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44-682: Rabbi Hara Person is the Chief Executive. The CCAR bylaws state that “the purpose of this Conference shall be to preserve and promote Judaism and to encourage all efforts for the dissemination of its teachings in a Liberal spirit; to advance the cause of Jewish learning; to foster fellowship and cooperation among rabbis and other Jewish scholars; and to serve the welfare of its members.” Membership primarily consists of rabbis educated at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion . The CCAR also offers membership to those who have graduated in Europe from

88-503: A formal apology issued by the CCAR in September 2022, that included the following language: "With sincerity of heart and intention, the CCAR apologizes for the hurt that our organization and our ethics system have caused. We acknowledge that there have been times when we failed to meet our own high standards and we are deeply sorry. We apologize, and we are committed to working diligently for

132-465: A better future." While these efforts have been praised by many, some critics argue that they do not go far enough to address underlying issues within the ethics system. For instance, concerns have been raised about the continued use of lay investigators and the reliance on fellow rabbis to determine the fitness of an offender to return to their role. However, it is worth noting that similar practices are commonplace in other professional organizations in

176-430: A central focus of her presidency. In 2018, Rabbi Hara Person became the first woman to be the chief executive of the CCAR and also pushed for higher ethical standards and accountability. In 2021, the organization voluntarily commissioned a legal firm to review its ethics processes and propose improvements. This initiative resulted in several recommendations, including increased transparency regarding ethical infractions and

220-558: A five-year graduate program, conferring the degree of Master of Sacred Music in the fourth year and ordination as cantor in the fifth year. Cantorial School at HUC-JIR begins in Jerusalem and continues for the next four years in New York. While in Israel, students study Hebrew, and Jewish music, and get to know Israel. Cantorial students study alongside Rabbinical and Education students. In New York,

264-421: A master’s degree from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion . In 2013, she received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion . In 1988, Eger was ordained by Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion at their campus in New York. She worked as the first full-time rabbi at Beth Chayim Chadashim for four years, after which she became

308-490: A senior rabbi of a Texas synagogue was reprimanded for sexual misconduct and allowed to move to another senior rabbi position in North Carolina, where he was censured for sexual misconduct within 36 months of his new placement, and neither congregation was alerted to the allegations. In 2015, Rabbi Denise Eger was elected president of the CCAR. The first openly LGBTQ person to hold this prominent role, Rabbi Eger made ethics

352-771: Is a Jewish seminary with three locations in the United States and one location in Jerusalem . It is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis , cantors , educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism . HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, Ohio , New York City , Los Angeles , and Jerusalem . The Jerusalem campus is the only seminary in Israel for training Reform Jewish clergy. HUC

396-522: Is also the publisher of CCAR Journal , a journal of Reform Judaism published quarterly. The group also runs the CCAR Press, a publishing house for Reform Judaism that publishes the movement's prayer books as well as a variety of publications about contemporary Jewish life. From time to time the CCAR publishes platforms that are intended to layout the contemporary framework for North American Reform Judaism. The publication of platforms began in 1885 with

440-715: Is an American Reform rabbi . In March 2015, she became president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis , the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in North America; she was the first openly gay person to hold that position. Denise Eger was born in New Kensington , and raised in Memphis . In 1982, Eger received a bachelor’s degree in religion from the University of Southern California . In 1985, she received

484-876: Is assigned practica (mini-recitals) during the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of school culminating with a Senior Recital (based on a thesis) during the 5th year. Rabbi David Ellenson, then president of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, announced on January 27, 2011, that the School of Sacred Music would be renamed the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in honor of Debbie Friedman . The renaming officially occurred on December 7, 2011. HUC has both male and female students in all its programs, including rabbinic and cantorial studies. Julia Ettlinger (1863-1890) became its first female student in 1875. As of January 2022, it has 839 women rabbinical graduates. (See Women rabbis ). The first female rabbi to be ordained by HUC

