JCS Programs: Scholar In Residence – Rabbinic Reflections

The Talmud instructs every person to find a teacher and study diligently with them. For over 75 years, JCS’ Scholar in Residence program has been providing teachers to students who are seeking knowledge about Jews and Judaism and making impacts in thousands of lives. The importance of this program, and its meaningful presence in the lives of those rabbis who teach for JCS is without bounds. Taking a moment to reflect about their experiences as JCS lecturers, our rabbis have transmitted stories of hope, reconciliation, and most importantly, stories of understanding.

Rabbi Robert H. Loewy
Congregation Gates of Prayer
Metaire, Louisiana
It has been my privilege to be a Chautauqua Society lecturer for many years, first at the University of New Orleans and now at Loyola University. These classes serve as an opportunity to be an “Or Lagoyim”, a “Light unto the other people” of our community. Who attends my classes? The vast majority of my students are non-Jews, who simply wish to learn more about Judaism, as a way of better understanding their own religion. They come to see Christianity in a whole new light and leave with a respect for their religious roots. Often there will be students, who are searching their familial roots, seeking to learn more about the religion of a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent. They have heard family stories or been exposed to some Jewish practices, but have no real appreciation of their meanings. The course on Judaism brings understanding. And there will occasionally be a Jewish student desiring to reconnect to Judaism or deepen his/her knowledge. One such student attended my class at the University of New Orleans. He had been estranged from Judaism since his Bar Mitzvah. An education major, he utilized his knowledge gained, to first become a religious school teacher. Today, he is the creative Principal of my religious school, pursuing a Masters in Jewish Education. The Jewish Chautauqua Society has enabled me to be an Or Lagoyim, spreading the light of Judaism among those who seek it.

Rabbi Alan Sokobin
Rabbi Emeritus
Temple Congregation Shomer Emunim
Sylvania, Ohio
The essential philosophy of the Jewish Chautauqua Society rings true in our society. Future leadership in business, law, government and society is being developed and trained in the university classes of the present. American colleges and universities are preparing students to hone their thinking and their techniques of dealing with the anticipated complexities of the future by developing orderly and creative process of thought.

There is, as well, another vitally important component of the education of the college student. Too often, American university students tend to be parochial in attitude and limited in perspective, their weltanschauung, their world outlook might well be termed pre-Copernican. The center of their universe is in this nation and knowledge of and appreciation of other cultures is limited. The purpose of higher education is to expand the intellectual horizons while inculcating within the student the worth of learning. The word "university" points to the universality of learning. The need to give university students a view of the vast knowledge, wisdom and information in other cultures is vital for a person preparing to become a contributive member of society. Consequently, it is vital that university students should be introduced to the rich and vibrant elements of the Jewish community and Judaism. The culture of the western world is based, in large part, upon the laws, practices, customs and ideology of the ancient Hebrews. The legal code of the Hebrew Bible is a part of the legal rationale of Christian Europe and the Americas. The modern Jewish community resonates with the idealism and visions that derive from the past and have now taken on the bright hues of the present. It has been my joyous pleasure and religious obligation to present these idealisms to university students.

Rabbi Stephen Fuchs
Congregation Beth El
West Hartford, Connecticut
The Hartford Seminary is a major center of Christian-Muslim encounter and dialogue. The seminary is home to the McDonald Center, an internationally recognized institute for research in Christian-Muslim relations, that attracts Muslim students and scholars from around the world. Two Muslims, one from the Middle East, were among the eleven participants in my graduate seminar this past semester on "Reading Scripture through Jewish Eyes." They joined a Roman Catholic priest, a Unitarian Universalist Minister, one other Jew, and six Christian lay students for our three hour class that met once per week. The mix of backgrounds and opinions fostered lively and interesting discussions. The other courses I have taught at "Hartsem" in my role as JCS lecturer are "A History of Christian-Jewish (Mis)Understanding" and "Jewish Values as they Emerge from the Jewish Religious Experience." I also serve on the seminary's Board of Trustees. Teaching at the Hartford Seminary gives me a treasured opportunity to present Jewish perspectives to students who would not otherwise encounter them in an academic setting. I am most grateful to the Jewish Chautauqua Society for the opportunities they provide for students to attain a greater understanding of the rudiments of Jewish thought and the realities of Jewish history.

