Rabbis Without Borders Student Retreat Spirituality, Social Justice and the Rabbinate

The sources of are filled with references to the values of din, emet, shalom and more. All of these point to the need for Jews to tend to the most vulnerable in our midst and address the social injustice we see in the world through acts of chesed, and tzedek. How do these principles shape our respective rabbinates? How do convey these values to the people that they serve? How do we fulfill our professional duties and also “walk the talk” of prophetic Judaism, especially when the two might come into conflict? Is it possible to engage with some of the most controversial issues of our time without causing conflict in our congregations? Finally, how do we balance the external work of tikkun—so important to the world—with the inner work we need to do on our spiritual lives? Date: April 18-April 21, 2013

Place: Pearlstone Retreat Center, Reisterstown, MD

Faculty: Steven Greenberg, Rabbi Stephanie Kolin, Rabbi Sid Schwarz

Five students per seminary will be nominated by their school. Registration is a $100/student with a generous travel subsidy provided

For more information, contact Michelle Klahr at [email protected] or 212-779-3300 x126.

Co-Sponsoring Seminaries: Hebrew Union College (New York, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles), The Jewish Theological Seminary, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Rabbinical School at Hebrew College (), Academy for Jewish Religion, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, Yeshivat Chovevei Rabbinical School, Yeshivat Maharat, International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism and ALEPH Rabbinic Program.

Underwritten by: Albin Family Foundation , Katz Family Foundation, Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Awards Committee, Wohl Family Foundation, Barbara Epstein Foundation, Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation

Faculty Bios *****************

Rabbi Steven Greenberg is a Senior Teaching Fellow at Clal and the director of Clal's Diversity Project. Steve is the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi and a founder of the Open House, the Holy City's GLBT community center. He is the author of Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition (University of Wisconsin Press, 2004) which explores biblical, rabbinic, medieval and contemporary Jewish responses to same-sex relationship. In 2005 the book was awarded the Koret Jewish Book Award for Philosophy and Thought. Steve serves as the scholar in residence for two cutting edge organizations, Hazon, a Jewish Environmental organization, and Keshet, an organization dedicated to GLBT inclusion in the larger Jewish community.

Rabbi Stephanie Kolin is the Co-Director of the Union for ’s Just Congregations. While a student at HUC, Stephanie co- founded the Jewish Funds for Justice Rabbinical Student Fellowship for Leadership in Public Life, a class she now teaches on the HUC-Los Angeles campus. Upon ordination, Stephanie served as a rabbi of Temple , Boston, where she guided the social justice community organizing and was rabbinic liaison to the youth program. She was named as a Woman of Valor by the Jewish Funds for Justice and is included in a list that called: The Sisterhood 50: America’s Influential Women Rabbis.

Rabbi Sid Schwarz is the founder of the PANIM Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values, an organization that pioneered the integration of Jewish learning, values and social responsibility. He is also the founding rabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD where he continues to teach and lead services. His book, Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation of Jews Can Transform the American Synagogue (2000), is one of the seminal works in the field of synagogue transformation. In Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World (2006), Sid developed a theology and rationale for the revival of social justice in American Jewish life. Currently, Sid is a senior fellow at Clal. He has been running retreats for rabbinical students since 2005. Sid was honored with the 2002 Covenant Award for his singular contributions to the field of Jewish education and was also cited in as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. Sid's newest book is Jewish Megatrends: Charting the Course of the American Jewish Future (2013).

Comments from past participants

We went to the difficult places in a practical way: how to talk about Israel, maintaining a personal spiritual practice, confronting hard issues as a leader of a congregation. We received inspiration as well as common sense guidance. Robin Podolsky, Academy of Jewish Religion (LA)

Being able to connect to and interact with rabbinical students from other denominations and learn both with them and from them was the most valuable part of the retreat for me. It changed many pre-conceived notions of mine and gave me an exposure to diversity that is lacking in my rabbinical school bubble. David Bookbinder, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah

I have rarely been is such a collaborative and pluralistic group of learners. I am walking away from the retreat with a lot to think about and some really useful, practical tools. Molly Plotnik, Hebrew Union College (LA)

So often the worlds of spirituality and social justice are seen as being in opposition or competition to each other. I was delighted to see the complementary nature of these two sides of living Jewishly, so beautifully woven together throughout the retreat. Rain Zohav, Aleph Rabbinical Program

Deciding to attend not just one, but two RWB student retreats, was one of my best decisions ever. It opened my eyes to the possibilities of not only interdenominational dialogue, but also (to) serious collaborative projects across the lines of our many movements. Max Yadin, Jewish Theological Seminary