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Hebrew Union College



 
 
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (also known as HUC, HUC-JIR, and The College-Institute) is the oldest Jewish seminary
Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is a specialized and often live-in higher education institution for the purpose of instructing students in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, usually in order to prepare them to become members of the clergy....
 in the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
 and the main seminary for training rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
s, cantor
Hazzan

A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the synagogue in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources....
s, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
.

HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem campus is the only seminary in Israel for training Reform Jewish
Progressive Judaism (Israel)

Progressive Judaism is the Israeli equivalent of reform Judaism....
 clergy.

was founded in 1875 under the leadership of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County, Ohio. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border....
.






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The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (also known as HUC, HUC-JIR, and The College-Institute) is the oldest Jewish seminary
Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is a specialized and often live-in higher education institution for the purpose of instructing students in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, usually in order to prepare them to become members of the clergy....
 in the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
 and the main seminary for training rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
s, cantor
Hazzan

A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the synagogue in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources....
s, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in Reform Judaism and in Reform Judaism ....
.

HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem campus is the only seminary in Israel for training Reform Jewish
Progressive Judaism (Israel)

Progressive Judaism is the Israeli equivalent of reform Judaism....
 clergy.

History

HUC was founded in 1875 under the leadership of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County, Ohio. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border....
. A second campus in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 was created through a merger with the rival Reform Jewish Institute of Religion
Jewish Institute of Religion

The Jewish Institute of Religion was an educational establishment created by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise to train rabbis in Reform Judaism in 1922 in New York City. It was merged with the Hebrew Union College in 1950....
 in 1950 and additional campuses were added in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, in 1954 and Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
 in 1963.

As of 2009, the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is an international seminary and university of graduate studies offering a wide variety of academic and professional programs. In addition to its Rabbinical School, the College-Institute includes Schools of Graduate Studies, Education, Jewish Communal Service, sacred music, Biblical archaeology
Biblical archaeology

For the movement associated with William F. Albright and known as Biblical archaeology, see Biblical archaeology school. For the interpretation of Biblical archaeology in relation to Biblical historicity, see The Bible and history....
 and an Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
i rabbinical program.

The Los Angeles campus operates many of its programs and degrees in cooperation with the neighboring University of Southern California
University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private university, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park, Los Angeles, California neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, California, United States....
, a partnership that has lasted over 35 years.

Notable faculty

Notable faculty members have included Judah Magnes, who was also the founding chancellor and president of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Warsaw-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians of the 20th century....
, Nelson Glueck
Nelson Glueck

Nelson Glueck was an United States rabbi, professor and archaeology. Dr Glueck served as president of Hebrew Union College from 1947 until his death, and his pioneering work in biblical archaeology resulted in the discovery of 1,500 ancient sites....
, Moses Buttenweiser
Moses Buttenweiser

Moses Buttenweiser was an United States Bible scholar, born at Beerfelden, Germany and educated at the universities of University of Würzburg, University of Leipzig, and Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg....
, Eugene Borowitz
Eugene Borowitz

Rabbi Eugene Borowitz is a leader and philosopher in the Reform Judaism, known largely for his work on Jewish theology and Jewish ethics. He also edited a Jewish journal, Sh'ma, and teaches at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion....
, Jacob Z. Lauterbach, Steven M. Cohen and Debbie Friedman
Debbie Friedman

Deborah Lyn "Debbie" Friedman is an United States composer and singer of songs with Judaism religious content. She was born in Utica, New York, New York but moved with her family to Minnesota at age 5....
.

Notable graduates


  • Jonathan Rosenbaum (scholar)
    Jonathan Rosenbaum (scholar)

    Jonathan Rosenbaum is an American paleographer and college administrator.Rosenbaum was born in Michigan and is a graduate of the University of Michigan....
  • Ruth Langer
    Ruth Langer

    Ruth Langer is a Professor of Theology at Boston College, and a noted expert on Jewish Liturgy and on Christian Jewish Relations. Bryn Mawr College, AB, 1981...
  • David Williams, director of the University of Georgia
    University of Georgia

    The University of Georgia is a public university research university located in Athens, Georgia, Georgia , the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning....
     Honors Program


Gender equality and HUC

In keeping with the tradition of gender equality in Reform Judaism, HUC has both male and female students in all its programs, including rabbinic and cantorial studies. Since its founding, the College-Institute has ordained over 2,800 rabbis and over 400 cantors. As of 2007, 520 ordained rabbis and 179 invested cantors have been women. (See Women and the rabbinical credential
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
).

Resources

The HUC system contains one of the most extensive Jewish collections in the world with close to a million volumes on the four campuses. The collection includes 150 incunabula (the earliest printed books), more than 2,000 manuscript codices, and many thousands of pages of archival documents. Special collections include Jewish Americana, music, an outstanding Spinoza collection, and extensive microforms. It also houses the American Jewish Periodical Center, which preserves American Jewish periodicals and newspapers on microfilm.

The three U.S. campuses share a The Jerusalem is separate.

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum

The HUC-JIR Museum includes the Petrie Great Hall, Klingenstein Rare Book Room, Chaim and Rivka Heller Archives Gallery, Joseph Gallery, and Backman Gallery. The museum presents exhibitions highlighting Jewish history
Jewish history

Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Jewish culture. Since Jewish history encompasses nearly four thousand years and hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes....
, culture, and contemporary creativity.

External links