The College Commons Podcast

America, Islam and American Muslims have been, and continue to be, important threads in the fabric of American life. In this podcast, Dr. Hussain examines how Muslims have shaped and transformed American identity. Dr. Amir Hussain is Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he teaches courses on world religions. His own particular speciality is the study of Islam, focusing on contemporary Muslim societies in North America. His academic degrees (BSc, MA, PhD) are all from the University of Toronto where he received a number of awards, including the university’s highest award for alumni service. In Fall 2016, he is on a fellowship to the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California. From 2011 to 2015, Amir was the editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, the premier scholarly journal for the study of religion.

What defines American Jewish identity? Join Rabbi Goor in a searching discussion on politics and the pulpit. Rabbi Donald Goor, Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Judea Tarzana, California, currently serves as Rabbinic Liaison at ARZA World Travel in Jerusalem and as Campus Rabbi at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem. Rabbi Goor grew up in San Diego, California, as the son of a rabbi. He graduated the University of California at Berkeley with honors and distinction. In 1987, he was ordained at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Rabbi Goor then joined Temple Judea where he remained for 27 years serving as Senior Rabbi. During his time in Los Angeles, Rabbi Goor served on the faculty of Hebrew Union College where he taught second and fifth year rabbinic students, addressing topics that relate to the practical aspects of being in the clergy. Rabbi Goor continues his own studies at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem as a fellow in the Center for Rabbinic Enrichment Program. He co-founded the HOPE Network, the Valley Interfaith Council’s Homeless Project. He has chaired the “Jewish Federation/Valley Alliance’s Jewish Community Relations Council,” and co-chaired the Jewish Federation’s “Cults and Missionaries Commission.” After completing a course of studies he received the honor of being a Fellow at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. In July of 2013, Rabbi Goor and his husband, Cantor Evan Kent, fulfilled a life dream and made Aliyah. In Jerusalem he serves on the boards of Shutaf, an informal education program for kids with special needs, and the David Forman Foundation for Social Justice.

As America's first female rabbi, Sally Priesand reflects on the responsibility of being first and how it has shaped her life. Rabbi Sally Jane Priesand is America's first female rabbi ordained by a rabbinical seminary, and the second formally ordained female rabbi in Jewish history, after Regina Jonas. Priesand was ordained in 1972 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. After her ordination she served first as assistant and then as associate rabbi at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, and later led Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, New Jersey from 1981 until her retirement in 2006.

"It’s all about relationships,” says Dr. Wolfson. From Chabad to Disney, Dr. Wolfson explores how synagogues can build stronger ties within their communities. Ron Wolfson, Ph.D. is the Fingerhut Professor of Education in the Graduate Center for Education. He joined the AJU faculty in 1975 as an Acting Professor. During his 40-plus year career at AJU, he has served as Director of the Education Department, founding Director of the Whizin Center for the Jewish Future, Director of the Ramah Academy, Dean of the Fingerhut School of Education, Special Assistant to the President, and Vice President of the University. Dr. Wolfson is a frequent scholar-in-residence for synagogues and communities, speaking on a wide range of topics in Jewish life, co-founder of Synagogue 3000 with Rabbi Larry Hoffman, and a pioneer in the field of Jewish family education. He is the author of fourteen books on Jewish life, including Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform the Jewish Community and The Best Boy in the United States of America: A Memoir of Blessings and Kisses (both Jewish Lights imprints from Turner Publishing).

Without Jewish law, there would be no Jewish action says Rabbi Washofsky. Join this esteemed scholar as he discusses the impact of law on Jewish life and it's place within the Reform movement. Rabbi Mark Washofsky, Ph.D. is the Solomon B. Freehof Professor of Jewish Law and Practice at HUC-JIR in Cincinnati. Dr. Washofsky has been a member of the HUC-JIR faculty since 1985, most recently serving as Professor of Rabbinics, and specializes in the literature of the Talmud and Jewish law. He received his rabbinical ordination (1980) and Ph.D. (1987) from HUC-JIR. He succeeded his teacher and mentor, Dr. Ben Zion Wacholder, z”l, as holder of the Freehof Chair on July 1, 2006. Dr. Washofsky chairs the Responsa Committee of the Central Conference of American rabbis, which was founded in 1906 by Kaufmann Kohler and empowered by its most prolific writer, Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof. His extensive publications include Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice, Revised edition (URJ Press, 2010), Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century (CCAR, 2010), and essays and articles on medieval halakhic literature, the application of legal theory to the study of Jewish law, Jewish bioethics, outreach and conversion, among others. The Solomon B. Freehof Professorship of Jewish Law and Practice was established in honor of Dr. Solomon B. Freehof by The Allen H. and Selma W. Berkman Charitable Trust.

