Believing that the interests of the Jewish People are strengthened by a healthy rabbinate and the cooperation of the rabbis in the work of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the Board of Rabbis of Southern California seeks to:
Promote and nurture the growth of rabbis on both spiritual and professional levels,
Foster a sense of Klal Yisrael among the different denominations, and
Serve as a resource for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles in its work to engage, care for and ensure the future of the Jewish People.
Rabbi Joshua Hoffman, President, Board of Rabbis of Southern California:
In times of abundant joy, or in seeking healthy responses to emergent crises and comfort from profound sorrow, rabbis are sought for guidance on how to move forward. The Board of Rabbis is the most relevant and active source of support and inspiration for us, the leaders of the Southern California Jewish community, to speak and act with in these moment with the best values of our sacred traditions. Our gathering does so much more than provide an address for us to express our thoughts and actions with each other. We are better rabbis because our Board of Rabbis provides opportunities to learn, share, and act for the benefit and welfare of the Jewish people. My participation in the Board of Rabbis is vital to my work as a rabbi and my service to the Southern California Jewish community.
Rabbi Sarah Hronsky, Vice-President, Board of Rabbis of Southern California:
As a member of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California for the past 15 years, I have benefited significantly. For example spiritual growth and rabbinic skill set develop have been enhanced through the opportunities for study whether it be a seminar on death and dying, the high holy days, or leadership management skills or a text based learning led by a teacher from Hartman or a local colleague. In addition, with so many rabbis within and around Los Angeles, the Board of Rabbis calls us across denominations to gather together on a variety of occasions. Through these gatherings I have built stronger relationships and ties with colleagues and have felt doors open and bridges extend for joint programming and support with specific work challenges. I am grateful to the Board of Rabbis for learning opportunities, the extension of prayers during tumultuous times, and collegiality.
Rabbi Amy Bernstein, Immediate Past-President, Board of Rabbis of Southern California:
In these times of deep division and alienation I believe it is more important than ever to find ways to come together across differences. The Board of Rabbis’ purpose is to bring rabbis from different denominations, fields, and generations together to learn and to build relationships of respect not only despite but partly in light of our divergent views and perspectives. This is a model I believe has great power to influence the quality of dialogue in Southern California as well prove that civility and candid conversation can and should happen among people of good will who come from very different points of view and experience. This meeting of different opinions has always been one of the great strengths of the Jewish People and the Board of Rabbis is reconstructing that strength for our time.
Rabbi Jason Weiner, Past-President, Board of Rabbis of Southern California:
I am a member of the board of rabbis because I believe that together we can accomplish great things. While there is much that we don’t agree on, when we gather together, face to face, we tend to find out that there are many important communal matters that we do indeed agree upon, and can work together on behalf of our people and the world. Indeed, the more we recognize that we are one family, each of us precious in the eyes of God, we become increasingly precious to each other. As we forge on, doing the holy – yet challenging – work of the rabbinate, developing local collegial, professional and moral support systems is crucial if we are to persist in doing this holy work effectively.