Hebrew Union College: A Legacy of Reform Jewish Leadership and Education

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) stands as a cornerstone of Reform Judaism, fostering academic excellence and leadership development. Founded in 1875 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, HUC-JIR has evolved into an international institution with campuses in Cincinnati, New York City, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. It is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the primary training center for rabbis, cantors, educators, and communal workers within Reform Judaism.

The Genesis of an Institution

In 1875, with the Jewish population in the United States exceeding 150,000, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, a prominent figure in the American Reform movement, established Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. Wise recognized the need for a progressive institution of higher Jewish learning to cultivate future clergy and leaders. He had been striving to create a sustainable rabbinical training facility since 1848. Initially, the school was located at K.K. Bene Israel with a modest enrollment of 14 students. Rabbi Isaac M. Wise served as the President and took on the duties of schoolmaster when it became apparent that the sole teacher, Solomon Eppinger, would be unable to handle the class adequately in his solitary position. Jacob Ezekiel served as Secretary of the Board, registrar, and treasurer from the College's inception until just before his death in 1899.

Early Challenges and Growth

The college's early years were not without challenges. In 1883, a banquet honoring the first graduating class, known as the Trefa Banquet, served non-kosher food, highlighting the tensions between traditionalists and reformers regarding Jewish dietary laws. The Trefa Banquet included food that was not kosher, such as clams, soft-shell crabs, shrimp, frogs' legs and dairy products served immediately after meat. At the time, Reform rabbis were split over the question of whether the Jewish dietary restrictions were still applicable.

Despite these challenges, HUC continued to grow, becoming a major training center for rabbis and teachers of the Reform movement.

Expansion and Mergers

In 1950, Hebrew Union College expanded its reach by merging with the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, founded in 1922 by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise. This merger created a bi-coastal institution, strengthening its influence and resources. The California school of the college-institute was chartered at Los Angeles in 1954. In 1979, Hebrew Union College moved its New York campus from the original Jewish Institute of Religion building to 1 West Fourth Street in Greenwich Village. In January 2025, the building on West 4th Street was sold to New York University for $75 million.

Academic Programs and Resources

HUC-JIR offers a wide array of academic and professional programs across its campuses. These include:

Rabbinical School: Training future rabbis for Reform congregations.
School of Education: Offering master's degrees in educational leadership and Jewish education.
Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management: Providing master's degrees in Jewish nonprofit management, with dual degree options in collaboration with the University of Southern California.
Pines School of Graduate Studies: Granting Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in various fields of Jewish studies.
Cantorial School: Training cantors for Reform congregations.

Students have joint degree opportunities in our Rabbinical, Cantorial, Jewish Education, and Jewish Nonprofit Management Programs and can go on to earn a Ph.D. The Los Angeles campus runs many of its programs and degrees in cooperation with the neighboring University of Southern California. Their 50-year collaboration includes the creation of the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement, an interfaith think tank through the partnership of HUC, USC, and Omar Foundation. CMJE holds religious text-study programs across Los Angeles.

HUC-JIR boasts internationally renowned resources, including:

Klau Library: Located in Cincinnati, it houses one of the most extensive collections of Hebraica and Judaica in the world. The Klau Library at Cincinnati has one of the most extensive compilations of Hebraica and Judaica in the United States, including outstanding collections on Benedict de Spinoza, Jewish sacred music, and Jewish Americana. This library is the second-largest collection of printed Jewish material in the world (the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem is the first).
Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives: A repository of historical documents related to American Jewish life.
Skirball Museum: Established in 1913, the museum collection moved to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles when the Center opened in 1996.

HUC-JIR’s publications include the Hebrew Union College Annual and Studies in Bibliography and Booklore.

A Commitment to Inclusion and Social Justice

HUC-JIR has been at the forefront of promoting inclusivity and social justice within the Jewish community. The college has been home to several significant firsts including the 1972 ordination of Sally J Priesand as America's first female rabbi. Hebrew Union College has both male and female students in all its programs, including rabbinic and cantorial studies. Julia Ettlinger (1863-1890) became its first female student in 1875. As of January 2022, it has 839 women rabbinical graduates. After four years of deliberation, Hebrew Union College decided to give women a choice of wording on their ordination certificates beginning in 2016, including the option to have the same wording as men. Up until then, male candidates' certificates identified them by the Reform movement's traditional "morenu harav," or "our teacher the rabbi," while female candidates' certificates only used the term "rav u’morah," or "rabbi and teacher."

