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ANNUAL REPORT 2004-2005

Dear Friends,

“It happened in the days ofAhashverosh – that Ahashverosh who reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Nubia.”This opening verse of the Megillat Esther(Scroll of Esther), which illustrates thecover of this Annual Report, takes usback two thousand years, when the des-tiny of a Jewish community in theDiaspora was in jeopardy.

The Jews of Shushan (Persia) faced physi-cal annihilation by their King and his eviladvisor, Haman. Queen Esther (secretlyHadassah, a Jew) revealed her true identity and intervened with the King, who relentedand allowed the Jews to defend themselves, thus altering the course of their fate.

The story of Purim resonates in our own day, as our College-Institute grapples with thechallenges of strengthening Jewish identity and continuity throughout North America,Israel, and the world. Purim teaches us about Jewish heroism in overcoming oppression,expresses the imperative of affirming identity in the face of assimilation, and reminds usof the responsibility of the individual to take action on behalf of the well-being of others.These lessons lie at the heart of our sacred mission to train leaders who will shape the destiny of the Jewish people.

We have experienced significant advances in fulfilling our mission during the 2004-05academic year:

� We have progressed in our strategic planning process to focus priorities for our pro-grams and resources, forge a vision for HUC-JIR’s future, clarify decision-makingprocesses, and create a strategic plan that will ensure standards of excellence andfinancial sustainability;

� We have renewed our faculty with gifted, emerging scholars who will strengthen theteaching and mentorship on all of our campuses (see page 16);

Rabbi David Ellenson (center) and Burton Lehman(right) are greeted by U.S. Ambassador RichardJones (left) at a reception and dinner for the Board of Governors at the Ambassador's residencein Tel Aviv.

HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION 2004-2005 Annual Report | Page 1

� We have welcomed Dr. Nina Hanan as Chief of Staff, who serves as senior policyadvisor to the President;

� We have raised close to $16 million toward the transformation of the Cincinnaticampus and chosen 2enCompass of Cincinnati in partnership with library expertsShipley, Bullfinch, Richardson, and Abbott of Boston to guide the renovation of ourresearch and teaching facilities;

� We have celebrated the inauguration of the Edwin A. Malloy Building of The JacobRadar Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives as an international center forscholarship;

� We have admitted 109 students (39 stateside rabbinical, 9 Israeli rabbinical, 8 canto-rial, 18 education, 13 communal service, and 22 graduate studies) and are proud tohave 57 first-year students joining 28 fourth-year students for a year of study at ourJerusalem campus, where they will be learning side-by-side with our 33 Israeli rab-binical students;

� We have ordained 27 new stateside rabbis and 4 new Israeli rabbis (see page 15),invested 9 new cantors, graduated 11 new Jewish communal service professionals and11 new Jewish educators, and bestowed 81 Master’s and Doctoral degrees on studentsin our graduate and professional programs;

� We have developed an expert admissions team – Rabbi Kenneth A. Kanter inCincinnati, Rabbi David Wilfond in Jerusalem, Dr. Matt Albert in Los Angeles, andRabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz in New York – to strengthen our recruitment initiatives;

� We have contributed to the renaissance of Jewish life in the Former Soviet Union,through the deployment of our Israeli rabbinical students and Year-In-Israel studentsto lead services, teach Torah, and build Jewish communities in Russia, Belarus,Ukraine, and Latvia, with the support of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman FamilyFoundation;

� We have circulated the HUC-JIR Museum’s art exhibitions and related educationalprograms to Jewish museums, synagogues, Jewish community centers, and universityart galleries throughout North America, raising the College-Institute’s visibility farand wide;

� We have appointed Dr. Joel Kushner as the first director of our Institute on JewishSexual Orientation, to develop resources and programs and enhance our students’abilities to act as agents of change in the Jewish community;

� We have organized the fourth “Great Scholars Series,” co-sponsored with FloridaAtlantic University in Boca Raton and Jupiter, Florida, featuring the scholarship of Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller, Dr. David Kaufman, Dr. Wendy Zierler, and Dr. Gary P. Zola;

� We have launched the transdenominational Leadership Institute for CongregationalSchool Principals, in cooperation with the Jewish Theological Seminary and fundedby UJA-Federation of New York, to strengthen the pedagogy, leadership skills, andJudaic knowledge of synagogue school directors serving all denominations; and

� We have accomplished all of this through remarkable gains in our developmentefforts: this year we have raised an unprecedented $33 million – $20 million in cashand an additional $13 million in pledges – to ensure the vibrancy of our programsand our ongoing commitment to excellence in preparing Jewish leaders for the future.

We truly have much to celebrate during the coming Purim holiday, which also offersus another tradition – that of Mishloach Manot, gifts of sweets and fruits that areshared bountifully with others. This tradition of generosity is reflected in the commit-ment of the College-Institute’s donors, whose beneficent gifts of spirit, resources, andfriendship continue to guide our mission, strengthen our programs and faculty, sustainour students, and ensure a vital Jewish future. We are grateful for your support, whichmakes all of these accomplishments possible.

May the joy of Purim express our heartfelt aspirations for our students and alumni, asexpressed in the concluding verse of the Megillat Esther, where it is written that QueenEsther’s uncle Mordecai “sought the good of his people and interceded for the welfareof all his kindred.”

David Ellenson Burton LehmanPresident Chair, Board of Governors

February 2006/Shevat 5766


“Al tifrosh min ha-tzibbur – do not separate yourself fromthe community.” Pirkei Avot 2:5

abbi Hillel’s advocacy of communal engagement expressesthe ethos of the Irma L. and Abram S. Croll Center for JewishLearning and Culture at HUC-JIR/New York, which was estab-

lished in 2004 by a generous gift of $2.25 million from theIrma L. and Abram S. Croll Charitable Trust and its trustees. Byinviting the larger public to participate in its extensive educa-tional programs, including Judaic studies courses, guest lec-tures, concerts, museum exhibitions, film screenings, studentrecitals, dance performances, and continuing education andpreparatory classes, the Croll Center pays tribute to the Crolls’values and their devotion to Jewish education and the arts.

