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Issue #329 – 18 September 2008 / 18 Elul 5768
IN THIS ISSUE:
CONNECTIONS 2009 - WORLD UNION OPENS REGISTRATION AND LAUNCHES CONVENTION WEB SITE
ABRAHAM GEIGER COLLEGE OFFICIALLY OPENS CANTORIAL SCHOOL
KEREN B’KAVOD GETS HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE IN HIGH GEAR
BRITISH NETZER GRADS EMBARK ON GLOBAL ROUND OF BRANCH VISITS
CONNECTIONS 2009 - WORLD UNION OPENS REGISTRATION AND LAUNCHES CONVENTION WEB SITE
The World Union has officially opened registration for its 34th international convention – CONNECTIONS 2009 – with the launch of a dedicated Web site at www.kenes.com/connections2009.
Leaders and members of Reform, Progressive and Liberal congregations worldwide are invited to register early for this unique, festive and informative biennial gathering – early bird discount rates expire after November 30,2008 – which will take place in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from March 18 to 23, 2009.
The convention theme will be “Our Heart, Our Soul, Our World,” reflecting Progressive Judaism’s ties and commitment to Israel and to the global Reform Jewish family.
The comprehensive Web site is filled with World Union and convention-related information, including schedules, sessions, planned highlights, optional programs, travel information and Frequently Asked Questions, and will be updated regularly as new details and programs are confirmed.
The Web site also marks the first time the World Union is offering the option to register and reserve hotel accommodations online; a downloadable printed form is also available for those who prefer to write and fax or mail their forms.
If you have any question regarding registration and accommodations, please contact our registration administrator by e-mail at wupj@kenes.com or by calling +1-877-259-0155 (from the U.S. - toll-free) or +972-3-9727529 from everywhere else.
If you have questions about CONNECTIONS 2009 itself, please contact Adi Reiter at the World Union office in Jerusalem: adi@wupj.org.il , or +972-2-6203613.
Click here to visit the CONNECTIONS 2009 Web site and register online.
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ABRAHAM GEIGER COLLEGE OFFICIALLY OPENS CANTORIAL SCHOOL
Abraham Geiger College, Germany’s only post-war rabbinic seminary (and an affiliate of the World Union), officially opened its Jewish Institute of Cantorial Arts with a concert and series of workshops last weekend in Berlin. Established for the training of cantor-educators to lead services and provide religious education in congregations throughout Europe, the JICA offers a four-year university program in cooperation with the University of Potsdam and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem. Four students have already been admitted.
The opening coincided with the German capital’s annual Jewish cultural festival, which began with a concert in the city’s newly renovated Rykestrasse Synagogue in the presence of some 1,600 guests, including political, religious and cultural figures. Cantor Mimi Sheffer, the JICA’s program director, performed "Arvit LeShabbat" by the Israeli composer Yehezkel Braun, accompanied by a choir and orchestra.
HUC was represented during the weekend by the head of its New York-based School of Sacred Music, Cantor Dr. Bruce Ruben, and by Professor Eliyahu Schleifer, who heads the cantorial program in Jerusalem, as well as a number of faculty members and graduates of HUC’s School of Sacred Music from all across America. The Association of the American Conference of Cantors was represented by its immediate past president, Richard Cohn, of Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, Texas.
After a weekend of workshops, Dr. Ruben spoke on Sunday evening to some 700 people at the final concert of all participating cantors at the Pestalozzistrasse Synagogue. He thanked the JICA’s initiator, Rabbi Professor Walter Homolka, rector of Abraham Geiger College, and reiterated his desire for close cooperation between the two cantorial programs. HUC has already been working closely with Abraham Geiger College in the training of rabbis.
Primary financial sponsors of the Jewish Institute of Cantorial Arts are the Breslauer-Soref Foundation California, led by Jim and Liz Breslauer, and the Soref-Breslauer Texas Foundation, led by Steve and Sandy Breslauer (see WUPJnews #274). Both families are major supporters of the World Union; Steve Breslauer serves as the secretary of its Executive Board. Support also comes from the German federal government and the Central Council of Jews in Germany. The JICA's music library is being sponsored by North America’s Women of Reform Judaism.
Germany, whose official Jewish population has more than quadrupled since 1990 to about 120,000 with the influx of Jews from the former Soviet Union, is sorely in need of spiritual leaders. About 40 rabbis, most of them Orthodox, and even fewer cantors, are available for some 120 synagogues.
The visiting cantors formed a unique ensemble at Berlin's Pestalozzistrasse Synagogue.
