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HUC’s new head hopes to address Jews of all movements

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Message: If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/15977/full/15977/huc-s-new-head-hopes-to-address-jews-of-all-movements/ HUC’s new head hopes to address Jews of all movements Friday, July 13, 2001 | by ALEXANDRA J. WALL Increasing enrollment and making it easier for second-career Jewish professionals to enter the Reform movement's seminary are two goals of its new president, Rabbi David Ellenson. "The numbers are declining but the demand [for rabbis] is increasing," he said, "and it's something we really need to address." The congenial Ellenson was in high demand at last month's Central Conference of American Rabbis gathering in Monterey, but he took a few moments from his frenetic schedule to talk about his plans for Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion. Ellenson has a rather unorthodox background for a Reform rabbi—he grew up attending an Orthodox synagogue. In early adulthood, he "became attracted to the openness and liberal approach" of Reform Judaism. "I found it meaningful and in accordance with my own sensibilities," Ellenson said. That attraction led to his career as a rabbi and a scholar at the Los Angeles campus. Now, he is the newly appointed president of HUC's four campuses (the others are in New York, Cincinnati and Jerusalem.) A professor of Jewish religious thought, Ellenson is originally from Newport News, Va., and still has a trace of a Southern accent. Ordained by HUC in 1977, he has been on its faculty since 1979. He is also a fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of Jerusalem and at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and is a prolific author, having written several books and over 150 articles. He is married to a Reform rabbi, who serves as a chaplain at a private school. They have five children. Ellenson isn't sure whether the family will move to New York, where HUC main offices are located; for the next year at least, the family will remain in Los Angeles. Ellenson replaces acting president Rabbi Norman J. Cohen, who took over after Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman resigned last year when allegations of sexual impropriety were raised. Burton Lehman, chair of HUC's board of directors, called Ellenson an "eminent rabbi and scholar." Rabbi Martin Weiner, senior rabbi of San Francisco's Congregation Sherith Israel and the new CCAR president, gave Ellenson the ultimate peer compliment, calling him "a rabbi's rabbi." That Ellenson has taught at the Conservative movement's seminary and has written widely about Jewish law and Orthodoxy, not to mention Reconstructionism, plus the fact that he was once part of a Renewal chavurah, puts him at ease with all the movements. "I'm hoping my own background will allow me to speak in an interdenominational manner," he said. "I hope I can emphasize what unifies us as opposed to what divides as Jews." Like his colleagues at much of the conference, Ellenson was more casually dressed than their profession usually requires. He wore an open-collar shirt and slacks, though he wasn't in shorts, like many of his peers. With a salt-and-pepper beard and expressive eyes, he gestured with his hands as he described his plans for the Reform university. High on his agenda is attracting more students to the rabbinical program and to the variety of Jewish studies programs HUC offers. In previous years, Ellenson said, Jewish studies programs were mostly offered at the seminaries of the various movements. But now, more and more top-ranked universities including Harvard and Columbia have Jewish studies programs of the same caliber. "I want HUC to be known as an intellectual center, not only a spiritual one," he said. But on the spiritual side, he hopes to attract more students to the rabbinical, cantorial and educational programs as well. Speaking of the "tremendous shortage" of Jewish professionals, he said it's been caused by two factors: The Reform movement has experienced much growth, while many rabbis are choosing careers in federations, Jewish community centers, Hillels or other organizations, rather than the pulpit. The problem is not unique to the Jewish world, he added, as seminaries of various faiths are all experiencing a decline in numbers of those entering the clergy. Ellenson said he hopes to remedy the situation by getting alumni to work more actively on recruitment of possible candidates, and eliminating whatever barriers exist for second-career candidates. "There's a phenomenon of people in their late 30s, or in their 40s or 50s who turn to a career in the rabbinate after having other careers." He called those people "untapped potential." He also hopes to institute a leadership program for Reform high school or college students—similar to the Bronfman program, in which they are brought together to Israel or a camp setting to explore their Jewish identity. The Reform movement, Ellenson says, is facing the same issues U.S. Jewry is facing as a whole. He said there seem to be two trends happening simultaneously: on the one hand, the further disengagement and assimilation of Jews from religious life, and on the other, the increased involvement of those who are "more knowledgeable and passionate about their Judaism than in prior generations." Meanwhile, certain developments bode well. Ordaining rabbis at the HUC's L.A. campus starting next year, the growing influence of the Conservative movement's University of Judaism, and two Northern California rabbis taking leadership positions in the CCAR, he said, "all reflect well on the fact that there is a very strong Jewish culture and religious presence on the West Coast."

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