The New York Kollel, the Center for Adult Jewish Studies, which is sustained by the Croll Center, offers adult learners of all back-grounds the opportunity to study Jewish texts, history, Hebrewlanguage, philosophy, and literature in semester-long coursesand seminars taught by a pluralistic faculty comprised of leadingJewish scholars. “Our mission is to provide the large number ofJews seeking to explore their religious and spiritual identitieswith a place for serious inquiry and discourse,” explains RabbiRuth Gais, Director of the New York Kollel and Community Outreach.“In addition to our classes, we offer free lectures ranging fromnew discoveries in biblical archaeology to human rights symposia,including a recent panel on ‘The Jewish Response to HumanTrafficking.’ None of this would be possible without the support of the Croll Center, a place where learning for its own sake, Torahlishmah, the highest form of Jewish learning, can occur.”

Furthermore, the Croll Center offers a gateway for prospectiveapplicants to HUC-JIR’s graduate and professional programs.Mechinah (preparatory) classes offer students a thorough ground-ing in the fundamentals of Judaism. Required courses in core texts,liturgy, philosophy/theology, Bible, Rabbinics (Talmud/midrash), andhistory, and a wide array of electives lead to certification and astrong foundation for advanced Judaic studies at HUC-JIR.

Recognizing that the visual arts are an important forum for theexploration of Jewish heritage, values, and history, the CrollCenter also supports the HUC-JIR Museum’s exhibitions andrelated public programs. Recent and forthcoming exhibitionsinclude Carol Hamoy’s meditation environment, inspired byKabbalah and Judaism’s healing traditions; Paul Goldman’sphotographic documentation of the birthing of the State ofIsrael; the impact of the Holocaust on contemporary artists’ cre-ativity; innovative works of Jewish ritual art; Debra Band’s illumi-nated manuscript of the Song of Songs; and the graphic novelas an outlet for Jewish literary and artistic expression. Thesecultural resources are integrated into the courses taught byHUC-JIR faculty, enrich the learning experiences of HUC-JIR’sstudent community, and provide a welcoming destination forvisitors of all faiths and docent-led group tours of all ages whoseek to learn more about Judaism.

The Croll Center was created through the vision of Dr. Paul M.Steinberg, z”l, Dean of the New York campus and Vice Presidentfor over fifty years, whose warm friendship touched the lives of

countless people, including that of Irma L. Croll. He invited Mrs. Croll, an active member of Congregation Emanu-El of theCity of New York and its Women’s Auxiliary, to visit the College-Institute, meet with students and faculty, and learn more aboutHUC-JIR’s mission and goals. Mrs. Croll became a very gener-ous supporter of HUC-JIR through the Croll Charitable Trust,which provided student scholarships and established the Dr. Paul M. and Trudy Steinberg Distinguished Professorship in Human Relations and Counseling.

By fulfilling Irma L. and Abram S. Croll’s legacy, the CrollCenter’s programs and activities provide a dynamic bridgebetween the seminary and the outside world. The public hasthe opportunity to learn in the warm, invigorating, and intellec-tually challenging atmosphere of the nation’s oldest institutionof higher Jewish education. As a catalyst for Jewish learning andculture, the Croll Center reinforces HUC-JIR’s mission to be alight unto the Jewish world and all humankind.

For upcoming educational and arts programs sponsored by the Croll Center, please visit HUC-JIR’s website atwww.huc.edu/centers

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The New York Kollel offers advanced Hebrew language study withMichal Nachmany (right), Lecturer on Hebrew.

Rabbinical student Larry Sernovitz views the HUC-JIR Museum exhibition, “Living in the Moment: Contemporary Artists CelebrateJewish Time.”

Vitalizing Community Outreach:The Croll Center for Jewish Learning and Culture

| HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION 2004-2005 Annual Report

rom generation to generation, the chain of rabbinical leader-ship – as educators, mentors, pastoral counselors, and spiritualguides – has sustained Jewish learning and heritage. The pre-cious bonds linking teacher and disciple find a contemporaryexpression through the endowment of scholarship funds honor-ing esteemed rabbinical alumni by supporting the studies oftheir successors. With the establishment of the Rabbi LeonardI. Beerman Rabbinical Scholarship Endowment Fund, RabbiBeerman’s name will forever be linked with generations of rab-bis following in his footsteps.

“It honors the soul to be one of the leaders in the effort toestablish this scholarship in tribute to an incredible humanbeing, friend, and community leader,” states Los AngelesOverseer Suzy Marks, who, along with her husband, WallyMarks, and fellow congregants Mark Levy and SandfordBothman, spearheaded the campaign to honor RabbiBeerman. As a member of the Board that helped establish the

Los Angeles campus fifty years ago, Rabbi Beerman has beena faithful supporter of HUC-JIR’s West Coast academic center.He is a witness to the campus’s growth as a thriving, vitalizingforce advancing Jewish life in the Western states.

HUC-JIR/Los Angeles’s year-long celebration of its 50th anniversaryof incorporation inspired an array of congregations and communi-ties throughout California to mark this milestone occasion with thecreation of rabbinical student scholarships in their rabbis’ names. InNorthern California, Overseers Leonard and Roberta Cohn gatheredfamilies from their congregation, Temple Isaiah in Lafayette,California, to establish the Rabbi Roberto Graetz and Rabbi JudyShanks Rabbinical Scholarship. This meaningful tribute will providethe vitally needed resources to educate the next generation of lead-ers who will make the Torah come alive.

Ken Ruby, a member of the Board of Governors from Los Angeles,led the campaign to establish the Rabbi Isaiah and FlorenceZeldin Rabbinical Scholarship Endowment Fund. Fifty yearsago, when Rabbi Zeldin began his rabbinical career, he wasinvited to serve as the first dean for a small program that latergrew to become Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute ofReligion in Los Angeles. He has been a role model as a distin-guished community leader and spiritual mentor throughout hiscelebrated career at Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles. “Itis a privilege to have my studies supported by this scholarshipcreated in the name of someone who has contributed so much

to the Jewish community,” says rabbinical student Sari Laufer,LA ’06. “This scholarship is a reminder of the legacy and tradi-tion of which I hope to become a part.”

Rabbi Hillel Cohn, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Emanu El in San Bernardino, California, reminisces that “the honor I cher-ish the most is that which was conferred on me at the time of my retirement – the establishment of a scholarship bearingmy name for a student pursuing rabbinical studies at the LosAngeles campus. I am deeply indebted to a very dear andtreasured friend, Los Angeles Overseer Leona Aronoff-Sedaca,for having chaired that fundraising effort so successfully. Itmeans so much to me because of my love for HUC-JIR and myspecial connection with the Los Angeles School. The future of adynamic, creative, meaningful Jewish life here and elsewhere isdependent on women and men who have chosen to serve ourpeople as rabbis, cantors, educators, and communal serviceprofessionals.” The Rabbi Hillel Cohn Rabbinical ScholarshipEndowment Fund was established by his devoted congregantsat Congregation Emanu El of San Bernardino. This scholarship

(Standing, from left) Wally Marks, Mark Levy, William “Sandy”Louchheim; (Seated, from left) Suzy Marks, Los Angeles Overseer;rabbinical student Joel Simonds, recipient of the Rabbi Leonard I.Beerman Scholarship; Rabbi Leonard I. Beerman; and MarleneLouchheim.