Professor Eliyahu Schleifer (first row, center) and Cantor Dr. Bruce Ruben of HUC (2nd row, 2nd from left) with all participating cantors at the opening of the Jewish Institute of Cantorial Arts in Berlin, including JICA program director, Mimi Sheffer (first row, second from right).
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KEREN B’KAVOD GETS HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE IN HIGH GEAR
As it has for the past several years, Keren B’Kavod (Dignity Fund), the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism’s humanitarian aid project run by the Israel Religious Action Center, is leading the movement’s food drive, held annually each Rosh Hashanah and Pesach. Members of IMPJ affiliates are being asked to bring non-perishable goods, such as cooking oil, sugar, pasta, canned foods and bottles of Kiddush wine, to central collection points, usually at synagogues or meeting halls used by congregations. The goods will be packed by volunteers and distributed throughout the country to families in need – Jews and non-Jews alike – who are chosen by local welfare bureaus. Food will also be distributed in communities that long have been targeted by rockets launched from Gaza.
Keren B’Kavod has been active in other social spheres as well, such as assisting refugees from Sudan and other strife-torn areas of Africa who regularly arrive at the Israeli border following arduous treks through Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula (see WUPJnews #283). It also has been helping new immigrants, older adults, people with disabilities and the chronically unemployed, who often find it difficult to make ends meet due to cutbacks in government assistance. One such project is a winter program that arranges distribution of heaters and blankets to the elderly and others, free of charge (see WUPJnews #297).
Another recent Keren B’Kavod initiative has been support of Hillel, an Israeli organization that assists ultra-Orthodox individuals who decide to leave their religious communities. This can be a bewildering experience for someone who has lived his or her entire life within a closed and insular community that eschews everything from television and the Internet to the teaching of non-Torah-oriented subjects such as math and science. Keren B’Kavod helps by providing tutoring and cultural activities, as well as food parcels and Shabbat meals, an important aspect of assistance for people who are often shunned by their families after leaving the community.
The humanitarian work of Keren B’Kavod is an outgrowth of the IMPJ’s response to the growing difficulty of many Israelis to provide themselves with basic necessities. To find out how you can help support Keren B’Kavod and its many activities, contact the World Union’s Jerusalem office at wupjis@wupj.org.il.
Volunteers in Jerusalem will pack holiday food parcels at Mercaz Shimshon-
Beit Shmuel, the World Union’s education-culture center and headquarters,
for distribution to families in need.
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BRITISH NETZER GRADS EMBARK ON GLOBAL ROUND OF BRANCH VISITS
J.J. Silverman and Dan Raanan, recent high school graduates and former youth leaders in Britain's Reform movement, have embarked on a six-month journey that will enable them to visit branches of Netzer Olami, the Progressive movement's international Zionist youth movement, on six continents. Silverman grew up at Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire, while Raanan's family belongs to Sinai Synagogue in Leeds.
"Whilst trying to decide what to do with our gap year," they said in the newsletter of Britain's Movement for Reform Judaism, "we concluded that a year in Israel wasn’t adventurous enough for us – although Shnat [Shnat Netzer, the youth movement's Israel-based gap year program – ed.] is still an excellent choice and we would encourage everyone to do it!! We wanted to stay in touch with the movement at the same time as traveling the world, and what better way than to meet with all the Netzer branches throughout the world?"
As their plans gained momentum, Silverman and Raanan made contact with every branch affiliated with Netzer, and their itinerary grew to include stops in Europe, Israel, South Africa, Australia, South America and the U.S.
"We are looking forward to learning all about the different Reform Jewish customs from around the world," they wrote, "especially from summer camps in both South Africa and Australia. We hope that our trip will strengthen the connections between us and Reform synagogues around the world, and [that] we inspire the world to come a little closer."
The two left Britain on September 8 and invite everyone to follow their journey by reading their blog at www.netzertour.com. The entry for their departure date says simply, "So we’re all packed and just about to leave for the airport, we’re both very excited and can’t wait to get going! World…here we come!"
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UPCOMING EVENTS
October 30-November 2, 2008 – Biennial conference of the Union for Progressive Judaism (UPJ) for Australia, Asia and New Zealand in Melbourne, Australia
March 15-17, 2009 – Golfing FORE! Reform – Second annual IMPJ amateur fund-raising golf tournament in Caesarea
March 17-23, 2009 – CONNECTIONS 2009 – The 34th international convention of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
March 29-April 2, 2009 – Riding4Reform – Sixth annual IMPJ countrywide bicycle fund-raising tour.
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