly faculty development sessions. Dr. Steven Weber, professor of political science at the University of California-Berkeley and a consultant with the Global Business Network, demonstrated how cutting-edge strategic planning methods can help Jewish communities anticipate the future. Jay Rosen, chairman of the Department of Journalism at New York University and the author of What Are Journalists For? (Yale University Press, 1999), discussed the similarities between his experience as an advocate of the "public journalism" movement and CLAL’s mission as a social force for rabbis and professionals re-imagining their leadership roles.
The Jewish Public Forum at CLAL is supported through the generosity of the Eleanor M. and Herbert D. Katz Family Foundation.
4. LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (return to top)
CLAL Turns Purim "Conflict" into "Opportunity of a Lifetime"
In the months preceding the United Jewish Communities’ "Washington 12" Young Leadership Conference, held March 19-21 in Washington, D.C., CLAL began to receive concerned phone calls from the planners. Would Washington 12, which was to coincide with Purim, detract from the holiday?
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, CLAL’s Director of Leadership and Communities and a key consultant to the UJC Young Leadership, reassured the planners. Not only would bringing 3,000 young Jewish leaders to Washington to explore their Judaism and meet with government officials not conflict with Purim, but it would be completely in the spirit of the holiday. "Purim is a holiday that tells the story of highly successful, apparently secular Jews living in the capital of their empire during a time when Jews had attained unprecedented levels of influence and affluence," Rabbi Hirschfield said in his keynote address. "They use both in approaching the king and princes of their land to try to create a better, safer, more humane world….Instead of a problem, we have been handed the opportunity of a lifetime!"
CLAL’s success in reinforcing the sacred potential of Washington 12 was felt in session after session. In addition to Rabbi Hirschfield, CLAL speakers included Rabbi Steve Greenberg, Rabbi David Nelson, Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Vanessa Ochs, Rabbi Leonid Feldman, Rabbi Rachel Sabath and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.
Bolder and Boulder: CLAL’s Colorado Initiative
A core principle of CLAL’s community-building work is that vital and compelling Jewish communities are most likely to emerge where there are genuine conversations—among individuals and institutions—that include as many different voices as possible and that are rooted in Jewish tradition in its widest sense.
The most ambitious incubator for this pluralist, inclusive vision is CLAL’s Colorado Initiative. Begun in 1997, with major funding from the Sturm Family Foundation and partnerships with a range of Jewish institutions, the Colorado Initiative is dedicated to creating pluralist and creative Jewish communities that engage new individuals Jewishly in the Greater Denver/Boulder area. In the past half year alone, CLAL faculty have taught or facilitated dozens of programs or events for a total of close to 600 participants. Constituents have included a Women’s Leadership Group, the professional and volunteer leadership of Jewish Family Services, participants in Boulder outreach programs, "influentials" balanced between the institutionally disconnected and connected, the Genesis group for singles and young couples, and professionals from a range of agencies including the Federation, several synagogues and the Jewish Community Relations Council. The venues are as varied as the Initiative is ambitious: synagogues, the JCC, schools, agency offices and, significantly, private homes.
The key to community building on this scale is to work both with established Jewish institutions and leaders and with emerging, even embryonic, programs. To take two of many examples, CLAL has been helping the Colorado Agency for Jewish Education to expand its vision of Jewishness and Jewish education and thereby gain a higher profile in Denver. At the same time, the faculty is working with academics at Denver University to imagine new intellectual resources for the Jewish community.
Ultimately, the CLAL Colorado Initiative aims to create, over the next three years, a social force of skillful, motivated and influential people who will be effective champions of Jewish pluralism and renewal.
From Birmingham to Israel: Making Every Community Holy
At the heart of CLAL’s community development work are the long-term programs being conducted in more than 20 cities across North America. The programs motivate professional and volunteer leaders to connect more deeply with their own Jewishness and to become more effective decision-makers and builders of 21st century Jewish communities.
Typical of these groundbreaking programs is the CLAL Birmingham, Ala. Initiative, now concluding its second year. Forty advanced and 25 new leaders take part in the ongoing classes, staff retreats, Shabbaton and other events. They have been exposed to new ways of envisioning their own Jewishness, experienced the richness of Judaism’s inherited texts, and developed new pluralist visions for building community.
This year’s programming culminated February 20-27, 2000 with a weeklong mission to Israel led by CLAL and two community professionals. The majority of the 28 participants, all emerging leaders, had never been to Israel before. Almost every destination on the mission was to a place of enormous symbolic and historical resonance, but the message was that any place, in any community, can be a makom kadosh—a holy place. "I now realize I have the power to create holy places," said one participant. "That is what my wife and I will do when we return to our community."
Like all of CLAL’s leadership programs, the Birmingham Initiative is a partnership between CLAL and the local community. The Birmingham Initiative is made possible through the generosity of Hal and Judy Abroms and the New Initiative Committee of the Birmingham Jewish Federation.
5. WWW.CLAL.ORG (return to top)
CLAL’s On-line Magazine: An Expanding Web of Jewish Possibilities
With a growing number of departments and a commitment to providing at least two new essays by CLAL faculty each week, the recently expanded CLAL on-line magazine is an example of how we are continuing to create new resources for individuals and communities. Since September, Derekh CLAL: The Webzine of Jewish Possibilities (www.clal.org) has emerged as one of the liveliest addresses on the Internet for insightful Jewish conversation. Each department of the ’zine applies CLAL’s understanding of culture, public policy and spirituality for American Jews searching for ways to strengthen their personal and communal Jewish lives.
Web articles have been reprinted in the Portland Oregonian, Jerusalem Post, New York Jewish Week, New Jersey Jewish News, Atlanta Jewish Times, Baltimore Jewish Times, Connecticut Jewish Ledger, Moment magazine, and the on-line magazine Beliefnet.com.
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