“How do you take the measure of the work of a rabbi? A word goes forth from a rabbi’s mouth never to return. Who knows where it will take root, whether something beautiful will flower from it? And even our silences: they go up to the heavens, and God hears them. But this I do know without any ambiguity: I am grateful that a student onthe way to becoming a member of the company of rabbis will find help in a scholarship that bears my name.”

Rabbi Leonard I. Beerman, Rabbi Emeritus, Leo Baeck Temple, Los Angeles, California

L’Dor VaDor: Scholarships SustainSuccessive Generations of Rabbis

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Rabbinical student Ari Margolis (center), recipient of The RabbiHillel Cohn Rabbinical Scholarship, spearheaded by Los AngelesOverseer Leona Aronoff-Sedaca (right) and Congregation Emanu Elof San Bernardino in honor of Rabbi Hillel Cohn (left).


provided a model for friends of Rabbi Alfred, z”l, and MiriamWolf of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Los Angeles, to establish ascholarship in their name.

These newest scholarship funds join those established in therecent past to honor distinguished founding rabbis in HUC-JIR’sWestern Region, including Rabbis Wolli Kaelter, Steven M. Fink,Harold Schulweis, Mordecai I. and Eve Soloff, z”l, HenriFront, z”l, Brian Lurie, and Shimon and Carol Paskow, aswell as more recently ordained rabbis Laurie and Philip Rice.Many rabbinical alumni have also been recognized by their congre-gations with named scholarships in honor of the 25th anniver-sary of their ordination from the College-Institute, includingRabbis Jonathan A. Stein, Stephen A. Chester, Allen I.Freehling, Eli Herscher,Mark S. Miller, andDeborah R. Prinz. Eachyear, the Los Angeles cam-pus also pays tribute toRabbi Max Nussbaum,z”l, through the RabbiMax Nussbaum MemorialLecture at Temple Israelof Hollywood.

Honoring those whocame before, and sus-taining those who will follow – these scholar-ships express the loyalaffection of alumni fortheir alma mater, thecommitment of their congregants to HUC-JIR’ssacred mission, and ourstudents’ aspirations for a bright Jewish future.

Malgorzata Szymanska, a 2nd-yearJewish Communal Service/Masterof Public Administration studentfrom Poland, speaking at the scholarship luncheon at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles.

HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION 2004-2005 Annual Report |

“Im ein kemach, ein Torah; im ein Torah, ein kemach –where there is no substance there can be no Torah;where there is no Torah, there can be no substance.”

Pirkei Avot 3:17

imon Lazarus, a rabbi and gifted businessman, may neverhave imagined that the apparel store he founded a hundredyears ago would someday contribute to the advancement

of his beloved Reform Judaism. After studying to be a rabbi in Wurtenburg, Germany, Lazarus relocated to Columbus,Ohio, in 1850, where a small congregation was searching for a spiritual leader. Lazarus served as the rabbi withoutcompensation during the years 1851-1855 and at the sametime launched his new store. Working closely with his twosons, Fred and Ralph, he served as President and owner of S. Lazarus & Sons until his death in 1877, when the storewas renamed F. & R. Lazarus. Years later, F. & R. Lazarus &Co. merged with Abraham & Straus of Brooklyn, Filene’s ofBoston, and Bloomingdale’s of New York to form the mer-chandising giant Federated Department Stores.

Simon Lazarus’s lifelong commitment to Reform Judaism con-tinues to be sustained today through Federated DepartmentStores’ generous support for HUC-JIR’s academic programsand treasured research resources. This corporate supportreflects the strong partnerships that have been forgedbetween HUC-JIR and Cincinnati’s business community. It also demonstrates the corporate community’s appreciationfor HUC-JIR’s significant contributions to the educational andcultural life of Cincinnatiand the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana tri-state region.

During the past twenty-threeyears, the annual HUC-JIRCincinnati Associates TributeDinner has honored a num-ber of distinguished corpo-rate executives in recogni-

tion of their commitment to HUC-JIR’s mission. This past year,the honoree was Richard K. Davis, President and ChiefOperating Officer of U.S. Bancorp, an exemplary model ofcivic and philanthropic leadership and achievement.

Millions of dollars have been granted to HUC-JIR throughoutthe years by neighbors and friends in the corporate community.American Financial Group, Inc.; Bartlett & Company;Cincinnati Bell; Cincinnati Financial Corporation; Cinergy;Cintas Corporation; Corporex Companies, Inc.; FederatedDepartment Stores; Fifth Third Bank; Frisch’s Restaurant, Inc.;GE Aircraft Engine; National City Bank; Ohio NationalFinancial Services; PNC Bank; Procter & Gamble; The E. W.Scripps Company; The Kroger Co.; Time Warner Cable; U.S.

Bank; University of Cincinnati; Western and Southern LifeInsurance Company; and Xavier University are just a few ofthose that have helped make many of HUC-JIR’s programs,centers, and exhibitions possible.

The potential for corporate partnerships is growing with theplanned renovation and transformation of the historicCincinnati campus. The development of innovative program-ming, educational facilities, and leadership training resourceswill further enrich the diverse religious, educational, and com-munal institutions and organizations of Cincinnati and willhave an impact on the North American Jewish community andthroughout the world.

Simon Lazarus’s legacy as a rabbi and businessman symbol-izes the enduring symbiosis between the College-Institute andits corporate supporters, where the values of faith, education,culture, and heritage, together with the support of philan-thropic resources, strengthen the foundations of communityand ensure continuity. Simon Lazarus would surely be proudthat his own aspirations are being fulfilled a century later byHUC-JIR’s training of rabbis who will lead Reform congrega-tions, similar to the one he once served.

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(Above) At the 2005 Cincinnati Associates Tribute Dinner: RabbiEllenson presenting a tzedakah box to Richard K. Davis, Presidentand Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Bancorp.

