CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership

l Stimulates volunteer, professional and rabbinic leadership to build responsive Jewish communities across America.

l Helps individuals imagine new Jewish possibilities.

l Promotes inclusive Jewish communities in which all voices are heard.

l Develops insights from Jewish wisdom for the American public square.

l Enhances Jewish participation in American civic and spiritual life
 
Founded in 1974, CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership is a leadership training institute, think tank and resource center. A leader in religious pluralism, CLAL links Jewish wisdom with innovative scholarship to deepen civic and spiritual participation in American life. CLAL’s interdisciplinary programs explore religious and national identity. The CLAL faculty, with its reputation for excellence, represents rabbis and scholars from many streams and disciplines, and provides cutting-edge teaching, lectures, courses, seminars, and consulting across the country.

Working with established and emerging volunteer leaders, rabbis and other religious leaders, professionals, scholars, and opinion makers, CLAL has earned a reputation for compelling programs embodying the principles of openness and diversity. Joining with a network of leaders and experts from diverse fields, CLAL offers new perspectives on contemporary issues, reaching an influential body of leaders, thinkers, and practitioners. CLAL’s internship and professional education programs connect modern experience with ancient texts and traditions. CLAL’s publications and materials offer thought-provoking ideas, tools, and techniques to enhance people, communities, and institutions. In all of CLAL’s work, it strives to build vibrant Jewish life that is spiritually engaged in the intellectual and ethical challenges of the world-at-large.
 

Creating an informed, engaged and dynamic Jewish life is CLAL’s mission. A leader in pluralism for close to 35 years, CLAL offers innovative programs, classes, leadership training, and tools that help fortify communities, families, and individuals. Bringing Jewish wisdom to a broad audience, CLAL’s unique faculty offers cutting-edge techniques and resources that address contemporary challenges. CLAL is dedicated to building vital Jewish life that is spiritually rich and engaged in the intellectual and ethical questions of the wider world.

l Leadership and Community Development
CLAL programs offer insights into Jewish thought and practice that speak to personal and communal needs. Working with federations and other institutions nationwide, faculty nurtures a new generation of leaders and philanthropists, and links Jewish tradition with civic and spiritual concerns. Promoting building bridges, CLAL fortifies leadership, volunteer participation, programming, and practice to help communities plan for the future.

l  Pluralism at Work
Pluralism exemplifies an appreciation for Jewish expression that transcends the usual boundaries. CLAL’s Rabbinic Internship Program recruits senior rabbinic students for an intense year of weekly dialogues to encourage new ideas about identity, community and leadership. Building Bridges: Abrahamic Perspectives on the World Today, a first-ever interfaith series conceived by and featuring a rabbi for Bridges TV (American Muslim TV Network), brings religious leaders together to foster greater understanding amongst the faiths.

l Building Partnerships
Joining with new and established partners in a variety of settings, CLAL widens the scope on Jewish identity today. From working with The Aspen Institute on the role of religion, to training rabbinic and medical students with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, to creating a new dialogue with the University of California at Irvine to uncover the underlying passions fueling the Middle East conflict, CLAL bridges the gaps that separate communities and addresses how traditions can honor their own uniqueness while remaining connected to society.

l Innovative Tools, Ancient Wisdom
Always evolving, CLAL presents fresh approaches to reach new audiences and old friends.  Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life (Hyperion, 2006) helps people to live more richly and fully. A national public TV pledge special, the “Hidden Wisdom of Our Yearnings,” was based on this book.  Remembering for Life (CLAL, 2006), a new resource on the Shoah inspires the celebration of life.  Time for a New God and Freaks Like Me, two compelling new documentaries challenging our notion of God and examining religion and violence respectively, were screened at film festivals nationwide.  “Simple Wisdom with Irwin Kula,” a national public TV series, brings Jewish wisdom to the questions of life.  “Turn to Me,” a new documentary released by the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, encourages volunteerism and visiting the sick.  Embracing Life and Facing Death: A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care (CLAL, 2003) provides insight for patients, their families, caregivers, and clergy, blending Jewish thought with medical science.  The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices: CLAL’s Guide to Everyday & Holiday Rituals and Blessings (Jewish Lights, 2001), holiday cards, and Sacred Days calendars  all touch thousands of lives daily, with new insights, practices and rituals.

l CLAL on the Radio
Hirschfield and Kula, Intelligent Talk Radio airs on KXL in Portland, OR  the 25th largest market nationwide. Going beyond the “same old,” the show gives listeners a fresh alternative to the usual left and right wing banter, finding the hidden truths buried deep in the divide. Covering the American spiritual, cultural, and political landscape, it provides a new perspective missing from the airwaves.

l CLAL Online
CLAL’s award winning website, www.clal.org, provides the full range of CLAL activities and information. From CLAL coverage in the news, to original pieces by CLAL faculty, the site offers timely commentary and innovative resources for Jewish practices. The website receives more than 30,000 hits a month.