HUC-JIR is committed to advancing academic excellence while supporting fiscal sustainability. In the fiscal year 2021-2022, HUC-JIR’s students received over $7.1 million in scholarships, stipends, or student assistance with scholarships covering approximately 71% of tuition requirements.

Navigating Challenges and Ensuring a Respectful Community

In 2021, following new reports about sexual abuse by former Hebrew Union College president Sheldon Zimmerman and recently deceased professor Michael Cook, three separate Reform organizations began internal investigations of sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination. Hebrew Union College retained the law firm Morgan Lewis, who conducted 170 interviews addressing incidents beginning in the 1970s. The report described the culture at the school's campuses as a "good old boys" mindset demonstrating favoritism towards cisgender men, particularly at the Cincinnati and Jerusalem campuses. It found that students and administration were reluctant to confront professors over repeated incidents of harassment and discrimination, as many of the perpetrators are or were revered scholars in their field, and complaints were often swept under the rug. Former professors Steven M. Cohen, Michael Cook, and Stephen Passamaneck, Director of Litiurgical Arts and Music Bonia Shur, and former presidents Alfred Gottschalk and Sheldon Zimmerman were reported to be the subject of repeated credible allegations of sexual harassment. The report recommended renaming or removing endowed chairs, scholarships, statues, and buildings that honor the wrongdoers. Hebrew Union College is undertaking a multi-year teshuvah process to strengthen a sacred and respectful community aligned with its highest Jewish values.

The Jewish Language Project

The Jewish Language Project (JLP), run by Professor Sarah Bunin Benor at Hebrew Union College, is a research program dedicated to the preservation of Jewish diasporic languages. The project also seeks to raise awareness among Jewish communities about Jewish languages around the world, both those that are endangered and those that are emerging. The JLP was launched in 2020 and its activities include convening organizations and scholars to document endangered Jewish languages and created collaborative dictionaries for emerging Jewish languages. JLP's initiatives include the creation of a comprehensive resource on Jewish languages in the form of a series on online dictionaries, with information on over 30 different languages, including their history, grammar, vocabulary, and cultural significance. Most prominent is the Jewish English Lexicon, an online dictionary of words derived from various Jewish languages that Jews use when they are speaking English.

Leadership and Notable Figures

Throughout its history, HUC-JIR has been led by distinguished figures who have shaped the course of Reform Judaism. Notable presidents include:

Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise
Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk
Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman
Rabbi David Ellenson
Rabbi Aaron D. Panken, Ph.D.

Notable faculty members have included Rabbi Judah Magnes, who was also the founding chancellor and president of Hebrew University of Jerusalem Rabbi Israel Bettan, Rabbi Abraham Cronbach, Rabbi Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Rabbi Leo Baeck, Gerald Bubis, Rabbi Nelson Glueck, Moses Buttenweiser, Eugene Borowitz, Jacob Z. Lauterbach, Jacob Mann, Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Henry Slonimsky, Rabbi Louis Grossmann, Rabbi Moses Mielziner, Rabbi Julian Morgenstern, Rabbi Alvin J. Reines, Steven Windmueller, Debbie Friedman, Rachel Adler, Sivan Zakai, Rabbi Wendy Zierler, Rabbi Michael Marmur and Carole B. Carole B. Balin, M.A. Herbert Baumgard, rabbi, M.H.L and Rabbi, 1950, D.H.L. 1962, D.D. Barnett R. Abraham J. Morris M. Samuel H. Moses J. James G. Rabbi Richard J. Emil W. Felix A. Jack P. Martin A. Aaron D. Jacob S. Abraham B. A. Norbert M. Lance J. Rabbi Dr.

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Impact and Reach

Each year, HUC-JIR students serve more than one-third of the 850 Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) congregations. They fulfill internships in educational institutions, Jewish communal organizations, camps, healthcare and military chaplaincy, and the institutional arms of the Reform Movement.

Archival Resources

The American Jewish Archives houses a significant collection of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Records, offering valuable insights into the institution's history and development.

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