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528-485: Is elected from among members as well as a paid professional executive. In 2003, Rabbi Janet Marder became the first female president of the CCAR; this made her the first woman to lead a major rabbinical organization and the first woman to lead any major Jewish co-ed religious organization in the United States. In 2015, Denise Eger became the first openly gay president of the CCAR. In 2018, Rabbi Hara Person became

572-696: Is independent of HUC, however, both organizations continue to collaborate on select programs and exhibitions. The Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion also manages the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and Skirball Museum in Jerusalem. The Jewish Language Project (JLP), run by Professor Sarah Bunin Benor at HUC–JIR, is a research program dedicated to the preservation of Jewish diasporic languages. The project also seeks to raise awareness among Jewish communities about Jewish languages around

616-471: Is separately cataloged. Hebrew Union College operates Hebrew Union College Press , a university press , through which it releases Jewish Studies-related publications. The Dr. Bernard Heller Museum at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York presents exhibitions highlighting Jewish history , culture, and contemporary creativity. Since its founding in 1983 as the Joseph Gallery,

660-589: Is the Jewish English Lexicon , an online dictionary of words derived from various Jewish languages that Jews use when they are speaking English. Other initiatives concern endangered Jewish languages and feature documentation to preserve terms and phrases. A related project is the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon , an online dictionary and text database of different Aramaic varieties. Notable faculty members have included Judah Magnes , who

704-529: The Columbus Platform was approved as the first official platform of the American Reform movement. The CCAR continues to rewrite platforms as Reform Judaism evolves: As the largest organization of liberal rabbis in the world, the CCAR frequently comments on pressing issues of the day through public statements and resolutions . Some examples include: The CCAR is led by a volunteer president who

748-752: The Leo Baeck College in London ( United Kingdom ) and the Abraham Geiger College at the University of Potsdam, and other rabbis who joined the Reform movement after being ordained and met the membership criteria. The CCAR issues responses to religious questions for Reform Judaism known as responsa , as well as resolutions , and platforms . In keeping with the principles of Reform Judaism, their positions are non-binding on individual rabbis or congregations. It

792-619: The Board of Governors at HUC voted to shutter the residential rabbinical program in Cincinnati by 2026 due to financial troubles and falling enrollment. Also in 2022, HUC for the first time granted a certificate of ordination to a nonbinary candidate. The cantorial school of the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion was founded in 1947. The school is located on the New York campus of HUC-JIR at One West Fourth Street. It offers

836-462: The College-Institute includes Schools of Graduate Studies, Education, Jewish Non-Profit Management, sacred music , Biblical archaeology and an Israeli rabbinical program . The Los Angeles campus operates many of its programs and degrees in cooperation with the neighboring University of Southern California , a partnership that has lasted over 35 years. Their productive relationship includes

880-691: The Declaration of Principles, later known as the Pittsburgh Platform , which established Reform Judaism in North America, and built upon the founding ideas of Reform Judaism in Germany. While written before the CCAR was formally founded, the meeting was declared the continuation of the Philadelphia Conference of 1869, which was the continuation of the German Conference of 1841 to 1846. In 1937

924-556: The HUC was uncomfortable with giving women the same title as men. In 2012 she wrote to Rabbi David Ellenson, HUC's then president, requesting that he address the discrepancy, which she said was "smacking of gender inequality." In 2021, following new reports about sexual abuse by former HUC president Sheldon Zimmerman and recently-deceased professor Michael Cook, three separate Reform organizations began internal investigations of sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination . HUC retained

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968-478: The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) shed light on the sluggish investigative process and the lack of meaningful consequences for offending rabbis. This led to public criticism and increased scrutiny of the CCAR's handling of ethical issues within its ranks. Subsequent cases, such as the expulsion of a CCAR member rabbi in 2015 for sexual misconduct, further underscored these concerns. For example, in 2014,

1012-568: The Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis. On March 16, 2015, she became president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis , the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in North America; she was the first openly gay person to hold that position. She held the position until March 20, 2017. Eger is gay; she came out publicly as gay in 1990 in a story in the Los Angeles Times . In 1994, she and Karen Siteman were married by

