CLAL - The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
|
CLAL Faculty Recognized as Some of America’s Most Influential Rabbis for
3rd Straight Year in Newsweek
April 14, 2009 "... Naming the top 50 most influential rabbis in America, Newsweek magazine listed a virtual "Who’s Who" in its April 4th edition. CLAL faculty, including Co-President Rabbi Irwin Kula, Co-President Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, and Senior Associate Rabbi Joseph Telushkin were on the list, as were former Teaching Fellow Rabbi Daniel Brenner and rabbinic intern, Rabbi Elie Kaunfer. A complete list is available in Newsweek’s online edition. More... By Judy Epstein from CLAL |
 |
|
Making Jewish Beliefs Accessible To More April 15, 2009 "...[Rabbi Irwin] Kula believes the time is now ripe for rabbis to think of themselves not as Jewish continuity workers or Jewish survivalists, but as American religious leaders. ‘There‘s a shift from using Judaism to help Jews become more Jewish to helping anybody seek more meaning and purpose in their lives...‘" More... By Lana Gersten from The Forward |
 |
|
CT native to help soldiers in Baghdad mark "Days of Remembrance" April 15, 2009 "Torrington native Janet R. Kirchheimer ... will be the featured speaker at the Holocaust "Day of Remembrance" ceremony presented by the Multi-National Forces in Baghdad on April 21&....quot; More... By Judie Jacobson from The Connecticut Jewish Ledger More... By Judy Epstein from CLAL |
 |
|
"Learning to embrace my Holocaust identity" April 16, 2009 "I grew up in two different worlds — one that doesn‘t exist anymore and one in which I didn‘t feel quite at home. Like many children of immigrants, I struggled with the culture of America. I grew up in a time when it wasn‘t chic to be a hyphenated American...." More... By Janet R. Kirchheimer from J Weekly.com |
 |
|
Irwin Kula:
Retraining clergy for challenges outside congregations
April 14, 2009 "...[Irwin Kula says:] The ways Americans connect are going to change in the next two or three years and you’ve got a chance to help shape that new way we talk to each other about faith and culture and values." ..." More... From Read the Spirit.com |
 |
|
Brad Hirschfield on "Soul Talk" Radio
March 26, 2009 Rabbi Brad Hirschfield speaks with Chuck Freeman, Unitarian Universalist minister, about the changing role of religious leaders, the dangers of fanaticism and the important distinction between unity and uniformity. Listen... Soul Talk Radio on Progressive Blend Radio |
 |
|
Unaffiliated Find
Spirituality Outside Organized Religion
April 8, 2009 More People Shun Traditional Faiths; Many Find Fulfillment On Their Own Terms. "... Irwin Kula says ... ‘The really interesting story is how many ‘nones’ we already have inside our institutions ... "The challenge is ... it‘s a new ballgame, a new world, and now, the environment is going to be whether you can take your inherited tradition, wisdom and practices and translate it into a resource that anyone can use ... in America, people are increasingly going to use religion as a resource toolbox, rather than a source of identity...." More... By Susan Campbell from The Hartford Courant |
 |
|
What would Miriam Do? March 2009 "... Miriam and the women of Israel knew that we can help liberate ourselves by expecting the best, even when things seem to be at their worst...." More... From CLAL’s Passover Card |
 |
|
Getting Out of Egypt April 2, 2009 "... The ancient Israelites left Egypt 3,000 years ago. They got out, and so can we. How did they do it? How does any people, or a single person for that matter, get out of whatever Mitzrayim in which it finds itself. ...." More... By Brad Hirschfield from The Jewish Week |
|
|
"An effort to help rabbis reach a wider audience"
April 2, 2009 "...Rabbi Helaine Ettinger ... had an epiphany about the next generation of Jews ... ‘They‘re not coming to my synagogue ... not that they don‘t feel Jewish, but they don‘t feel they have to be in a Jewish-only organization ... So if I speak to a general American marketplace, I‘m talking to a new generation of Jews…. That‘s when I suddenly understood.‘ ... [Rabbis without Borders] was completely in line with my desire to serve the Jewish people...." More... By Johanna Ginsberg from New Jersey Jewish News |
 |
|
"If Hank Greenberg were Catholic ..."