(Left) Karen M. Hoguet, Tribute Dinner Co-Chair and CFO, FederatedDepartment Stores.

(Right) Joseph A. Pichler, Former Chairman of the Board, The KrogerCo., and Thomas G. Cody, Vice Chair, Federated Department Stores.

Corporate Commitment Links Campus and Community


Compassion as a Catalyst for Change in Israeli Society: The Blaustein Pastoral Counseling Center IntroducesReform Rabbinical Care to Israel’s Secular Healthcareand Military Counseling System

n the United States, pastoral care and counseling are estab-lished roles for the rabbi. In Israel, however, the function ofchaplain does not exist and there is not even a Hebrew vocab-ulary for pastoral care, healing, and spiritual counseling. Thereis no infrastructure in Israeli society to encompass this criticalarea of rabbinical work. Israeli hospitals and hospices do nothave chaplains, and palliative care does not involve rabbis.Within the Israel Defense Forces context, only Orthodox rabbiscurrently serve. In the midst of trauma due to successive warsand the Intifada, secular professionals have performedmost of the clinical work. Some health professionals arewary of the spiritual dimension, and the Orthodox estab-lishment does not welcome others offering a progressiveorientation to spiritual sustenance. At the same time,there has been little or no available clinical education,mentoring, and supervision for Israeli Reform rabbisordained by HUC-JIR who are attempting to serve in Israel’shospitals, hospices, mental health centers, and senior carefacilities. With the establishment of The Jacob and HildaBlaustein Pastoral Counseling Center at HUC-JIR’s Jerusalemcampus, these critical needs will now be addressed.

The new Blaustein Pastoral Counseling Center at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem has been inaugurated through a majorendowment gift of $2.5 million from the Jacob andHilda Blaustein Foundation. Elizabeth Blaustein Roswell,a member of the New York Board of Overseers, and

Arthur Roswell dedicated the Blaustein Center in a movingceremony during Ordination Ceremonies in Jerusalem onNovember 4, 2005. This generous gift represents a strategic,pivotal role in shaping the direction of the liberal rabbinate inIsrael and of Israeli society itself. It demonstrates that HUC-JIR is recognized as a leading force in Rabbinical ClinicalPastoral Development, as implemented by the BlausteinCenter for Pastoral Counseling on the New York campus, theKalsman Institute on Judaism and Health in Los Angeles, and

the Clinical Pastoral Education program in Cincinnati, and hasthe unique capacity to adapt pastoral counseling into profes-sional care giving in Israel.

Modeled after its counterpart in New York, the Blaustein Centerin Jerusalem is embarking on a multi-year development processto plan and implement new courses, fieldwork placements, clin-ical supervision, and professional mentoring. The Israel-basedcenter will have the additional function of working with the

Israeli professional care giving community to craft a placefor rabbinical pastoral counseling within the existing secu-lar infrastructure and venues. The Blaustein Center issupervised by Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Director of the Year-In-Israel Program and Educational Initiatives at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem, and coordinated by Rabbi Ada Zavidov,Coordinator of the first-year Israeli rabbinical students’year-long orientation program, Field Placement Coordinatorfor second- through fourth-year students, and spiritualleader of Har-El Congregation, and by Michal MuskhatBarkan, a founder of the Hidush Organization forEducational Innovation, who is completing her doctorate inthe area of clinical mentoring and supervision of teachers.

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Rabbi Ellenson, Elizabeth Blaustein Roswell, and ArthurRoswell at the dedication of the Blaustein Center for PastoralCounseling at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem Ordination Ceremonies.

“Al sheloshah devarim ha-olam omed: al ha-Torah, al ha-avodah ve-al gemillut chasadim – the world stands on threethings: on Torah, worship, and acts of loving kindness.”

Pirkei Avot 1:2


The Blaustein Center will:� Develop courses for pastoral counseling for the Israeli

Rabbinical Program;

� Provide intensive summer seminars in mentor training, taughtby Dr. Nancy Wiener, Clinical Director of the Blaustein Centerin New York, and Dr. William Cutter, Dr. Paul M. and TrudySteinberg Distinguished Professor of Human Relations andCounseling and Director of the Kalsman Institute on Judaismand Health in Los Angeles, for practicing rabbis ordained byHUC-JIR’s Israel Rabbinical Program, who will then serve asmentors to current Israeli rabbinical students;

� Organize fieldwork placements with rabbinical mentors inIsraeli synagogues, and in educational and healthcare settings;

� Establish a pastoral counseling laboratory-think tank throughthe development of a network of key stakeholders in Israelicare giving, provide orientation for Israel’s secular physicians,clinical psychologists, and social workers, and create part-nerships with the Israeli Conservative Movement and itsMachon Schechter, Ha Midrasha (the Center for Study andFellowship at Oranim College of Education of the KibbutzMovement), and Shiluv (the Center for Family Support andTherapy); and

� Heighten public advocacy and awareness to stimulate andinform the growing Israeli interest in the North Americanexploration of the nexus between religion, spirituality, andhealing, as part of a nascent “Israeli Movement for Judaismand Healing” in collaboration with Hadassah Hospital, theJDC-Brookdale, the UJA-Federation of New York CaringCommission, the Israel Trauma Coalition, and potentialOrthodox partners.

As HUC-JIR’s newest center for applied research and profession-al training, the Blaustein Center will transform HUC-JIR’s IsraelRabbinical Program. The curriculum, which has been primarilytext-study driven, will now be enhanced by adding the profes-sional development and spiritual growth tracks that alreadycharacterize the stateside rabbinical programs. Courses on Life

Cycle Rituals and Ceremonies, Spiritual Mentoring, the HumanLife Cycle in Community, and Death and Jewish Mourning, aswell as mentored field work at the hospice at Tel HashomerHospital in Tel Aviv and Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem,will expose students to such issues as loss, death, bereave-ment, trauma, and family and community systems in crisis, andprovide them with the necessary expertise to address the chal-lenges facing the Israeli rabbi. This Practical Rabbinics approachwill groom Israeli Reform rabbis who are optimally trained tocope with life’s high and low moments.

By creating an infrastructure in Israeli society that will join thepastoral skills of the rabbi with the clinical skills of the secularcare givers, a number of initiatives will be addressed:

� The invention of a Hebrew vocabulary for pastoral care, heal-ing, and spiritual counseling;

� The incorporation of Hebrew texts – both classical and mod-ern – that will serve professionals in a variety of settings;

� The promotion of public awareness that spiritual professionalsother than secular clinicians are needed in care giving settings;

� The development of public support that will, in turn, encour-age hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and senior homes andassisted living facilities to create opportunities for chaplainsperforming spiritual mentoring and care;

� The coordination of efforts by different institutions for training and developing professional interventions; and

� The creation of a clinical supervision program for HUC-JIR’sIsraeli rabbinical students and rabbinical alumni.

