A Celebration of our Graduates 2020
All events will be virtual and open to the public on the Hebrew College YouTube channel on June 7, 2020.
Schedule
12:00 P.M. CELEBRATE OUR GRADUATES
VIEW THE INVITATION [PDF]
Please join us for a brief virtual ceremony streamed to the Hebrew College YouTube channel to honor and celebrate those receiving degrees in all of our programs, and mark this important milestone in their journeys as rabbis, cantors, and Jewish educators. This year’s graduates will also be warmly welcomed back next year, on June 6, 2021, when they will have the opportunity to march and receive their degrees in person together with the class of 2021.
1:00 P.M. CANTORIAL ORDINATION
Please join us for a ceremony streamed to the Hebrew College YouTube channel, in which the graduates from our School of Jewish Music will be ordained as cantors.
2:00 P.M. RABBINIC ORDINATION: STAGE I
Please join us for a ceremony streamed to the Hebrew College YouTube channel, in which graduates will honored for their completion of the program and have the title of rabbi conferred upon them. The second part of our rabbinic ordination ceremony will be held when we can safely gather in person next year.
Graduates, Prizes, and Honorees
Graduates and Ordainees
Bachelor of Jewish Education
Brooke Anne Fisher
Ari Pinchas Huberman
Master of Arts in Jewish Studies
Leah Skylar Beck
Alicia Dansker DePaolo
Valeria Forte
Jessica Sarah Goldberg
SAM Luckey
Michal Sharon Micner
Melinda Gordon Nearhoof
Sarah A. Noyovitz
Matthew Rubin Ponak
Rachel Amy Putterman
Shimon David Solkowitz
Master of Jewish Education
Leah Skylar Beck
Alicia Dansker DePaolo
Brooke Anne Fisher
Jessica Ann Schwartz Green
Paula Hoffman
Gita Dalia Karasov
Kelly Kossar
Noam Vered Raye Berl Lerman
Alison Faith Levy
Arielle Nicole Hersh Levy
Devora Bena Rohr
Rachel Slusky
Shimon David Solkowitz
Talia Eve Stein
Marc Louis Stober
Rebecca Lee Weintraub
David Daniel Wolff
Master of Jewish Education, Pardes Educators Program
Tova Dorit Messer
Lara Hannah Rodin
Joseph Nadiv Simcha Schiff
Certificate in Interfaith Families Jewish Engagement
Jennifer Nicole Boyle
Robyn Keri Hurvitz
Lorin James Troderman
Marla Weiner
Certificate in Jewish Sacred Music
SAM Luckey
Noele Lorraine Shahan
Cantorial Ordination
Jennifer Nicole Boyle
Rachel Slusky
David Daniel Wolff
Rabbinic Ordination
Jessica Sarah Goldberg
Gita Dalia Karasov
Noam Vered Raye Berl Lerman
SAM Luckey
Michal Sharon Micner
Sarah A. Noyovitz
Matthew Rubin Ponak
Rachel Amy Putterman
Talia Eve Stein
Rebecca Lee Weintraub
Academic Prizes
| AWARD NAME | DESCRIPTION | 2020 AWARD RECIPIENT |
|---|---|---|
| Sara Feinsilver Prize | Established by HCWA for an outstanding graduating student | Brooke Fisher |
| Betty K. & Philip Fein Memorial Prize | To an outstanding student in Jewish Education | Alison Levy |
| Myer Dana Memorial Prize | For excellence in advanced Jewish studies | Alicia DePaolo |
| Helen & Isaac Tarmy Scholarship | For excellence | Gita Karasov |
| The Israel Pollack Memorial Prize | For excellence (in Judaic studies) | Valeria Forte |
| Myer and Anna Wolf Prize | For excellence (in Hebraic or Judaic studies) | Talia Stein |
| Dean Nisson Touroff Memorial Prize | For meritorious work in the field of education and/or psychology | Jennifer Boyle |
| Professor J. K. Mikliszanski Fund | For a student preparing for a career in Jewish education or conducting research in rabbinic literature | Rebecca Weintraub |
| Cantor Rick Boyar Prize | For excellence in hazzanut | David Wolff |
| Frim-Steinhardt Family Prize | For a worthy undergraduate student in Jewish Education | Ari Huberman |
| The Harry H. Fein Memorial Prize | To an outstanding student in graduate studies in Jewish Education | Lara Rodin |
| Cecelia and Harry Needle Fund | To an outstanding student in the Cantor-Educator program | Rachel Slusky |
| Rabbi Joseph Marcus Memorial Prize | For a graduate - for excellence in Judaic Studies | Melinda Nearhoof |
Honorary Degree Recipient
Levi Weiman-Kellman
Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman is the president of Rabbis for Human Rights, which seeks to inform the Israeli public about human rights violations and to pressure the State of Israel to redress these injustices.
Rabbi Weiman-Kelman was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1979 and, in 1985, founded Congregation Kol Haneshama, a center for Progressive Jewish life in Jerusalem. He teaches prayer, liturgy, spiritual development and practical rabbinics at the Hebrew Union College Jerusalem campus. He has served as chair of MaRaM (the Council of Progressive Rabbis) and co-chair of the Inter Religious Coordinating Council of Israel. He was the 2003 recipient of the Isaac Meyer Wise and Stephen S. Wise Award for his contribution to the Reform Movement in Israel.
President's Message
Dear Friends,
As our spring semester comes to a close this week, we look back with overwhelming gratitude for this extraordinary, passionate, dedicated community of teachers and learners.
And we look ahead, with pride and joy, to Sunday, June 7, when we will celebrate our beloved graduates, honor them for all they have accomplished, and send them off with our blessings and best wishes.
While there is much sadness that we cannot gather in person this year, our pride in these graduates is deeper than ever. We feel tremendous admiration and appreciation, not only for what they have overcome to reach this milestone, but for their inspiring and courageous decision to step into Jewish leadership in this moment.
We are thrilled to invite you to join our graduates on Sunday, June 7th for the virtual events below. Links to these events will be posted on this page.
It fills us with gratitude and hope to know that they will be joining the ranks of our esteemed alumni, bringing their vast and varied gifts to serve individuals and lead communities all across North America.
We hope you will take a moment now to help us recognize the class of 2020 with a contribution to support Hebrew College’s future. We welcome you to include a message of encouragement or mazal tov to our graduates.
With blessings,
Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld
President
Contact Us
QUESTIONS?
- General Commencement: Contact Shana Burstyn in the
Office of the President - Rabbinical & Cantorial Ordination:
Contact Laurena Rosenberg - Jewish Education & Jewish Studies Degrees: Contact Deb Ron in the Shoolman School Office
Please consider making a gift in honor of our graduates. If you would like to send them a message or blessing, please include it in the “Comments” on the gift form.