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 HUC-JIR Faculty, Students, and Alumni Participate in Hava Nashira, the Annual Songleading and Music Workshop  Some of the HUC-JIR faculty, students, and alumni who attended Hava Nashira. Front row: Rollin Simmons, Zöe Jacobs, Cantor Jennifer Frost, Debbie Friedman, Cantor Ellen Dreskin, Merri Arian, Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz, Rabbi Larry Karol, Cantor Rosalie Boxt, Cantor Jeff Klepper. Back row: Cantor Ross Wolman, Cantor Todd Kipnis, Rabbi Ken Chasen, Rabbi Audrey Pollack Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz, Director of Admissions and Recruitment at HUC-JIR/NY, attended the conference to meet with future HUC-JIR students and recruit for the College-Institute. Other HUC-JIR faculty, students, and alumni, reflected on their weekend. Debbie Friedman, HUC-JIR Instructor in Music, says, "The sounds of Hava Nashira live inside of me all year and I look forward every year to the next year when we can celebrate all that we are capable of creating. It is magical and spiritual; beautiful and majestic." HUC-JIR student Rollin Simmons says, "This was my first year at Hava Nashira, and it was truly a privilege to be in the presence of so much greatness all at once. It was four full days of learning music and stories and participating in a caring and thoughtful community." Rabbi Larry Karol, C '81, says, "When I first attended Hava Nashira in 1999, I was one of a handful of rabbis among the 90 participants present. The size of the community has grown over that time, as has the breadth and depth of the programming. Sessions have always been relevant, thought-provoking, and inspiring. Hava Nashira 2008 likely featured the largest group of HUC-JIR alumni in attendance, offering us a chance to recognize the musical connection - cantors, rabbis, educators, and worship leaders - that brings us together." Cantor Todd Kipnis, SSM '07, says, "I learned effective repertoire for all ages of children and adults. I learned skills and successful models for Tot Shabbat and worship for young children, and ideas for working with youth and adult volunteer choirs. I met and began forming relationships with some of the most popular modern Jewish songwriters of the Reform Movement, and met wonderful songleaders who also had many great ideas to share." For more information on Hava Nashira, visit http://osrui.urjcamps.org/yearround/programs/havanashira. Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the nation's oldest institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, educators, and communal service professionals, and offers graduate and post-graduate programs to scholars of all faiths. With centers of learning in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and New York, HUC-JIR's scholarly resources comprise renowned library and museum collections, the American Jewish Archives, biblical archaeology excavations, research institutes and centers, and academic publications. HUC-JIR invites the community to an array of cultural and educational programs which illuminate Jewish history, identity, and contemporary creativity and which foster interfaith and multiethnic understanding. Visit us at www.huc.edu |
