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CLAL Retreat Explores Changing Role of Rabbis in a New Era: Promoting Pluralism And Diversity Among Religious Leaders

By Judy Epstein, Director of Public Affairs

How can a community sustain itself in a time of transition? What role will rabbis play in the changing culture? Will inclusiveness lead to dilution? These are some of the questions to be addressed at CLAL's Rabbinic Leadership Retreat, to be held March 12-15, at the Hotel Viking in Newport, RI. The program will bring together close to 35 rabbis of every Jewish denomination from across the United States, to explore pluralism and their role in contemporary Jewish life. It is the largest pluralist programs for rabbis currently being held in North America.

As part of the retreat, the impact of technology and cultural trends on people's search for spirituality and meaning will be examined. "The 21st century presents huge challenges for all religious leaders," said Rabbi Kula, President of CLAL. "Technology has permanently altered the ways that people form community, and seek wisdom and guidance. Rabbis, regardless of denomination, are no longer seen as the defining voice on spiritual matters. Therefore, what new roles will they play? Will they act more like coaches or information navigators? How will we meet the challenges of the era is the real issue."

In addition to re-examining rabbinic roles, the retreat is designed to foster greater tolerance and inclusiveness for new forms of Jewish expression. By widening the lens of Jewish experience, and creating new relationships across rabbinic lines, it encourages fresh conversations and visions for leadership, and ultimately, for community building.

"There was a time when you couldn't get an Orthodox and Reform rabbi together in the same room," said Robert Rabinowitz, Ph.D., and Director of CLAL's Rabbinic Leadership Retreat Program. "But pluralism is so much more than the ability of different denominations to get along. It transcends the usual boundaries altogether. It says that we recognize and respect that today people mark their Jewishness in new ways, and that as a community we're stronger for that, not weaker."

Unique to the CLAL approach is the use of traditional texts in unusual ways. Through small group exercises, participants are asked to bring in and teach passages reflecting something personal. By building links connecting the individual to the text, and the group to the individual, mutual respect, new learning and associations are formed with colleagues from across the ideological spectrum

Other program sessions include meditations and reviews of how the traditions can be interpreted in different ways. Dialogue on the "new places" where Jewishness is being played out, including work and leisure will be explored, as well as the so-called boundaries separating religious from secular life. "Creating a Jewish community that is filled with many voices provides for a richer and deeper experience of Jewish life," said Rabbi Irwin Kula. "It becomes clear through the retreat that no one movement has the answers."

Now in its ninth year, the Rabbinic Leadership Retreat has provided a rare setting for cooperation and dialogue among North America's Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal and post-denominational rabbis. Some 400 rabbis have taken part in the program.

For more than 25 years, CLAL has been a pioneer on the issue of Jewish pluralism, offering alternative models of cooperation, conversation and training for North American rabbis on issues of pluralism and institutional change. In addition to the Rabbinic Leadership Retreat, CLAL conducts the Rabbinic Internship Program, bringing together senior-year rabbinic students from every denomination for a year of joint study and dialogue. CLAL's Rabbinic Community On Line (www.clalrabbis.net), initiated in 1998, also receives thousands of visits for resources, learning and information.

The CLAL Rabbinic Leadership Retreat has been made possible through the generosity of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies.