On December 12, the Rabbinical Assembly hosted a Yom Iyyun for Campus Rabbis. Esther Reed, Senior Associate Director of Rutgers University Hillel, chaired the session, which was staffed by Elliot Schoenberg. In the morning Joel Roth led a discussion on his recent article Musings Toward a Personal Theology of Revelation, and Shai Held presented on his new book Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence. R. Elyse Winick of Brandeis University said, “I was inspired by Shai’s discussion of how we inspire wonder in a community that either isn’t there yet or doesn’t know what it’s seeking, and how we on campus can use the models of experiential and immersive education.”
In the afternoon the rabbis discussed ways to bring theology and meaningful Jewish conversations to campus, strategies to strengthen campus groups’ connection to the broader Conservative Movement, and issues related to being a Conservative rabbi on campus.
Rabbis on campus have an extraordinarily important role to fill in our rabbinate and our movement. Numerous recent studies have affirmed that Jewish experiences during young adulthood are critically influential for lifelong Jewish involvement. By helping create Conservative communities at colleges and universities and serving as ritual and spiritual mentors to students, our campus rabbis are able to be present for young Jews whose experiences with a Jewish community over the course of four years often influence their ideas and practice for years to come.
Jeremy Yoskowitz of Duke University noted that it is “always nice to have more tools and support and to learn from colleagues’ expertise…For the RA to make these opportunities and resources available is one of the best ways to help rabbis across the board.” Esther Reed appreciated the opportunity to talk with colleagues about the different roles they fill as rabbis on campus and to explore “how to be a Conservative rabbi on a college campus, which is by definition not an exclusively Conservative setting.” She noted with appreciation the Yom Iyyun’s message that “the RA is not just for pulpit rabbis, it’s for all rabbis.”
“There are rarely enough opportunities for campus rabbis to get together” and discuss their work, added Jeremy Yoskowitz. “This is a wonderful start.”
Participating rabbis included Joshua Barton of Vanderbilt University, Bruce Bromberg Seltzer of Amherst College, Michelle Dardashti of Brown University, Michelle Fisher of MIT, Rachel Isaacs of Colby College, Katherine Palley of Susquehanna University, Esther Reed of Rutgers University, Julie Roth of Princeton University, Joel Shaiman, Mike Uram of the University of Pennsylvania, Elyse Winick of Brandeis University, and Jeremy Yoskowitz of Duke University.