Rabbi Goldstein encourages us to stretch beyond our comfort zone to become knowledgable and observant congregants. Rabbi Elyse Goldstein graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University in 1978 and received her Masters in Hebrew Literature and Ordination in 1983, and her Doctor of Divinity, honoris causis, in 2008. She served for twenty years as the Director of Kolel in Toronto, an adult education institute which she founded in 1991, considered a leading institution in the field of Jewish adult education. She is currently the Rabbi at City Shul, a synagogue she founded 3 years ago together with a dedicate team of lay leaders in Toronto. In those 3 years the synagogue has grown to 225 families. She is one of seven women featured in the Canadian National Film Board documentary, “Half the Kingdom.” She is the author of ReVisions: Seeing Torah through a Feminist Lens and editor of The Women’s Torah Commentary, The Women’s Haftarah Commentary and New Jewish Feminism: Probing the Past, Forging the Future.

Rabbi Laura Geller discusses Next Stage: Temple Emanuel’s Boomers & Beyond Initiative designed to address the needs of community members fifty and above. Rabbi Geller was the first Reform woman rabbi to be selected as the Senior Rabbi of a major metropolitan congregation. She has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including being named one of Newsweek’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America for two years in a row, and receiving the California State Legislature’s Woman of the Year Award. In 2015 she was named one of the 33 most inspiring rabbis by Forward Magazine. Featured in the PBS Documentary called Jewish Americans, she is the author of many articles in journals and books, is a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, and served on the Editorial Board of The Torah: A Woman's Commentary, in which she has two published essays. Most recently, she has spearheaded a groundbreaking new project called Next Stage: Temple Emanuel's Boomer and Beyond Initiative and she is one of the founders of ChaiVillageLA, a joint project with Temple Isaiah that received a Cutting Age Grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles to help Boomers age in place.

Why should we care about Hebrew? Rabbi Weinberg examines Hebrew as the carrier of culture and a window into Judaism. Rabbi Josh Weinberg is the President of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America. He was ordained from the HUC-JIR Israeli Rabbinic Program in Jerusalem, and is currently living in New York. Josh previously served as the Director of the Israel program for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and as a faculty member of NFTY-EIE High School in Israel teaching Jewish History. Josh is a reserve officer in the IDF spokesperson’s unit, has hiked the Israel-trail, and came on Aliyah to Israel in 2003. Originally from Chicago, he has a B.A. from University of Wisconsin in Hebrew Literature, Political Science and International Relations, and an M.A. at the Hebrew University in Jewish Education.

From Liberal Zionism to American Judaism and the state of Israel, Rabbi Rick Jacobs discusses Reform Judaism's strengths and challenges in grappling with today's most pressing issues. Rabbi Rick Jacobs is president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the most powerful force in North American Jewish life. A longtime and devoted creative change agent, Rabbi Jacobs spent 20 years as a dynamic, visionary spiritual leader at Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) in Scarsdale, New York. During his tenure, he reshaped communal worship, transformed the congregation into a community of lifelong learners, and strengthened the synagogue's commitment to vibrancy and inclusion. Under Rabbi Jacobs' leadership, WRT completed a new "green" sanctuary, one of only a handful of Jewish houses of worship in the nation to carry this designation.

For Rabbi Denise Eger, Torah helps us navigate the process of living. From acknowledging God's flaws to living with intention, Rabbi Eger gives us a Torah for our times. Rabbi Denise L. Eger is the founding Rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood’s premier Reform Synagogue. Rabbi Eger is the President-Elect of The Central Conference of American Rabbis. the largest rabbinic organization in the world, and will assume the presidency as the third woman and first openly gay or lesbian person in the position in 2015. Rabbi Eger is Past President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, the first woman to serve in the post. Recently honored by the City of Los Angeles, she was also named by the Huffington Post as the Most Inspirational GLBT Clergy Person in America. In 2010 she was named by the Jewish Daily Forward as one of the top 50 women rabbis in North America. In 2008, the Jewish Daily Forward named her as one of the Forward 50—the 50 most influential Jewish leaders in the United States for her work on GLBT rights. She posts regularly on her blog: Walking Humbly, Seeking Justice, Living with Hope at www.rabbieger.wordpress.com.