Rabbi Herman Schaalman
Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
According to my recollection and reckoning, I have been a JCS lecturer now for fifty-five years. It began for me in 1947 at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa and has continued ever since in Chicago at Garrett Theological Evangelical Seminary at Northwester University and Chicago Theological Seminary on the campus of the University of Chicago. In these years several thousand students, virtually all of them preparing for one phase or another of Christian ministry, have taken courses ranging from Liturgy of the Synagogue, Introduction to Rabbinic Judaism, to Modern Jewish Life and Thought.

It is virtually impossible to gauge with certainty the impact of one’s teaching. One small measure available to me is the fact that years after their ordination, many ministers would return to my temple to visit with “their rabbi,” to view the Torah, and to share in worship. It is impossible to accurately evaluate what happened in these many years, but it is certain that with few exceptions, these Christian students were introduced to the values and perceptions, the norms and ethics of Jewish traditions and contemporary life. There is no other program anywhere comparable to the potential and impact of JCS.

Rabbi Edward Paul Cohn
Temple Sinai
New Orleans, Louisiana
Wherever I have served as Rabbi, I have eagerly participated in JCS lecturing and teaching on college and seminary campuses. Wesleyan College of Macon and Park College of Kansas City were followed by the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Xavier and Dillard Universities in New Orleans. Last spring I was richly honored to inaugurate a new JCS sponsored course in New Orleans, a city which is 65% Roman Catholic. I have been invited to teach a class on Jewish prayer and Liturgy at the historic Notre Dame Seminary, which provides Catholic priests for a five state area in the South. I think that this exciting invitation represents a fantastic vote of confidence in not only this Rabbi, but in the excellence of the Jewish Chautauqua Society.

I was thinking the other day about the varied subject and course titles covered through the years I have been a JCS lecturer. We’ve offered introductory classes in Jewish History, holiday ceremonies, and life cycle celebrations. We have examined in depth studies of the Jewish view of covenant, Judaism in the 20th century, the history of Zionism, Jewish views on the hereafter, death and dying, and Jewish issues of conscience : abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, and gun control. We have studied the reform movements if Judaism and modern-day denominations, too. And of course, we have studied Jewish views of Jesus and Jewish ideas of Messianism.

Rabbi Barry Altman
Temple Beth El
Ormond Beach, Florida
Dr. Grady Ballenger, a friend, colleague, and Dean of Academics at Stetson University, recently asked me whether Introduction to Judaism, a course that I had been teaching each fall could be offered in the spring semester as well. Introduction to Judaism along with an upper level course in “Holocaust Studies” have been two of the most popular offering at Stetson and invariably close out during pre-registration. I am pleased to report that classes of Jewish content are both popular and well regarded as intellectually stimulating. Ninety percent of my students are of the Christian faith. I congratulate Stetson University, formerly a South Baptist institution, for its dedicated leadership and its successful mission in creating a culturally diverse campus. Thanks to JCS, we have succeeded in reaching out to students who now have a deeper sensitivity and greater respect for the teachings of Judaism.

Rabbi James Prosnit
Congregation B’nai Israel Park Avenue Temple
Bridgeport, CT
It has been an honor to be a JCS lecturer in the Religious Studies Department of Fairfield University in Fairfield CT. Over thirty students a semester at this top notch Jesuit University have been able to fulfill a portion of their Religious Studies distribution requirement by taking the course sponsored by the JCS. Over the years Introduction to Judaism, History of the Jewish Experience, or the course I currently teach, Jewish Interpretation of Scripture have attracted considerable interest with the mostly Catholic student body and is among the first in the university to "close out."

Many of the students attended parochial high schools and have had very little exposure to Jews, Judaism, and the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old Testament"). They are always surprised the first day of class when in my brief biography I mention that I'm married with three children. Clergy to them are celibate. I am always amazed how little these very bright students know about Jewish belief and practice. I am always delighted how willing they are to learn. At the end of the semester many confide that not only did they learn a lot about Judaism, but that the course gave them new insights and perspectives into their own faith.

Each semester I require several papers in addition to a mid-term and final. One of the papers is a "synagogue visit reaction paper." Students must attend services at one of the local Connecticut congregations or visit a congregation near where they grew up and write a report about their experience. While several may have attended a friend's Bar or Bat Mitzvah in the past, most have never set foot into a synagogue. They approach the visit filled with trepidation, but they always come away enriched. Our synagogues never fail to welcome my students and give them a very positive introduction to Jewish worship.

Professors in the Religious Studies Department have been most welcoming and have encouraged me to be become involved in various campus activities. I was recently honored by the faculty by being inducted as an honorary member of Theta Alpha Kappa, the National Honor Society for Religious Studies/Theology.