Spotlight on CLAL
Welcome to Spotlight on CLAL. Here you will find stories about what is happening at CLAL and about the work that CLAL is doing across North America. Sometimes we will focus on a program, or a special event, or upon a CLAL faculty member's work and interests. Bookmark this page if you want to get to know us better.
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CLAL in Aspen & Featured at the Aspen Institute
By Judy Epstein, Director of Public Affairs
The Aspen Institute
With a reputation for excellence, CLAL programs have become some of the most sought after with the Aspen community, attracting new and old audiences alike. This past summer close to 1,000 people attended The Aspen Institute’s interfaith dialogue in which Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, who has become an annual participant at the prestigious Institute, was a panelist.
The program featured Rabbi Hirschfield; The Reverend Peter Gomes of the Harvard Divinity School; Elaine Pagels, award-winning author and professor at Princeton University; and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder and CEO of the American Sufi Muslim Association Society. Moderated by Walter Isaacson, President of The Aspen Institute and former Chairman of CNN, the panel explored the role of religious extremism in the modern world, and how the three major traditions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- should address the growth of fundamentalist sects within each.
CLAL’s work with The Aspen Institute, one of the most important think tanks in North America, is a good example of CLAL’s role as a bridge between the Jewish world and the American public square. Working with top thinkers from the religious and academic worlds, CLAL is forging new relationships to widen the conversation on religion as a force for public good.
Building Leadership, and Spiritual Challenges for the 21st Century
In August, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield was the scholar-in-residence at the Jewish Leadership Forum, one of the most respected Jewish leadership programs in the country. Sponsored by the United Jewish Communities, the program included a series of talks for about 100 major young philanthropists. Led by Rabbi Hirschfield, the group looked at ways to define Jewish philanthropy, build community, and create identity. As part of the planning team, Rabbi Hirschfield was instrumental in shaping the program, which attracted triple the usual attendance.
At a CLAL-sponsored series, Rabbi Hirschfield offered several insightful talks for CLAL’s National Council on spiritual challenges for the 21st century. The program began with a dinner, hosted by CLAL Associate Chair/Secretary Fern Hurst, followed by two lively sessions at the home of CLAL Associate Chair Gary Davis and his wife, Elissa, which examined questions on the role of religion in modern life, and the future of Zionism. The program ended with a reception hosted by CLAL Board Member Brad Nitkin and his wife, Helen. Part of the series included a hike up Smuggler Mountain, free and open to the Aspen community, which integrated text study and a walking meditation on loss and how we cope with it.
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