April 2, 2009 "...Why should we be proud of Red Sox General Manager, Theo Epstein, canceling the opening game? Because it would be a 21st century ’Sandy Koufax moment?‘ Not hardly!...." More... By Ami Eden from JTA’s "The Telegraph" |
 |
|
Brad Hirschfield on Sirius Satellite Radio
April 3, 2009 • "Busted Halo" — Rabbi Hirschfield is interviewed about the holidays. 4/2/09. • "God on Trial" — Rabbi Hirschfield participated in a mock trial. 3/26/09. |
 |
|
How is religion functioning in America? March 27, 2009 Author Mitch Albom interviewed Irwin Kula about the transformation of American religion —a topic he will speak about Friday at 8:00 pm, and Saturday at 12:30 at Adat Shalom Synagogue, Farmington Hills, MI. Listen... "The Mitch Albom Show" on WJR 760AM |
 |
|
AIG: America is outraged March 17, 2009 Rabbi Irwin Kula spoke with Lee Klein about America‘s moral outrage about AIG and the financial meltdown. Listen to an excerpt... "The Lee Klein Show" on Cable Radio Network |
 |
|
What insights does Passover offer to help us face the challenges in our own lives? April 3, 2009 "... In March CLAL‘s Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Ph.D. was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Annual Conference for the Association of Jewish Aging Services for hundreds of professionals working in Jewish nursing homes nationwide. Rabbi Blanchard discussed how we can use the Passover story as a lesson for coping in challenging times ... even in tough moments, we all have the resources to help someone less fortunate, whether financial, emotional, or physical ... ‘People raise each other up. They provide comfort and healing, even when they cannot reverse the situation.’...." More... By Judy Epstein from CLAL |
 |
|
Unexpected Insights: Jewish Wisdom for Challenging Times March 24, 2009 "... On Monday, March 23, from 4:30-5:30 pm, CLAL‘s Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Ph.D. led a new interactive program for CLAL supporters using a format of text study via conference call...." More... By Judy Epstein from CLAL |
 |
|
"Could a rabbi be the next self-help guru?"
March 27, 2009 "In a 2006 episode of the television show ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ a Jewish character tells a non-Jewish character to sit shiva to cope with the death of her boyfriend. This is one example of how Jewish philosophy has integrated into Hollywood, and CLAL wants to move Jewish wisdom further into mainstream thought...." More... By Josh Lipowsky from The Jewish Standard |
 |
|
Building Professional Skills to Endure the Current Economic Climate March 24, 2009 On 3/20/09, Rabbi Rebecca W. Sirbu spoke to the New Jersey Association of Jewish Communal Service at their annual Bier Seminar about how Jewish tradition helps communal service professionals to cope with stresses and care for one another. More... From CLAL |
 |
|
Constriction of the ideal into ‘good and evil’
March 2009 "...choosing which parts of our tradition can be of aid to someone means understanding both the messy and complicated areas of Torah...." More... by Rebecca W. Sirbu from Sh'ma |
 |
|
Rabbis Without Borders (RWB) – A New CLAL Initiative
to Help Rabbis Make Jewish Wisdom a Resource for All RWB Seeks Applications for Two Innovative Fellowship Programs March 17, 2009 "Rabbis Without Borders ... [will] make Jewish wisdom a widely available resource to the American public. The program will create a network of religious leaders ... as spiritual innovators who can make Jewish thought and practice more accessible." More... By Judy Epstein from CLAL |
|
|
"For Liberal Jews, Sunup On A Rare Ritual" — Birkat Hahama March 24, 2009 "...Birchat HaChamah, Hebrew for "blessing on — or of — the sun," marks the moment when ... the sun returns to the exact point in the sky where it was on the day of creation 5769 years ago. This ... happens every 28 years, always on a Wednesday morning ... For decades, [it] was little known outside of the Orthodox community ... [This year] the variety of Birchat HaChamah events are serving as crossover outreach opportunities, attracting ecology-minded Jews to the Jewish community and attracting traditional Jews to the environmental movement, Rabbi [Steve] Greenberg says...." More... By Steve Lipman from The Jewish Week |
