National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership explained

The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL) is a leadership training institute, think tank, and resource center. It is an inter-disciplinary and inter-denominational movement, in which rabbis from all major Jewish denominations in North America participate. The organization is described by The Jewish Daily Forward as a "think-tank dedicated to questions of Jewish identity and religious practice...in its quest to expand the boundaries of Jewish communal life".^[1]

Rabbi Brad Hirschfield presently serves as the president of CLAL.^{[2] [3]}

Rabbi Elan Babchuck is the Executive Vice President.

Etymology

CLAL is an acronym formed from the organization's English language name (Center for Leadership and Learning). It is also a transliteration of a Hebrew word that can mean community, as in the expression "Klal Yisrael" which refers to the Jewish people as a whole. It is intended to suggest the organization's stated mission to serve as a center of interdenominational cooperation in American Judaism.^[4]

History

CLAL was founded in 1974 by Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, and Rabbi Steven Shaw.

Programs

CLAL runs Rabbis without Borders.^[5]

External links

• National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
• Clal publications on the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2009-07-30. ‘Rabbi Cool’ and Rock Opera Draw Stars, Upscale Spiritualists. The Jewish Daily Forward.
2. http://www.newsweek.com/2009/04/03/50-influential-rabbis.html "50 Influential Rabbis"
3. http://www.clal.org/cms/node/43 "CLAL Faculty, Fellows and Associates"
4. Web site: Kabbalah-based course offers steps to fulfillment. 9 October 2014.
5. News: Jaffe-Hoffman . Maayan . ‘Off the Beaten Path:’ Rabbis Increasingly Finding Roles Outside the Pulpit, Education . 6 September 2021 . eJewish Philanthropy . January 5, 2016.