AJRCA President, Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, PhD, was the guest speaker at a meeting of the Clark County (NV) Ministerial Association on March 14th and at the Board of Rabbis of Southern Nevada, on March 15th, as guest of alumna Rabbi Yocheved Mintz, Mashpiah Ruchanit '04, President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern Nevada and Executive Board Member of the Clark County Ministerial Association.  Rabbi Gottlieb introduced the philosophy of AJRCA to both the interfaith group and the Board of Rabbis and presented an overview of the Claremont Lincoln University initiative.  Captivating those in attendance, he answered numerous questions at both events. During his brief visit to Las Vegas, Rabbi Gottlieb also met with potential students at a parlor meeting hosted by Rabbi Mintz. In other news, Rabbi Gottlieb's article, "King David's Individuation Process Seen through a Kabbalistic Lens," appeared in the latest issue of Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought. (Pictured in the article from left to right: Rabbis Malcolm Cohen, Mel Gottlieb, Yocheved Mintz, Michael Laxmeter, Hershel Brooks, and Mel Hecht.)    

In the last two months, AJRCA Professor of Bible, Dr. Marvin Sweeney, has given a number of lectures and presentations on both the East and West Coasts. In February, Dr. Sweeney spoke at Congregation Ohr Ha-Torah in Los Angeles, Temple Beth El in San Pedro, Har-El Institute in Palm Desert, and Temple Akiba in Culver City. In March, he gave a seminar presentation at Boston College (BC) and was the keynote speaker at BC's Corcoran Conference on Levinas and Biblical Studies speaking on the subject "Moses Encounter with G-d and G-d's Encounter with Moses, A Reading of the Moses Narratives in Conversation with Emmanuel Levinas." Dr. Sweeney also spoke at Boston University School of Theology on "The Task of Jewish Biblical Theology."

Rabbi Debbie Israel, '09, working with the Mayor of Morgan Hill, CA, was instrumental in the formation of the Mayor's Interfaith Council. The first meeting, held on February 9th, brought more than 25 area spiritual leaders together, most of whom were meeting one another for the first time. Mayor Steve Tate invited Rabbi Israel to deliver the opening benediction and recognized her for her efforts to organize the council. A second meeting is scheduled for late April. For nearly six years, Rabbi Israel has served as spiritual leader of Congregation Emeth in Morgan Hill (also serving neighboring Gilroy, Hollister, and South San Jose).

Rabbis Marcy Delbick, '09, Debbie Israel, '09, and  Janice Mehring, '10 recently held a "Three Temple Teen Retreat." This is the second year the former classmates brought the teenagers of their small temples together for the retreat, creating friendships among the teens from Rabbi Delbick's Congregation Emeth in Salinas, Rabbi Israel's Congregation Emeth in Morgan Hill and Rabbi Mehring's Congregation Ohr Tzafon in Atascadero.

On March 8th, Rabbi Paula Marcus, '04, was one of the featured panelists at the "2012 Noel Q. King Memorial Lecture/Forum" held at the University of California Santa Cruz. The annual event celebrates the work of the late Noel Q. King, Professor Emeritus of History and Comparative Religion at UC Santa Cruz who was committed to interfaith dialogue. Rabbi Marcus provided the Jewish perspective on the topic "Interfaith Perspectives on Economic Justice: Implications for 'Occupy'". Rabbi Marcus is the Rabbi and Congregational Cantor for Temple Beth El in Aptos, CA.

Judy Aronson, AJRCA Professor of Jewish Education, is featured as part of the new traveling exhibition, Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age, presented by the National Museum of American Jewish History and the organization, Moving Traditions. The exhibit was produced in order to illustrate the dynamism of Jewish life and to mark the 90th anniversary of the first American bat mitzvah. It tells "the story of how a radical innovation became a nearly universal tradition based on interviews with over 150 pioneers." Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age opened March 6th at the JCC in Manhattan where it will run through April 27th. It will then travel to communities throughout North America. On a related note, on March 16th the Jewish Ledger (Connecticut) ran the article "Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age," noting the upcoming exhibition and detailing Ms. Aronson's bat mitzvah at The Emanuel Synagogue in Hartford in 1946. Describing her experience, she said "I can still put myself right there and it was extraordinary. You didn't see women on the bimah in those days, and it was years before there were women rabbis. I went to a lot of Friday-night services at the Emanuel and I don't think any women ever spoke from the bimah. Being on the bimah and looking out at this large congregation was very powerful."

Rabbi Marc Mandel, coordinator of AJRCA's Beit Midrash program, has been chosen to be the new senior rabbi of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. The oldest congregation in the United States, the Touro Synagogue was dedicated in 1763 and the congregation was founded in 1658 by Sephardim who fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal and were searching for a haven from religious persecution in the Caribbean. Reflecting its historic importance to the American Jewish community, the synagogue has been designated a National Historic Site. In addition to his work with the Academy, Rabbi Mandel has served as the Associate Rabbi of Beth Jacob Congregation, a Modern Orthodox synagogue with over 750 member families in Beverly Hills. Rabbi Mandel will be assuming his new position in late June.

Cantor Jonathan Friedmann, PhD, '10 has just had his tenth book published. Synagogue Song: An Introduction to Concepts, Theories and Customs (McFarland Books, 2012) is described by the publisher as follows: "Through 100 brief chapters, this volume considers theoretical approaches to the study of Jewish sacred music. Topics include the diversity of Jewish music, the interaction of music and identity, the emotional and spiritual impact of worship music, the text-tone relationship, the musical component of Jewish holidays, and the varied ways prayer-songs are performed. These distillations of complex topics invite a fuller appreciation of synagogue song and an understanding of the ubiquitous presence of music in Jewish worship."

AJRCA Professor of Literature, Rabbi Miriyam Glazer, PhD, was recently a scholar in residence for the Yellow Springs Havurah in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where AJRCA graduate  Rabbi Anthony Elman, '07 led Kabbalat Shabbat services. On March 14th, Rabbi Glazer spoke on the subject of "the culinary customs of Jews" for California State University Long Beach's Jewish Studies Program.

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about becoming  

a student at the Academy, please contact  

Janet L. Barzilay, JD, AJRCA Director of Admissions and Alumni Liaison  

at 310-824-1586, ext. 451 or jbarzilay@ajrca.org.