The Louis and Judith Miller Introduction to Judaism Program is an educational institute based at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, California. It has, since its founding in 1986, helped students explore their Jewish roots or prepare for conversion to Judaism. [1] Based primarily in Los Angeles, and throughout the United States, the Miller Program is available to people of any backgrounds find a home in the Jewish community. [2] [3] [4] [5]
The program is a comprehensive course that spans over 18 weeks and aims to equip participants with knowledge, practical skills, and insightful perspectives on Jewish culture. The program is led by a rabbi providing guidance to each individual, as they explore the history, present, and future of Judaism. [6] [7] The Miller Program offers Shabbat services and dinners, a support group, and ongoing programming for alumni.
The Miller Program is under the direction of Rabbi Adam Greenwald. [8] Rabbi Greenwald is a "Rabbis Without Borders" Fellow with Clal, the Center for Learning and Leadership [9] and is a recipient of the Covenant Foundation's Pomegranate Prize in Jewish Education. [10] Before coming to AJU and the Intro Program, Rabbi Greenwald served as the Revson Rabbinic Fellow of IKAR. Supervision of the Intro Program is provided by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and Vice President of the AJU. [11]
The program is endorsed by the Rabbinical Assembly of America, and by other clergy. [12] Conversions performed under the auspices of the Miller Introduction to Judaism Program are recognized by the State of Israel for purposes of making Aliyah. [13] [2]
The subject of homosexuality and Judaism dates back to the Torah. The book of Vayikra (Leviticus) is traditionally regarded as classifying sexual intercourse between males as a to'eivah that can be subject to capital punishment by the current Sanhedrin under halakha.
The Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards for the Conservative movement. It organizes conferences and coordinates the Joint Placement Commission of the Conservative movement. Members of the RA serve as rabbis, educators, community workers and military and hospital chaplains around the world.
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies. The Jewish Theological Seminary Library is one of the most significant collections of Judaica in the world.
Elliot N. Dorff is an American Conservative rabbi. He is a Visiting Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law and Distinguished Professor of Jewish theology at the American Jewish University in California, author and a bio-ethicist.
Conversion to Judaism is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. Furthermore, a conversion done in accordance with one Jewish denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination. Normally, though not always, the conversions performed by more stringent denominations are recognized by less stringent ones, but not the other way around. A formal conversion is also sometimes undertaken by individuals whose Jewish ancestry is questioned or uncertain, even if they were raised Jewish, but may not actually be considered Jews according to traditional Jewish law.
The Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion is a Jewish seminary with three locations in the United States and one location in Jerusalem. It is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, Ohio, New York City, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. The Jerusalem campus is the only seminary in Israel for training Reform Jewish clergy.
The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union (OU). It is the main professional rabbinical association within Modern Orthodox in the United States. Many rabbis of the RCA are graduates of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University or otherwise identify with Modern Orthodox Judaism.
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history, Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, Oriental studies, religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages, political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies. Jewish studies as a distinct field is mainly present at colleges and universities in North America.
American Jewish University (AJU) is a private Jewish university in Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 2007 from the merger of the University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute.
The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies is the graduate program of study leading to ordination as a Conservative rabbi at the American Jewish University, offering a Masters in Rabbinic Studies degree.
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, known simply as the Jewish Journal, is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by TRIBE Media Corp. Its editorial stance is conservative.
The Brandeis-Bardin Campus of American Jewish University is a Jewish retreat located since 1947 in the northeastern Simi Hills, in the city of Simi Valley, California. Formerly known as the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, it is used for nondenominational summer programs for children, teens, and young adults.
Bradley Shavit Artson is an American rabbi, author and speaker. He holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, California, where he is also Vice-President. He supervises the Louis and Judith Miller Introduction to Judaism Program and provides educational and religious oversight for two Camp Ramah campuses, Ojai and Monterey Bay. He is Dean of the Zacharias Frankel College at the University of Potsdam in Germany, ordaining Conservative/Masorti rabbis for Europe.
David L. Lieber (1925-2008), rabbi and scholar, was president emeritus of the University of Judaism and the senior editor of the Etz Hayim Humash. He helped pioneer the Ramah camps, serving as the founding head counselor in the first of the camps in Wisconsin, a director in Maine, the founding director of Camp Ramah in California, and the founding director of the Mador.
The Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism, also known as the LCCJ, is a council made up of members of the various arms of the Conservative movement, a formal movement within the Jewish denomination of Conservative Judaism.
The first openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clergy in Judaism were ordained as rabbis and/or cantors in the second half of the 20th century.
Proactive conversion is a term used to refer to measures by various promoters of Judaism to provide outreach to non-Jews. It is distinguished from proselytizing, or active attempts of persuasion and solicitation toward conversion, but it is distinguished from the traditional rabbinical policies regarding prospective proselytes in that programs for conversion are opened to first-time inquirees.
Jacob "Jack" Pressman was an American Conservative rabbi. He served as the rabbi of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles, California, from 1950 to 1985. He was a co-founder of the American Jewish University in Bel Air. He penned a weekly column in The Beverly Hills Courier, from 2004 to 2015.
This is a timeline of LGBT Jewish history, which consists of events at the intersection of Judaism and queer people.
Rabbi Natasha Mann is a rabbi of New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom, which is affiliated to Masorti Judaism. She is the first openly queer rabbi in a traditional Jewish denomination in Europe.