The impact of the new Blaustein Center will be felt throughoutIsraeli society, as HUC-JIR’s rabbinical students and alumni withfinely honed pastoral and counseling skills lead congregationalpulpits, develop ‘community rabbinates’ serving diverse andunaffiliated populations, and assume leadership positions with-in communal organizations and educational institutions. Israelisnow at a loss to find a liberal Israeli rabbi to perform the func-

tions of a hospital or hospicevisit, a shiva call, or a supportgroup with spiritual dimen-sion, will increasingly find a new spiritual and ritualconnection to liberal Judaismthrough these rabbinical services of gemillut chasadim –acts of loving kindness.

(Standing, from left) RabbiNaamah Kelman; Rachel Etunand Ruchama Weiss, Co-Directors of the MazorimProgram; Rabbi Nancy Wiener;and Sharon Milamed and 4th-year rabbinical student EzraEnde, Mazorim participants;with (seated, from left)Elizabeth Blaustein Roswell and Arthur Roswell.


n the 25th anniversary of the ordination of Rabbi MordechaiRotem as the first Israeli Reform rabbi, four new rabbis wereordained at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem. There are now forty rabbini-

cal alumni serving Progressive Judaism in Israel today, with anadditional thirty-three students currently immersed in their fouryears of study toward ordination. As pioneers promoting liberalJudaism, they are transforming the fabric of Jewish life in theJewish State.

Each of these newly ordained rabbis reflects a differentJewish ethnic background, life experience, and orientationtoward his or her professional goals. Most have been pro-foundly influenced to become rabbis by the vibrant Jewish lifethey discovered during their stints working in Reform summercamps in the United States or during their experiences livingand studying stateside. Exposed to the vitality of synagoguelife as a modem of Jewish continuity, the flourishing of Jewishspirituality and innovative ritual and practice within theReform community, and the models of Jewish affiliation to theeducational and cultural institutions of North American Jewishlife, they have returned to Israel with the vision to bring thesegifts to Israelis searching for an alternative to the polarextremes of Orthodoxy and secularism.

Stateside traditions of synagogue affiliation are not part ofthe Israeli culture. The burgeoning numbers of Reform Israelisparticipating in life cycle events, educational programs, andreligious services at Israel’s Progressive congregations do notnecessarily become ‘members’ in the North American fashion.HUC-JIR’s Israeli rabbinical alumni therefore need to con-struct innovative modalities to attract and steward growingrelationships with those who are seeking Jewish tradition,spirituality, ethical guidance, and cultural heritage. Thus, theIsraeli Reform pulpit is developing into a new, emerging posi-tion of the ‘community rabbi’ for many of these alumni. Otherslook to education as the forum for their outreach.

Strengthening this outlook are their first-hand experiencesadvancing the renaissance of Jewish life in the Former SovietUnion. As participants in HUC-JIR’s “Rabbinical Infusion” pro-grams there, students and alumni have traveled to communi-ties large and small in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Latvia toconduct holiday services, teach in the religious schools andyouth groups, and forge links of Jewish solidarity and people-hood. As witnesses to the passionate commitment to Judaismon the part of Jews deprived of their religious heritage by theSoviets, these Israeli rabbis want to spur that same driveamong Israelis alienated by religious fundamentalism buthungering for a lost tradition via a liberal ethos.

How will these four new rabbis make a difference? Rabbi Adi Cohen’s rabbinate is focused on Jewish education inthe schools of the Sharon region, drawing upon his extensiveexpertise in formal and informal Jewish education. Acknowledgingthe complex challenges of infusing Judaism into the prevailingsecular Israeli landscape, he says: “Just as the Children of Israelcrossed the Red Sea on twelve paths – equal to the number oftribes – the path along which the Jewish people walk today alsooffers many routes to those who travel it: the path of faith, thepath of knowledge, the path of commandments, the path ofmorality, the path of the individual, and the path of community.”

Mira Regev, born to a religious Zionist family, is integrating herconcern for the environment and her advocacy on behalf ofArab-Jewish coexistence through her work at the Leo BaeckEducation Center in Haifa. “I pray that we, as a Movement, willdevelop and uplift our unique voice, while listening to the otherrealities around us to create a beautiful quilt binding the diver-sity that is within and beyond us.”

Ofer Sabath-Beit-Halachmi’s family was among the pioneerswho founded the Emek Hefer region and the Israeli transportsystem. As a medical organization officer in the IsraelDefense Forces, he has witnessed the devastation of terroristattacks on Israeli civilians. Nonetheless, he expresses hisoptimism in the future: “Faith in human liberty, in the needfor change and the capacity of humans to influence their

future for the better, can all be realized in a Jewish way onlywhen two elements – spirit and action – meet in the present.In Jewish language, this meeting is called ‘commandment.’Let us remember the act of the Covenant and recall our obli-gation to change that which can be changed.”

As a screenwriter of Iraqi-Zionist heritage, Ayala Sha’ashua-Meron seeks to replicate the vitality of Jewish life she discoveredwhile living in Los Angeles by becoming a rabbi in her homelandof Israel. Her goal is to be the community rabbi of Rosh Ha’ayin,near Tel Aviv, by reaching out to those searching for Judaism’sspiritual and ethical values. “It took me some time to under-stand that the loyalty that Jeremiah describes does not implythat we must adhere forever to the status quo. This is a loyaltythat requires us to move, change, and continue our journey.”

Such idealism reflects the spirit of the College-Institute as an aca-demic institution of excellence that ensures the best professionaland spiritual leadership for the Jewish future around the world.

Pioneering Pluralism in the Jewish State

Newly ordained Rabbis (from left to right) Ofer Sabath-Beit-Halachmi, Mira Regev, Adi Cohen, and Ayala Sha’ashua-Meronwith Rabbi Ellenson and Rabbi Michael Marmur at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem Ordination Ceremonies.

“Im tirtzu, aiyn zo aggadah – if you will it, it is not a dream.”Theodor Herzl

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“Asei l’chah rav; k’nei l’chah chaver – getyourself a teacher; acquire for yourself a friend.”

