Your Email:

Friend's Email:

Note: (optional)

Subject:

Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/3322/full/3322/alameda-rabbi-to-be-stanford-s-first-jewish-chaplain/ <br /><br /> <b>Alameda rabbi to be Stanford’s first Jewish chaplain</b> <br /> Friday, May 31, 1996 | by <p>TERESA STRASSER </p> <br /><br /><p>It was a rough job interview for a rabbi.<br /><br /> Patricia Karlin-Neumann had to preach from the altar of Stanford University's cavernous, mosaicked Memorial Church. To a room full of Christians. On St. Patrick's Day.<br /><br /> She wore green, joked about her Irish-sounding first name, discussed the liturgy from a Jewish perspective—and got a job. Next fall, Karlin-Neumann will make history by becoming Stanford's first Jewish chaplain.<br /><br /> After more than 100 years of Christian chaplains, Stanford has made a few adjustments to accommodate a rabbi, the first of which was changing the position's official title from "Associate Dean of Memorial Church" to "Associate Dean of Religious Life at Stanford."<br /><br /> As one of three such deans on campus, Karlin-Neumann will counsel students, faculty and staff; intervene on ethical and religious matters; teach; participate in rituals on campus and preach from the sandstone church where she first made her mark.<br /><br /> "There really is an understanding that it's time for there to be a rabbinic voice represented in the life of the university. It's exciting," says Karlin-Neumann, who for the last five years has been spiritual leader of Alameda's Temple Israel.<br /><br /> Early in her career, she was a Hillel rabbi, serving for 11 years at campuses including UCLA and Princeton. She's returning to university life, she says, because of "the pleasure of living in a world of ideas."<br /><br /> The last decade at Stanford has seen a surge of interest in Jewish ideas and culture, she notes.<br /><br /> In the last few years, the university's dorms have begun providing kosher meal plans; Hillel services on campus have attracted thousands of Jews during High Holy Days; and a Jewish studies program has blossomed into one of the best in the country.<br /><br /> "Stanford has long recognized the importance of multiculturalism. But it has taken some time for Stanford to realize that Jews, too, have a place on this multicultural map," says Steven Zipperstein, director of the Jewish studies program and professor of Jewish culture and history.<br /><br /> The appointment of a Jewish chaplain represents a "courageous turning point in Stanford's relationship with Jews," says Zipperstein.<br /><br /> In his search for new chaplains, Chapel Memorial Church Dean Robert Gregg specifically kept an eye open for non-Christian candidates.<br /><br /> "Stanford is a multifaith place, and has been for decades," said Gregg, "so I regard having a rabbi as a paid university chaplain as a reality that is long overdue."<br /><br /> The dean describes Karlin-Neumann as "perfectly equipped to help the religious professionals, faculty and staff here come to a deeper understanding of Judaism."<br /><br /> Because Gregg was intending to hire only two chaplains instead of three, Karlin-Neumann will work part time next year, with a contract as a full-time chaplain for the following two years.<br /><br /> She will round out her schedule as interim director of the regional branch of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.<br /><br /> Serious about her role as the Stanford administration's first official Jewish voice, Karlin-Neumann maintains a humorous outlook on being a rabbi among ministers. During an interview with Gregg, she says she joked about preaching at the church Stanford students have long called "Mem Chu."<br /><br /> "I had this twinkling in my eyes and I said to him, `I have a title: Mem Chu and a Jew, too.'"</p> <p> </p>

Please enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below: