Thursday, May 4, 2023

Now more than ever, the Jewish community needs leaders who model the values of empathy, humility, and communal responsibility. These virtues underlie Hebrew College’s mission to train religious and lay leaders capable of bringing healing to our world through education, service, artistry, and cooperative engagement across lines of difference.

Hebrew College will honor two lay leaders who embody these virtues at its 2023 Spring Gala: Andy Offit, Chair of the Hebrew College Board of Trustees for the last six years, and Dan Miller, the Founding Supporter of the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College. Both of these individuals model the classical Jewish concept of areivut, communal responsibility rooted in an understanding of the interconnection and interdependence of all life. Fittingly, the gala will take place at the new shared communal campus at 1860 Washington Street in Newton, MA. The theme for the evening is “Opening the Gates: Celebrating Our Interconnection.”    

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“I wondered how I could create a sculpture that spoke to the passage of time, growth, and the future. The idea of showing the germination of the cyclamen plant (the national flower of the State of Israel) burst forth. 'In the beginning' came to me about using a rock as a symbol of time, and then I wanted a vehicle to plant a seed to start this growth, a dove, symbolic of peace and love came to mind.”

— Nancy Schön, who created a newly-commissioned sculpture that will live in the Hebrew College courtyard to honor generations of Hebrew College donors

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Both Florence Reece and the Toldot Ya'akov Yosef teach us to answer the challenge posed by God’s instruction to maintain an ever-burning flame—by reaching outside of ourselves and stoking our sense of responsibility for the welfare of the people. In this way, we refuse to allow the mundane, routine tasks of liberation and holiness to quell our passions or lull us into complacency. The flame is sustained through the call and response of the song: Which side are you on? We’re on the people’s side!

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“I've always been told to not lick the wine off of my finger when dipping it for the 10 plagues on the seder plate. We don't want to enjoy the pain of the Egyptians, I was taught. But after the Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds, they began singing a joyous song as they see the Egyptians dead on the banks of the sea. So the question is: should the Israelites feel compassion for the Egyptians? Should God?”

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