1056-443: The Reform movement's traditional "morenu harav," or "our teacher the rabbi," while female candidates' certificates only used the term "rav u’morah," or "rabbi and teacher." Sally Priesand herself was unaware that her certificate referred to her any differently than her male colleagues until it was brought to her attention years later. Rabbi Mary Zamore, executive director of the Reform movement's Women's Rabbinic Network , explained that

1100-663: The United States such as the National Association of Social Workers, the American Psychological Association, and the American Bar Association. Despite ongoing challenges, the CCAR remains committed to enhancing its ethics process and now provides annual progress reports about the ethics system. Hebrew Union College The Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (also known as HUC , HUC-JIR , and The College-Institute )

1144-485: The building until 1997, when the Ramaz School , in an expansion deal for itself and York Prep School , bought the building and traded it with York for their prior campus on the block of Ramaz. As of 2009, the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion is an international seminary and university of graduate studies offering a wide variety of academic and professional programs. In addition to its Rabbinical School,

1188-476: The creation of the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement , an interfaith think tank through the partnership of HUC, USC and Omar Foundation. CMJE holds religious text-study programs across Los Angeles. Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk was appointed as HUC's sixth president, following the death of Nelson Glueck . As president, Gottschalk oversaw the growth and expansion of the HUC campuses, the ordination of Sally Priesand as

1232-413: The first female rabbi in the United States, the investiture of Reform Judaism's first female hazzan and the ordination of Naamah Kelman as the first female rabbi to be ordained in Israel. In 1996, Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman was appointed as the 7th President of the College-Institute. He was succeeded in 2000 by Rabbi David Ellenson as the 8th President. The 9th president of HUC-JIR, elected in 2014,

1276-411: The first woman to be the chief executive of the CCAR. The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) has an ethics code which all members are required to uphold, and an ethics committee to handle complaints and discipline any member rabbi found to be in violation of the code. This system only holds jurisdiction over rabbis who are part of the CCAR as it is a voluntary membership organization. While

1320-521: The founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood , which was founded in 1992. She served Congregation Kol Ami for thirty years before retiring in 2023. In 2008, Eger officiated at the wedding of Robin Tyler and Diane Olson. In 2009, she became the first female and the first openly gay president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California. 2009 was also the year she served as president of

1364-445: The law firm Morgan Lewis , who conducted 170 interviews addressing incidents beginning in the 1970s. The report described the culture at the school's campuses as a " good old boys " mindset demonstrating favoritism towards cisgender men , particularly at the Cincinnati and Jerusalem campuses. It found that students and administration were reluctant to confront professors over repeated incidents of harassment and discrimination, as many of

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1408-609: The museum has grown physically to encompass 5,000 square feet (460 m ) of exhibition space, expanding to include the Petrie Great Hall, Klingenstein Gallery, Heller Gallery and Backman Gallery. The Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles originally housed The Skirball Museum. The museum collection moved to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles when the Center opened in 1996. The Skirball Cultural Center

1452-522: The need for a more formalized approach, the CCAR adopted an Ethics Code and Ethics Committee with the aim of safeguarding congregants and communities from problematic behavior by rabbis. This committee was granted the authority to discipline rabbis, including the possibility of permanent suspension or expulsion. However, despite this step forward, investigations remained slow, and many offending rabbis faced little to no public consequences for their actions, often receiving private reprimands . A 1996 report by

1496-502: The perpetrators are or were revered scholars in their field, and complaints were often swept under the rug. Former professors Steven M. Cohen , Michael Cook , and Stephen Passamaneck , Director of Litiurgical Arts and Music Bonia Shur , and former presidents Alfred Gottschalk and Sheldon Zimmerman were reported to be the subject of repeated credible allegations of sexual harassment. The report recommended renaming or removing endowed chairs , scholarships, statues, and buildings that honor

