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IN
THIS special ISSUE:
REPORT ON THE 2006 BEUTEL LEADERSHIP SEMINAR
By Rabbi Rich Kirschen
For many participants, the
Beutel Leadership Seminar 2006 [see WUPJnews #196 for a brief background
– ed.] was an extraordinary educational experience. The program was the
confluence of well-thought-out educational planning, intense hunger for
Jewish learning and leadership skills, and a measure of skill and even
luck in terms of group dynamics. This combination of factors produced a
seminar that had both depth and breadth while effortlessly combining the
key components of every seminar offered at the Anita Saltz International
Education Center: prayer, the study of sacred texts, Israel studies,
culture and hadracha (practical leadership skills).
Participants returned to
their home countries with a deep connection to, and appreciation for,
the World Union for Progressive Judaism, and with a tangible connection
to Jewish leaders from other Progressive Jewish communities. In
addition, they had rekindled their connection to Israel and now
understood its centrality to the World Union's philosophy.
There was keen interest in
this year's Beutel Seminar - which says a lot about last year’s
seminar. This year we contacted rabbis, communal workers, lay leaders
and Beutel alumni, ensuring the suitability of the applicants. In all
there were 23 participants from 14 countries (outside Israel): India,
Poland, Germany, Australia, Brazil, France, South Africa, the US, Costa
Rica, New Zealand, Argentina, the UK and Spain.
The program consisted of
the following components: spiritual/religious growth, contemporary
Israeli society, Progressive Judaism, community building and leadership
training, informal participant interaction, and the creation of a global
Progressive Jewish community.
The combination of
spiritual and intellectual religious study proved to be a critical part
of the seminar. In a way, the participants seemed to be “spiritually
hungry.” Each morning at Mercaz Shimshon-Beit Shmuel, the World Union's
education and cultural center, we looked out toward the walls of
Jerusalem’s Old City as we learned and prayed with Rabbi Levi
Weiman-Kelman. It was an extraordinary part of the day for all of us.
We also learned through lectures, both in the field and through
chevrutah (the studying of texts with a partner). There was so much
excitement about this part of the program that we must find more time
for it in future seminars. The sessions with Rabbi Weiman-Kelman and
with Israeli rabbinic students at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute
of Religion; Kabbalat Shabbat services at Progressive congregations in
Tzur Hadassah, Gezer, Modi’in and Mevasseret Zion; Talmud study with
Rabbi Shlomo Fox; and for dessert, a spiritual journey at Kibbutz Yahel
– all of this afforded a true experiential opportunity for Progressive
Jewish religious living and learning.
One of the central pillars
of the Beutel Seminar lies in bringing the participants to Israel and
having on hand an expert like Professor Paul Liptz, Director of
Education at the Saltz IEC. Being in Israel is one of the seminar’s
main highlights, and the ability to step outside the classroom - and
literally to inhale a country where the public culture is a Jewish
culture - is an essential experience of Jewish education. Everyone left
the seminar understanding exactly why the headquarters of the World
Union is located in Jerusalem.
We also visited Mt. Herzl
to discuss “Leadership in the Jewish State." We went through Yad Vashem
while focusing on "Leadership during the Holocaust.” We learned about
today’s Jewish People through texts and film at the Diaspora Museum. We
learned about community and leadership in the pre-state underground at
the Palmach Museum. And we went down to the desert to learn about a
modern day prophet - David Ben-Gurion.
Another highlight was to
focus on the state of Progressive Judaism in Israel. This part of the
program proved a success and an important source of information about
what has taken place within the Israel Movement for Progressive
Judaism. The participants often felt a direct connection between what
is happening in Israel and what is going on in their own communities.
This segment also focused on activism – they met with Rabbi Joel Oseran
of the World Union, Iri Kassel and Gusti Yehoshua-Braverman of the IMPJ,
pre-army volunteers from the IMPJ’s Mechina program, and Rabbi
Galia Sadan and other representatives of Tel Aviv’s Congregation Beit
Daniel, enabling them to take additional concepts home with them to
their communities.
In order to create a truly
dynamic seminar, one needs to provide the participants with tangible
skills they can use to build their communities. As with all seminars at
the Saltz IEC, an important segment of the Beutel Seminar was the
imparting of leaderships skills. Through community building and
leadership training, we empower individuals, their communities and, in
turn, the World Union. Rabbi Maya Leibovic of Congregation Mevasseret
taught about Jewish holidays and holiday seasons. Na’ama Dafni of the
Israel Religious Action Center taught "The ABCs of Social Action in the
Community.” The World Union's Lesley Sachs led a discussion after
showing the powerful movie “Women in Chains." And I taught the
importance of understanding public culture and institutional change.
There was an extremely
high level of informal interaction among the participants. They
constantly discussed mutual challenges and considered ways of
solidifying institutional ties. These ties, however, ultimately
transcended the institutional level, with the group achieving a true
sense of gibbush (bonding), so that by the end of the seminar
there was genuine sadness at the prospect of leaving and a true resolve
to keep in touch. In the words of Miriam Vasserman of Sao Paulo, “In
the beginning we were 24 individuals from 14 different countries and
very diverse backgrounds. At the conclusion we had become a family
united by the eagerness of transmitting our learning back to each
community.”
The Beutel Seminar is just
one example of many different programs run by the Saltz IEC that combine
liberal Jewish study with unique and meaningful experiences both in
Israel and abroad. The IEC offers short- and long-term seminars and
workshops that are ideally suited for congregational study missions,
Torah study groups, adult learning and leadership seminars, young adult
and college-age seminars, elder hostels and programs for seniors, and
family education programs. At the Saltz IEC, the Land of Israel and its
heart, Jerusalem, serve as classrooms and living text for a wide range
of programs that teach and emphasize Jewish tradition and values within
a pluralistic, liberal religious framework.
As a rabbi who has worked
in the field of informal education for the past 10 years at two
respected universities in the United States (the University of Michigan
and Brown University), I am fortunate to have spent time alongside
remarkably talented students and had the opportunity to build true
partnerships with tomorrow’s Jewish leaders. Yet I must admit that this
past Beutel Leadership Seminar was by far one of the most extraordinary
educational experiences of my life. I eagerly look forward to the next.
Rabbi Rich Kirschen is
director of the World Union's Anita Saltz International Education Center
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