The CCAR Rabbinic Staff
Steven A. Fox | Deborah Prinz | Hara Person | Alan Henkin | Daniel B. Medwin
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STEVEN A. FOX Chief Executive (212) 972-3636 X. 238 |
Professional challenges for today’s Reform rabbis are unprecedented and the CCAR is committed to helping them succeed. Our programs, publications and events instill courage, imagination and a strong vision of Judaism that allows rabbis to engage today’s Jews toward a more meaningful, fulfilling and exciting Jewish life. Rabbi Steven A. Fox is the Chief Executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and works with the CCAR’s elected leadership to foster excellence in the Reform Rabbinate through efforts that enhance the personal and professional lives of rabbis. Rabbi Fox is a former attorney and professional mediator, with 18 years of experience advising individual rabbis and cantors, as well as congregations and other non-profits, on a variety of issues, including contract matters, employment disputes, board relations, charitable gifts and grants, and wellness and other organizational concerns. He is askilled mediator, having addressed and helped to resolve many diverse and challenging disputes among rabbis, educators and congregations. A native of Los Angeles, Rabbi Fox was ordained at HUC-JIR in 1980. He previously served as an adjunct rabbi of Temple Isaiah in L.A. where he focused his work on deepening synagogue members’ spiritual lives and growth through Jewish meditation, contemplative practices and text study. Earlier, he served Temple Emanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Temple Isaiah in Lexington, Massachusetts. Steve has been married to Vicki Reikes Fox for 30 years. They have two children, Bailey and Adam. Vicki, a museum consultant and artist, has served as founding director of the Museum of Southern Jewish History and is the author of Shalom Y’all, Images of Jewish Life in the American South .
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DEBORAH PRINZ Director of Program and Member Services & Director of the Joint Commission on Rabbinic Mentoring
(212) 972-3636 X. 226 |
Today, Rabbis are expected to master traditional areas of studies, provide spiritual and theological leadership, teach Torah, offer pastoral care and officiate at life-cycle events. At the same time (and now more than ever) rabbis must also master the instrumental, organizational and management skills required of any effective organizational leader. CCAR continuing education programs help rabbis attain these skills through learning opportunities uniquely grounded in Jewish thought and values. Rabbi Deborah Prinz is CCAR Director of Program and Member Services and Director of the Joint Commission on Mentoring. She is a writer and educator responsible for developing and presenting continuing education and specialized training for member rabbis, including programs at CCAR’s annual Convention. She also oversees a program pairing approximately 400 veteran mentors with new rabbis and develops support and pastoral care for CCAR rabbis and their families. Rabbi Prinz was ordained at HUC-JIR, Cincinnati, in 1978. As rabbi of Temple Adat Shalom, Poway, California, from 1988 until her retirement in June 2007, the congregation almost doubled in size and was repeatedly recognized for its outstanding programs and leadership in the Reform Movement. Previously, Rabbi Prinz served as rabbi of Congregation Beth Am in Teaneck, New Jersey, and was Assistant rabbi at Central Synagogue, New York, NY. She provided Leadership to our movement as a member of the National Commission on - Congregational Relations. Rabbi Prinz was a founder of the Women’s Rabbinic Network and past President of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis. Her numerous publications include: “And Those Who Are Not Here: Parashat Nitzavim,” URJ Torat Chayim Living Torah, (2005); The Accountability of Public Officials,” URJ Torat Chayim Living Torah, (1998); “Lilith: Lust and Lore,” CCAR Journal: A Reform Jewish Quarterly, (1997); “Beyond Baby M: A Jewish View,” in Reform Judaism (1987). She also wrote “A Geniza Fragment Attributed to Asher Ben Saul of Lunel: Text and Study,” in Hebrew Union College Annual (1986). Rabbi Prinz is married to Rabbi Mark Hurvitz, is the proud mother of Avigail, Noam & Rachel and is the thrilled grandmother of Amiel.
