JCC Association Names Maverick
Thinker as Scholar-in-Residence for Coming Year
New York, NY, September 7, 2007 – Continuing
a tradition of deepening the Jewish knowledge of its volunteer
leaders as well as those who work on staff, JCC Association,
the umbrella organization of the continental JCC Movement,
has named Rabbi Brad Hirschfield to be its next scholar-in-residence.
In accepting the position, Hirschfield lauded the JCC Movement
for its impact on communal life and Jewish identity at this
time in American Jewish history, saying, “There really
is no institution in American Jewish life that is better positioned
to capitalize (in every sense of the word) on the moment in
which we find ourselves, and I look forward to being a part
of that process.”
Hirschfield’s responsibilities will include speaking
and teaching at meetings of the continental board of directors;
the organization’s Biennial; and at leadership retreats,
said Rabbi Alvin Mars, director of JCC Association’s
Mandel Center for Jewish Education.
Mars noted the significance of the two-year appointment, which
will be announced at the next board meeting in October. “An
institution like JCC Association, which believes firmly in
the importance of pluralism in our Jewish community, places
great importance on having an ardent spokesperson and scholar
for whom pluralism is such a foundational value,” he
said. Hirschfield has been preceded in the role by Rabbis
Joseph Telushkin and Reuven Kimmelman and historian Deborah
Lipstadt. The scholar- in-residence program was established
through the generosity of the late Leonard Rubin and his wife
Syril. Mr. Rubin was a member of the JCC Association Board
of Directors.
Hirschfield, president of CLAL–The National Jewish Center
for Learning and Leadership, a leadership training institute,
think tank and resource center, is known as a maverick thinker,
provocative speaker and incisive commentator on religion,
society and pop culture, lecturing on political and social
trends to audiences nationwide. Among the many venues where
he has appeared are the Aspen Institute; the National Cathedral
in Washington, DC; the Islamic Society of North America; and
at many leading universities and religious institutes.
He is also a sought-out media analyst, quoted frequently by
the press on topics ranging from religion and violence to
the changing role of religion in America. As co-host of the
popular weekly radio show, Hirschfield and Kula, airing on
KXL in Portland, OR ? one of the top 25 US markets—he
brings a fresh perspective to issues dividing our country
and the world. The only rabbi to be featured on “Nightline
UpClose,” he is a popular guest on Court TV and has
appeared on ABC, CNN, PBS, MTV, and NPR and was a regular
on WWSB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Florida. Featured in PBS-TV’s
“Frontline: Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero” and
“Religion & Ethics Newsweekly,” Hirschfield
can often be heard on Westwood One and Air America radio networks.
This past year, he was featured, along with other religious
leaders, in a groundbreaking 18-part interfaith series he
originated for Beliefnet.com, entitled Building Bridges: Abrahamic
Perspectives on the World Today. The series, exploring divisiveness
among religious faiths, has aired on Bridges Television (American
Muslim TV), reaching more than two million viewers.
Author of the forthcoming book, You Don’t Have To Be
Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism
(Harmony, Sept. 2007), he conceived and is the editor of Remembering
for Life (CLAL, 2006), a new book on the challenge of Holocaust
memory in the 21st century, and is the co-author of Embracing
Life & Facing Death: A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care
(CLAL, 2003). An Orthodox rabbi, he received a master’s
in Jewish studies and a master’s in Jewish philosophy
from the Jewish Theological Seminary. His undergraduate studies
were completed at the University of Chicago.
###
JCC Association
is the leadership network of, and central agency for the Jewish
Community Center Movement, which is comprised of 350 JCC,
YM-YWHA and camp sites in the U. S. and Canada. JCC Association
offers a wide range of services and resources to strengthen
the capacity of its affiliates to provide educational, cultural,
social, Jewish identity-building, and recreational programs
to enhance the lives of North American Jews of all ages and
backgrounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also the U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
Miriam
Rinn
Communications Manager
JCC Association
15 E. 26 St., NY, NY 10010
212-786-5092
grounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also a U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
The NFL Youth Football Fund (YFF) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization
founded by the National Football League and NFL Players Association
in 1998 to use football as a catalyst to promote positive
youth development. Through the YFF, hundreds of thousands
of youngsters have been given the opportunity to learn the
game of football, get physically fit, and stay involved in
productive after-school activities with adult mentors. The
YFF also provides youth football participants with safe and
accessible places to play, as well as programs and initiatives
that address the importance of proper coaching, academics,
health and safety, and life skills development.
fax: 212-481-4174
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