Pirkei Avot 1:6.

ur tradition teaches that we must activelypursue mentors in our lives, surrounding

ourselves with teachers, rabbis, and leadersfrom whom we can learn and grow. The newfull-time, ranked faculty appointments to HUC-JIR this year, including Dr. Sharon Koren, Dr.Joshua Holo, Dr. Steven M. Cohen, Dr.Yehoyada Amir, Dr. Jason Kalman, Dr. HaimRechnitzer, and Dr. Aaron Panken, embodythe College-Institute’s dedication to “asei l’charav.” More than ever before, HUC-JIR nowattracts and retains top emerging scholars whowill develop their careers here, contributing to

the academic and spiritual lives of studentsand to the vibrancy of the institution at large.

We are honored to welcome these eminentscholars as faculty members of the HUC-JIRcommunity. Their individual strengths increaseour capacity to serve, educate, and inspirefuture generations of educators, rabbis, can-tors, Jewish communal professionals, andscholars and to contribute to the ongoingtransmission of Jewish scholarship.

“The excitement in the classroom at HUC-JIR is palpable,” says Dr. Sharon Koren, newlyappointed Assistant Professor of MedievalJewish Culture at HUC-JIR/New York. Dr. Korenis known for her work in medieval Jewish mysti-cism and women’s spirituality. Her doctoral dis-sertation, written at Yale University, explores thereasons for women’s exclusion from Kabbalisticspeculation. Dr. Koren has been a guest lectur-er at HUC-JIR since 2001, and taught previ-ously at the University of Pennsylvania andBoston College.

“Teaching at HUC,” she states, “is truly mydream job. HUC-JIR differs from secular univer-sities because what I teach here has ramifica-tions outside the classroom. Students are on aspiritual quest; they are excited about Judaismin a unique way.”

Dr. Koren’s work on the nexus betweenmedieval natural philosophy, Kabbalah, andgender perceptions, will soon appear in herarticle, “Kabbalistic Physiology,” in the forth-coming AJS Review.

Dr. Joshua Holo, formerly of The Richard S.Dinner Center for Jewish Studies at TheGraduate Theological Union and Lecturer at theUniversity of California, Berkeley, was recentlyappointed Associate Professor of Jewish Historyand Director of the Jerome H. Louchheim Schoolof Judaic Studies at HUC-JIR/ Los Angeles. Dr.Holo, a scholar od medieval Jewish history whoreceived his Ph.D. from the University of

Chicago, was recently awarded the KoretFoundation Jewish Studies Publications pro-gram subsidy for his forthcoming book,Byzantine Jewry in the MediterraneanEconomy (Cambridge University Press), exam-ining the Jews’ economic and juridicial engage-ment with other communities and the widerByzantine world.

Dr. Holo recalls that he was “attracted to HUC-JIR/Los Angeles by the vibrant and collegialsetting, in which my colleagues are pursuingfascinating paths of research of the highestcaliber.” Since joining the faculty, he has foundthe campus and the Louchheim School, whichannually provides Jewish studies courses toover 600 undergraduate students of all faithsand ethnicities at the University of SouthernCalifornia, to be “the kind of environment thatencourages scholarly ambition and humanwarmth.” Dr. Holo encourages excellenceamong his own students, challenging them toreconsider preconceived notions of Judaism,and, by extension, to question other conceptsthat inform their worldview.

Dr. Steven M. Cohen, a sociologist of AmericanJewry, was appointed Research Professor ofJewish Social Policy at HUC-JIR/New York. Dr.Cohen, who has published widely since earninghis Ph.D. in Sociology at Columbia University in1974, divides his time between New York andJerusalem, where he has served as Professor at

Emerging Scholars Enrich Teaching and Scholarship

Page 16| HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION 2004-2005 Annual Report

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Dr. Sharon Koren, Assistant Professor ofMedieval Jewish Culture at HUC-JIR/New York.

Dr. Joshua Holo, Associate Professor of JewishHistory and Director of the Jerome H.Louchheim School of Judaic Studies at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles.


The Melton Centre for Jewish Education at TheHebrew University since 1992. Prior to that hetaught at Queens College, CUNY, and held visit-ing professorships at Yale University and TheJewish Theological Seminary.

Dr. Cohen is well known for his 2000 book, TheJew Within: Self, Family, and Community in theUnited States, co-authored with Arnold Eisen.He has authored and edited more than a dozenbooks and countless articles exploring patternsof Jewish identity and community in the U.S.and elsewhere. Some titles include: “Two Worldsof Judaism: The Israeli and AmericanExperiences” (with Charles Liebman), “ReligiousStability and Ethnic Decline: Emerging Patternsof Jewish Identity in the United States,” and “De-Constructing the Outreach-Inreach Debate.”

His research has a strong policy orientation. Heserves as the Research Director of the FlorenceG. Heller/JCCA Research Center, andConsultant to the Andrea and CharlesBronfman Philanthropies. His current researchon behalf of the College-Institute’s StrategicPlanning Committee illuminates the lives and

impact of HUC-JIR studentsand alumni, through a surveyassessing their views on theirexperiences at HUC-JIR, aswell as a survey of over5,000 Reform Movement layleaders and their views ofHUC-JIR alumni. Dr. Cohenseeks to work “where I canmost contribute to the dis-course of the Jewish commu-nity,” and finds “HUC-JIR to bea platform where some of the

most complex and significant Jewish conversa-tions are taking place.”

For Dr. Haim Rechnitzer,J ’03, the recentlyappointed AssistantProfessor of JewishReligious Thought at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, themove to the College-Institute from his back-ground in the Israeli aca-demic arena was inspiredby the desire to fuse aca-demic inquiry with exis-tentialist yearnings andcommitment to Jewisheducation. While workingtoward his Ph.D. in thefield of Modern JewishThought at The HebrewUniversity, he wasordained as an IsraeliReform rabbi at HUC-

JIR/Jerusalem, beginning alife-long grappling with theinterplay between academiaand his rabbinical role as aspiritual leader and educator.

Dr. Rechnitzer lauds the HUC-JIR community as a forum forthe exchange of ideas whereliterary exegesis stands side-by-side with moral and person-al interpretation. “Here wedon’t think here that scholarlythinking is compromised byadding the spiritual dimension,”he says. “At HUC-JIR, study is

not confinedonly to research; it is about liv-ing and teaching and learning.”He is now part of what hecalls a “unique faculty,” in that“once we establish the schol-arly meaning of a text we canalso ask – what does it meanfor us?” In his experience atother institutions, these kindsof questions were not wel-comed. “We are teaching textsthat are demanding to bethought about as an optionfor life,” he asserts, “but toonly discuss the scholarlyimplications of philosophicand literary Jewish texts is todo an injustice to the textsand to our tradition.”