1540-466: The program includes professional learning opportunities as a student-cantor, in which students serve congregations within and outside of the NY area. The curriculum includes liturgical music classes covering traditional Shabbat, High Holiday and Festival nusach, Chorus, Musicology, Reform Liturgy and Composition; Judaica and text classes such as Bible, Midrash and History; and professional development. Each student

1584-583: The rival Reform Jewish Institute of Religion (JIR) in New York. JIR was previously affiliated with the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue next door. Additional campuses were added in Los Angeles in 1954, and in Jerusalem in 1963. In 1979, HUC moved its New York campus from the original JIR building to 1 West Fourth Street in Greenwich Village . The Jewish Association for Services for the Aged took over

1628-477: The time, Reform rabbis were split over the question of whether the Jewish dietary restrictions were still applicable. Some of the more traditionalist Reform rabbis thought the banquet menu went too far, and were compelled to find an alternative between Reform Judaism and Orthodox Judaism . This was a major cause of the founding of American Conservative Judaism . In 1950, HUC gained a second campus when it merged with

1672-461: The vast majority of CCAR rabbis have not faced accusations of ethics violations, instances of serious misconduct such as financial impropriety, plagiarism, theft, and sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, have occurred in the past. Historically, these matters were dealt with privately, often resulting in minimal repercussions for the offending rabbis. At the annual convention in June 1991, recognizing

1716-545: The world, both those that are endangered and those that are emerging. The JLP was launched in 2020 and its activities include convening organizations and scholars to document endangered Jewish languages and created collaborative dictionaries for emerging Jewish languages. JLP's initiatives include the creation of a comprehensive resource on Jewish languages in the form of a series on online dictionaries, with information on over 30 different languages, including their history, grammar, vocabulary, and cultural significance. Most prominent

1760-399: The wrongdoers. The school's current president and board both stated that they would make teshuvah (repent), work to prevent such incidents, and revise policies for handling misconduct complaints. The HUC library system contains one of the most extensive Jewish collections in the world. Each campus has its own library: The three U.S. campuses share a catalog, but the Jerusalem collection

1804-410: Was Sally Priesand , ordained in 1972, the only woman in a class with 35 men. The first female cantor to be invested by HUC was Barbara Ostfeld in 1975. After four years of deliberation, HUC decided to give women a choice of wording on their ordination certificates beginning in 2016, including the option to have the same wording as men. Up until then, male candidates' certificates identified them by

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1848-483: Was Rabbi Aaron D. Panken , Ph.D. A noted authority on rabbinic and Second Temple literature, with research interests in the historical development of legal concepts and terms, Rabbi Panken was killed in a plane crash on May 5, 2018, while piloting a single-engine Aeronca 7AC over New York 's Hudson Valley . Andrew Rehfeld was elected the 10th president on December 18, 2018, and inaugurated at Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati on October 27, 2019. On April 11, 2022,

1892-757: Was also the founding chancellor and president of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rabbi Abraham Cronbach , Rabbi Tamara Cohn Eskenazi , Abraham Joshua Heschel , Leo Baeck , Gerald Bubis , Nelson Glueck , Moses Buttenweiser , Eugene Borowitz , Jacob Z. Lauterbach , Lawrence A. Hoffman , Louis Grossmann , Moses Mielziner , Julian Morgenstern , Rabbi Alvin J. Reines , Steven Windmueller , Debbie Friedman , Rachel Adler and Carole B. Balin , as well as Sami Rohr Choicie Award for Jewish Literature and National Jewish Book Award recipient Sarah Bunin Benor . 31°46′34″N 35°13′22″E  /  31.77611°N 35.22278°E  / 31.77611; 35.22278 Denise Eger Denise Eger (born March 14, 1960)

1936-608: Was founded in Cincinnati in 1875 under the leadership of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise . Jacob Ezekiel was Secretary of the Board, registrar, and treasurer from the College's inception until just before his death in 1899. The first rabbinical class graduated in 1883. The graduation banquet for this class became known as the Trefa Banquet because it included food that was not kosher , such as clams , soft-shell crabs , shrimp , frogs' legs and dairy products served immediately after meat. At

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