Beth Hillel Congregation B’nai Emunah, Wilmette, IL
Monday, April 1 – Wednesday, April 3, 2019
A conference for Conservative rabbis serving small congregations sponsored by the Coalition of Small Conservative Congregations and the Rabbinical Assembly.
Keynote Speaker:
Rabbi Dr. Joseph S. Ozarowski
Special Learning Opportunity:
An evening of learning at Svara: A Traditionally Radical Yeshiva with Rabbi Benay Lappe, Rosh Yeshiva and Founder
Other speakers:
- Barry Wimpfheimer
- Elliot Schoenberg
- RA President Debra Newman Kamin
- Anne Tucker
Two days of amazing personal and professional growth in a friendly and supportive environment, for only $150 (includes all meals except dinner Tuesday)! Those who have attended in past years have returned to their congregations excited and re-energized, inspired both by new ideas and new friends.
Start: April 1, 2019 at 3:00 PM
End: Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at 1:00 PM
Location: Beth Hillel Congregation B’nai Emunah, 3220 Big Tree Lane, Wilmette, IL 60091
If you are not an RA member, you can register by mail. Contact David Krishef for details.
Nearby hotels:
Extended Stay America
5211 Old Orchard Rd, Skokie Il, 60077 847-663-9031 extendedstayamerica.com
Hampton Inn
5201 Old Orchard Rd, Skokie Il, 60077 847-583-1111 hamptoninn.hilton.com
Speaker Information
- Rabbi Dr. Joseph S. Ozarowski is Rabbinic Counselor and Chaplain for Jewish Child and Family Services of Chicago and Jewish Chaplain at Skokie Hospital. Rabbi Ozarowski was cited by Chicago Jewish News as a “Top Jewish Chicagoan of 2013,” and received the “Rabbi Mordechai Simon Award” from the Chicago Board of Rabbis in 2014. He served as president of the Board of Rabbis from 2015 to 2017 and was very recently elected national treasurer of Neshama: the Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC). An engaging, nationally known teacher and speaker, Ozarowski has served congregations in Pennsylvania, California, Minnesota and Long Island.
Rabbi Dr. Ozarowski is a Board Certified Chaplain. He received his undergraduate degree from Loyola University of Chicago, his rabbinic ordination from Skokie’s Hebrew Theological College and his doctorate from Lancaster (PA) Theological Seminary. He currently serves on the Jewish Federation of Chicago (JUF) Board and the North Shore University HealthCare System Institutional Ethics Committee. A prolific author, Rabbi Ozarowski co-authored Common Ground, (1998, Jason Aronson) and has written numerous articles. His first book, To Walk in God’s Ways - Jewish Pastoral Perspectives on Illness and Bereavement, (hard cover 1995, Jason Aronson, paperback 2004, Rowman and Littlefield) is considered a standard in the field of Judaism and Pastoral Care.
- Barry Scott Wimpfheimer is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Law at Northwestern University. He specializes in the Talmud, Jewish Law and the intersection of law and literature. Wimpfheimer’s most recent book is The Talmud: A Biography (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018).
- Rabbi Benay Lappe is an award-winning educator specializing in the application of queer theory to Talmud study, Rabbi Lappe has served on the faculties of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Temple University, The University of Judaism, The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, The Graduate Theological Union’s Center for Jewish Studies at UC-Berkeley, The Wexner Institute, and Milken Community High School, where she was the founding faculty adviser to the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, the first to be established at a Jewish day school.
Ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary in 1997, Benay also currently serves as Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Next Jewish Future in Chicago, and as an Associate at CLAL—The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, where, upon ordination, she was appointed by The Righteous Persons Foundation to be its first Spielberg Fellow. During her tenure as Director of Education at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, in Manhattan, Benay founded CBST’s Lehrhaus Judaica, which has served over 10,000 students to date. Benay also co-founded the Queer Jewish Think Tank at Congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim, in Los Angeles, which still operates today. Benay was named to Jewrotica’s Sexiest Rabbis List of 2013 (and is a little embarrassed about this but also a little bit proud), The Forward’s 2014 List of Most Inspiring Rabbis, was awarded the 2015 Mintz Family Foundation Award for Creative Jewish Education, is a recipient of the Joshua Venture fellowship, and in 2016 received the prestigious Covenant Award for innovative Jewish education. While learning and teaching Talmud are her greatest passions, Rabbi Lappe is also a licensed pilot, shoemaker, and patent-holding inventor.
- Mary Jo Barrett - Self-Care. keeping yourself healthy before, during, and after difficult encounters. Mary Jo Barrett is the Director of The Center for Contextual Change, Ltd. She holds a Masters in Social Work from the University of Illinois Jane Addams School of Social Work and is currently on the faculties of University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, The Chicago Center For Family Health, and the Family Institute of Northwestern University. Mary Jo has worked with clergy from a variety of denominations, Christian, Judaism, and Muslim helping them understand the demands of their life and vocation.
- Sessions with RA Staff and leadership, including Elliot Schoenberg, RA President Debra Newman Kamin, and Anne Tucker (implementation of strategic plan, placement)
Hope to see you in April!
Conference Schedule
Monday, April 1
3:00 Welcome and Introductions
4:00 Keynote - Joe Ozarowski. Pastoral care in the congregation.
6:00 Break
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Minha/Ma’ariv (with Beth Hillel Congregation B’nai Emunah)
8:00 - Keynote - Joe Ozarowski. Interfaith and Intrafaith -- overcoming obstacles and working with people despite theological differences.
9:30 Informal Schmooze
Tuesday, April 2
7:00 Shaharit (with Beth Hillel Congregation B’nai Emunah)
7:45 Breakfast
8:15 - 9:45 - Barry Wimpfheimer (Limmud)
9:45 - 10:15 Break
10:15 - 12:15 - Elliot Schoenberg. “Job Satisfaction. Ten Ways to feel great about the work we do as rabbis.“ Based on the research of Daniel Kahneman, Nancy Schlossberg, Daniel Pink, David Krumboltz and Gregg Levoy. Six things every rabbi can do every day to feel more passionate, more energetic and more excited about the rabbinate.
12:30 Lunch
1:15 - Discussion with RA Leadership. Debra Newman Kamin - (CEO search), Anne Tucker - (implementation of strategic plan, placement)
3:15 Break
3:30 Session. Self-Led
5:00 leave for dinner
6:00 Dinner - out. We’ll make sure everyone has transportation.
7:00 Visit Svara.
9:30 Return to Hotel
Wednesday, April 3
7:00 Shaharit (with Beth Hillel Congregation B’nai Emunah)
7:45 Breakfast
8:15 Session. Self-Led.
9:45 Break
10:00 - Mary Jo Barrett - Self-Care (keeping yourself healthy before, during, and after difficult encounters)
11:15 - wrap-up and Evaluations
12:00 lunch