The recipient of the Lakritz

Award in Jewish Studies, Dr. Rechnitzer’s pub-lished essays will soon appear in the compila-tions The Young Leo Strauss (The University ofWisconsin Press); Jewish Political Theology(Van-Leer Institute, Jerusalem); and JewishThought Towards Jewish Education (MeltonInstitute, The Hebrew University). In his currentresearch he grapples with the relationshipsbetween liberalism and the liberal state, andcontemporary Jewish theologies and the chal-lenges of secularism.

Dr. Jason Kalman joined HUC-JIR/Cincinnati inJuly as Assistant Professor of Classical HebrewLiterature and Interpretation. Dr. Kalman receivedhis Ph.D. from the Department of JewishStudies at McGill University, and is a researchfellow affiliated with the University of the FreeState, South Africa. He specializes in the historyof Jewish biblical exegesis, and his specificresearch interests include rabbinic anti-Christian

Dr. Steven M. Cohen, Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy,HUC-JIR/New York.

Dr. Haim Rechnitzer, AssistantProfessor of Jewish Religious Thought,HUC-JIR/ Cincinnati.

Dr. Jason Kalman, Assistant Professor of Classical HebrewLiterature and Interpretation, HUC-JIR/Cincinnati.


polemic, medieval intellectual history as reflect-ed in biblical commentary, and biblical interpre-tation after the Holocaust.

Dr. Kalman cites the “illustrious history of HUC-JIR” as his primary motivation for seeking anappointment here. “The College-Institute’s facul-ty has for a century and continues today to setthe standard of excellence” in Jewish academia,he says. “Anywhere that these extraordinaryscholars would choose to associate, I want to be.”

Dr. Kalman’s research “has benefited greatlyfrom the abundant resources available” at the Klau Library and at the American JewishArchives in Cincinnati.He asserts that “thelibrary stands out asone of the bestresearch institutionsthat can be found any-where.” Dr. Kalman willpublish several papersthis year, including“Writing Between TheLines: The Impact ofRabbinic Letter Writingon the Transmission ofthe Text of the HebrewBible,” to appear in R.Byrne, ed., Reading andWriting in AncientIsrael.

HUC-JIR’s scholarship in Israel has beenstrengthened by the appointment of Dr.Yehoyada Amir, J ’04, as Associate Professorof Jewish Thought. Dr. Amir received his Ph.D. inJewish Thought from The Hebrew University, andwas ordained at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem, where hehas served as Director of the Israel RabbinicalProgram since 2000. He was previously Head ofthe Department of Jewish Culture and the HolocaustTeaching Center at Beit Berl College, and Headof the Center for Advanced Studies of theInstitute of Jewish Studies at The Hebrew University.

Dr. Amir believes that “Reform Judaism has aspecial relevance and significance for Israeli

Jewish society, where beingJewish has a holistic nature.”As Director of the IsraelRabbinical Program, he is“devoted to HUC-JIR’s mis-sion that Israeli Reform rab-bis can and should take acentral part in shaping thekind of Judaism that willlead Israeli society in the21st century.”

Dr. Amir’s work reflects adeep engagement with theland of Israel. His article“Land, Nature and Person –Striking Roots in Eretz-Israel’s Landscape in A.D.Gordon’s Thought” (Hebrew),will soon appear in the compilation Eretz Israel in 20th Century Jewish

Thought. Dr. Amir was hon-ored with the Golda MeirFellowship of The HebrewUniversity and recentlyreceived a grant from theMemorial Foundation forJewish Culture for his book,Reason out of Faith – The Philosophy of FranzRosenzweig.

While he is deeply commit-ted to his engagement inacademic research, Amir insists that “academiclife alone cannot suffice. HUC-JIR imparts thespiritual and social leadership that will translatethat which we understand as our Judaism intothe real terms of our lives. Here I have the privi-lege to train young men and women in Israel todo this job.”

Rabbi Aaron Panken, N ’91, who has taughtRabbinic and Second Temple Literature at HUC-JIR/New York since 1995, and has served asDean of the New York School since 1998, wasrecently appointed Adjunct Assistant Professorof Rabbinic Literature on the Blended Track. Analumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, heearned his doctorate in Hebrew and JudaicStudies at New York University, where hisresearch focused on legal change in Talmudicand Midrashic Literature. His book, The Rhetoricof Innovation: Self-Conscious Halakhic Changein Rabbinic Literature, was recently publishedby University Press of America.

Dr. Panken’s recentappointment solidifies hisrelationship with HUC-JIR,which he says was born“out of a strong commit-ment to Reform Judaism.”He finds inspiration in “the

ever growing excitement of teaching and learn-ing in a community with high intellectual stan-dards and a diverse and fascinating pluralisticteam of faculty, with students and alumni whoactually serve the Jewish community in a deep-er and more meaningful way than one mightfind in any university setting.”

Even outside HUC-JIR’s walls, Rabbi Panken’spassion for the Jewish community is paramount.He currently serves on the faculty of the WexnerFoundation, and as a member of the BirthrightIsrael Education Committee, the InternationalCouncil of the New Israel Fund, the RabbinicalPlacement Commission, the CCAR EthicsCommittee, and in a variety of other leadershiproles. He finds the work of the College-Instituteto be integrally linked to the future of the largerJewish world: “In general, HUC-JIR greatlyenhances the global Progressive Jewish future;but in particular, I feel good knowing that it willhelp my children and grandchildren to livethoughtful, committed Jewish lives.”

Dr. Aaron Panken, AdjunctAssistant Professor ofRabbinic Literature, HUC-JIR/New York.

Dr. Yehoyada Amir, Associate Professor of Jewish Thought, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem.


Technology TransformsTraditional Learning:The Simha and SaraLainer Beit Midrash

Mark Lainer with students Daniel Mikelberg, Shaina Wasserman, Olga Bluman, Miriam Pulman,Adam Allenberg, and Alissa Forrest at the dedication of the Lainer Beit Midrash at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles.

“Marbeh Torah, marbeh chayyim – the more Torah, the more life.”