|
|
"Tides" is published by thisibelieve.org April 6, 2009 Janet R. Kirchheimer‘s poem, selected by This I Believe: A Public Dialog About Belief - One Essay at a Time begins with "...I believe in anarchy seed catalogs cashmere ...." The website is host to an international project that engages people in sharing the core values that guide their daily lives. Selections are broadcast on National Public Radio. More... By Aliza Kaplan from CLAL |
 |
|
Charity Navigator Gives CLAL 4-Stars March 16, 2009 "Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent evaluator of charities, has awarded CLAL its coveted 4-star rating for sound fiscal management ... it commended CLAL, especially in light of the economic crisis...." More... By Judy Epstein from CLAL |
 |
|
Brad Hirschfield's You Don't Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism Available in paperback! March 6, 2009 Brad Hirschfield knows what it means to be a fanatic; he was one. Now he is devoted to teaching inclusiveness, celebrating diversity, and delivering a message of acceptance. In You Don‘t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right he uses his own spiritual journey to help people of all faiths find a path to peace, understanding, and hope. More... |
 |
|
American Pilgrimage with Rabbi Brad Hirschfield March 31, 2009 Aired on Bridges TV—American Muslim TV Network, the series provides an in-depth look at the issues dividing people of faith. In this episode, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield speaks with Imam Abdullah El Amin, executive director of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan in Detroit Check back each week for a new show. View American Pilgrimage episode... |
 |
|
Papal Remorse Recalls Lesson From Leviticus April 17, 2009 "Those with an ax to grind about the Catholic Church, the papacy in general, and Pope Benedict XVI in particular, point to the Pope‘s recent apologies about a variety of subjects as evidence of the Church‘s failure and the absurdity of the doctrine of papal infallibility...." More... Check out Beliefnet’s Belief & Prayers/Judaism section for " Eight Ways to Stay Thankful in Hard Times"... |  |
|
Hirschfield and Kula: Intelligent Talk Radio Enlightened Edibles and The College Financial Aid Game April 11, 2009 Listen to Brad and Irwin as they discuss whether foods and drinks be embedded with positive intentions, and In this economy, are America’s elite universities clubs for the rich or will our intellectual elite congregate to public universities? Be sure to check the website each week for more riffing with the rabbis on topics of the day. Listen .... From Hirschfieldandkula.com, broadcast on KXL, Portland, OR |
 |
|
Torah Portion of the Week Commentary from Remember for Life: Holocaust Survivors’ Stories of Faith and Hope Edited by Brad Hirschfield Featuring Parashat Shemini; April 17, 2009 "... It was probably the most emotional experience of my life — to think that all these people, somehow, by some miracle got together on Passover. I‘ll never forget it...." Read more... From Remember for Life |
 |
|
Sign up to receive eCLAL regularly Subscribe... |
 |
Brad Hirschfield's book
You Don't Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right
Now in Paperback!
Remember for Life: Holocaust Survivors’ Stories of Faith and Hope
Edited by
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield
How to Spot One of Us
A Collection of Poetry
by Janet R. Kirchheimer
Hirschfield & Kula: Intelligent Talk Radio
Bringing the best of KXL's popular show to the web
on hirschfieldandkula.com
Building Bridges: Abrahamic Perspectives on the World Today
with Rabbi Brad Hirschfield
For more CLAL resources, visit CLAL Store
Irwin Kula's Award Winning Book
Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life