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HARA PERSON Director of CCAR Press
(212) 972-3636 X. 222 |
The CCAR Press is unique and offers exciting opportunities to amplify the voice through high quality and accessible publications for a variety of audiences young and old. We plan to maximize those opportunities by significantly expanding the number and type publications we present to better serve and enrich the lives of Jews around the world. Rabbi Hara Person is the Publisher and Director of the CCAR Press, where she works with CCAR leadership and members to produce books and other publications for rabbis, congregations, and the Jewish community. She also oversees the publication of the CCAR Journal: A Reform Jewish Quarterly. Rabbi Person was ordained in 1998 from HUC-JIR, after graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Amherst College (1986) and receiving an MA in Fine Arts from New York University’s International Center of Photography (1992). Before coming to the CCAR, Rabbi Person was the Editor in Chief of URJ Books and Music, where she was responsible for the revision of The Torah: A Modern Commentary (2005) and the publication of many significant projects, including the Aleph Isn’t Tough adult Hebrew series and Mitkadem : Hebrew for Youth as well as several award-winning children’s books . While at URJ, she was also the Managing Editor of The Torah: A Women's Commentary , named the National Jewish Book Award Book of the Year in 2008. Rabbi Person is also the author of Stories of Heaven and Earth: Bible Heroes in Contemporary Children's Literature, That You May Live Long: Caring for Your Aging Parents, Caring for Yourself (co-editor) , and The Mitzvah of Healing (editor). Her essays and poems have been published in various anthologies and journals, including Bridges, upstreet, Encyclopedia of Jewish American Popular Culture, Women and Judaism, The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature, and The Women’s Haftarah Commentary . Since 1998, Rabbi Person has been the high holy day rabbi of Congregation B'nai Olam, Fire Island Pines, NY, and she has been named Adjunct Rabbi at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, where she teaches adult education classes. Rabbi Person lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband, Yigal Rechtman, and their two teenage children.
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ALAN HENKIN Director of Placement (212) 972-3636 X. 234
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CCAR Placement Director; Union Rabbi for the West District. Prior to that, he served as Regional Director of the Pacific Southwest Council. From 1990 to 2000 he was the rabbi of Congregation Beth Knesset Bamidbar in Lancaster, California. During the 1980s he was rabbi for Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf in Arleta, CA. He has taught Modern Jewish Thought, Bible and Rabbinic Literature, "the Rabbi in the Hospital" and Rabbinic Practice at the HUC-JIR, LA; ordained by HUC in Cincinnati in 1980; Ph.D. in Social Ethics from the School of Religion at the University of Southern California, where he also earned an undergraduate degree; published articles in such journals as The American Rabbi, The Jewish Spectator, The Journal of Reform Judaism, Judaism, The Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism.
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DANIEL B. MEDWIN Publishing Technology Manager
(212) 972-3636 X. 385
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Rabbi Dan Medwin was ordained from Hebrew Union College (’10) where he also earned a Masters in Jewish Education. Dan began his undergraduate career at Brandeis University (’01) as a Computer Science major and spent his time working at the computer help desk. Finding himself doing more counseling over deleted papers than technical help and wanting to pursue a life in the rabbinate, Dan switched to a double major in Judaic Studies and Sociology. Nevertheless, computers and technology have remained an active passion in his life. In addition to designing websites and creating interactive online learning modules, Dan has also developed a unique style of worship called Visual T’filah which utilizes art and imagery to enhance prayer and deepen connections to liturgy. (For more information, see www.visualtfilah.com.) Dan works for the CCAR further developing Visual T’filah and offering his technical expertise to the Reform Movement, through webinars, workshops, and scholar-in-residence weekends on such topics as "Using Social Media to build Community" and "Using Technology in the Classroom." Dan is married to his HUC classmate and life-journeyer, Rabbi Lydia Bloom Medwin, and they are the joyful parents of Zimra, their adorable daughter. Dan enjoys sharing the title “Rabbi Medwin” with his wife, as well as, with his mother.
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