Pirkei Avot 2:8


When I was appointed to the faculty to teach Talmud four yearsago, I was also asked to create a Beit Midrash program. I foundit intriguing to imagine a traditional ‘house of study’ in a Reforminstitution,” recalls Dr. Dvora Weisberg, Associate Professor ofRabbinics at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles. “I was excited to take some-thing that was seen as established and conventional andreshape it into something that is new and innovative.”

Dr. Weisberg had a vision, but no dedicated space for this pur-pose; she had the necessary books, but no place to put them.The few computer stations weren’t up to the challenge ofenhancing and augmenting the type of study ideally suited to aBeit Midrash setting. Fifth-year rabbinical student interns werethere to serve as resources and tutors but the open space wasshared with large, overflow classes that made it difficult tostudy. “We knew that we wanted and needed to provide easilyaccessible resources in an aesthetically pleasing and dedicatedenvironment,” she explains.

Her and her students’ hopes were realized on September 27,2005, with the dedication of the Simha and Sara Lainer BeitMidrash at HUC-JIR’s Los Angeles campus. The Lainer BeitMidrash was established by a generous gift from the Lainer fam-ily, which has helped to create similar study environments atOrthodox and Conservative institutions throughout Los Angeles.This state-of-the-art facility provides readily available print, elec-tronic, and programmatic resources for students in HUC-JIR’sgraduate and professional schools.

The Lainer Beit Midrash is part of the multi-purpose HaMercaz(the Center), which includes the Tartak Learning Center, featur-ing extensive multi-media resource materials for Jewish educa-tors; a large worship space, allowing for varying seatingarrangements and experimentation with different prayer modes;a Tzedakah Center (facilitating community service and tikkunolam activities); changing installations of contemporary artexpressing Jewish themes; and the home for HUC-JIR’s NationalDepartment of Distance Education.

HaMercaz recently hosted an exhibition of Tobi Kahn’s contem-porary Jewish ceremonial art, with the assistance of AnneHromadka, a student who is earning a double Masters at the

School of Jewish Communal Serviceand the USC School of Fine Arts.“Students learn to confidently engagewith the stories of our heritage invibrant colors, in mesmerizing sym-bols, and in each paint stroke,” sheexplains. “We are creating a spacewhere art encounters education whileleading HUC-JIR/Los Angeles onceagain into the arena of being a keyparticipant in today’s Jewish culturalrenaissance. Like the study of text, theunderstanding of ritual objects canlead to new understandings of Jewishbelief and expression.”

“This new type of Beit Midrash is exciting precisely because of its powerful blending of tradition and technology and because ofits future-oriented vision,” notes Dr. Lewis Barth, Dean. Traditionalmodes of learning – students learning alone, in hevruta (withpartners), and studying in small groups – are accommodated inthis welcoming space. The Lainer Beit Midrash not only housestraditional texts and study guides but also makes use of databas-es and computer programs situated in large, specially designed,two-person workstations, all linked in a wireless network. Movablefurniture encourages students and faculty to be creative in theuse of this flexible space while exploring new ways of learning.Future plans include adding an e-learning or enhanced electronicseminar area adjacent to the Lainer Beit Midrash.

Gregg Alpert, National Director of Distance Education, and RabbiRichard Levy, Director of the School of Rabbinical Studies, werethe original creators of the multi-purpose Beit Midrash/HaMercazconcept for HUC-JIR/Los Angeles. “Our dream was to develop afluid and permeable Jewish learning environment infused withJewish art and practical technology that would bring together ourunique community of rabbinical, education, communal service,and graduate students for enhanced study, dialogue, debate, andaction. The Lainer Beit Midrash becomes the anchor of thatspace not only physically, but innovatively as well. With the adventof new technologies in the 21st century and the generosity of the

Lainer Family, HUC-JIR can enable new generations of students tojoin the dialogue of Torah that is at the center of an ongoing,polyvocal, and eternal conversation of the Jewish people.”

The Lainer Beit Midrash is open to students throughout the dayfor studying and provides mentors on-site for extra help. SariLaufer, a fifth-year rabbinical student, serves as the first LainerScholar and tutors and prepares students for text classes. “TheBeit Midrash has been an amazing experience,” shares third-year rabbinical student Amy Morrison. “It allows me to travel intime to a place when rabbis would argue, debate, and chal-lenge each other over texts. It has shown me what learning tobe a rabbi is all about.”

Ellie Steinman, another third-year rabbinical student, agrees. “Theenvironment of a Beit Midrash is the essential core of a rabbini-cal school: peer helping peer with abundant resources availableat one’s fingertips. The College-Institute is all about having a com-munity; now, we have a space to put this into practice.”

(From left) Dr. Lewis Barth, Dean; Fredi Rembaum, Director ofDevelopment, Western Region; Dr. Dvora Weisberg, AssociateProfessor of Rabbinics and Director of the Simha and Sara LainerBeit Midrash; Sari Laufer, 5th-year rabbinical student and first LainerScholar; Luis Lainer; Simha Lainer; Ellie Lainer; and Mark Lainer.

“

Summary Financial FiguresCONDENSED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

June 30 2005 2004 2003

Total Assets $213,451,037 $200,221,355 $192,821,958

Total Liabilities 17,463,552 15,561,668 15,648,179

Total Net Assets 195,987,485 184,659,687 177,173,779

Total Liabilities $213,451,037 $200,221,355 $192,821,958

and Net Assets

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES

Year Ended June 30, 2005 Unrestricted Temporarily Permanently TotalRestricted Restricted

Total Operating Revenue,Gains and Other Support $34,045,495 $2,870,304 $ 9,033,564 $ 45,949,363

Total Operating (Expenses) (38,835,179) (38,835,179)

Nonoperating Revenue (Expense) 2,789,091 1,988,714 (564,191) 4,213,614

Change in Net Assets (2,000,593) 4,859,018 8,469,373 11,327,798

Net Assets, Beginning of Year 79,946,901 28,072,057 76,640,729 184,659,687

Net Assets, End of Year $77,946,308 $32,931,075 $85,110,102 $195,987,485

31.3%

38.2%

5.8%

12.0%

4.3%8.4%

MUM

Fund Raising

Investment

Tuition (Gross)

Contracted Services

Other

HUC-JIR Revenue, 2004-2005 HUC-JIR Expenses, 2004-2005


32.1%

17.5%8.4%4.0%

21.4%

7.9%

5.5% 3.2%Instruction

Academic Support

Maintenance

Development

Institutional support

Student Stipends and Scholarships

Depreciation

Other

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