JTS Honors 45 Rabbis for their Dedication and Commitment at January 2021 Convocation
February 1, 2021
NEW YORK, NY – The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), awarded honorary doctorates to 45 rabbis at an online convocation ceremony on January 31, 2021. JTS celebrated and honored the achievements of these important spiritual leaders and expressed appreciation for their contributions to Jewish life. Each recipient has served the Jewish community and the Conservative Movement with distinction for over 25 years
Dr. Shuly Rubin Schwartz, chancellor of JTS, conferred the degrees and delivered remarks on the occasion. Rabbi Daniel S. Nevins, dean of the Division of Religious Leadership and Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School delivered a d’var Torah, and he along with Rabbi Julia Andelman, director of Community Engagement at JTS, presented the honorary degree candidates. Rabbi Gordon Tucker, vice chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement, offered a blessing to the honorees. Alan Levine, Esq., chair of the Board of Trustees, welcomed the assembled, and Rabbi Stewart Vogel, president of the Rabbinical Assembly, delivered greetings on behalf of the RA. Rabbis Gordon Bernat-Kunin, Howard Stecker, and Valerie Stessin delivered remarks on behalf of the honorees.
The rabbis receiving this distinction included congregational rabbis, Jewish communal professionals, educators, and chaplains.
The January 2021 honorees (Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa) are:
Rabbi Reuben Israel Abraham
Rabbi Bernard Richard Barsky
Rabbi Laurence Joel Bazer
Rabbi Gordon Bernat-Kunin
Rabbi Leonardo A. Bitran
Rabbi Greta Bernard Brown
Rabbi Richard Preston Camras
Rabbi Barry Jon Chesler
Rabbi Diane Aronson Cohen
Rabbi Debra A. Eisenman
Rabbi Alexander Even-Chen
Rabbi Raphael Yitzhak Friedman
Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
Rabbi Nechama D. Goldberg
Rabbi Simon Hirschhorn
Rabbi Robert Kahn
Rabbi David Kalender
Rabbi Raphael Joshua Kanter
Rabbi Amy Wallk Katz
Rabbi Yosef Kleiner
Rabbi Manes Kogan
Rabbi Jay Mark Kornsgold
Rabbi Gail Susan Labovitz
Rabbi David James Lazar
Rabbi Judd Kruger Levingston
Rabbi Lynn Cheryl Liberman
Rabbi Jonathan Lipnick
Rabbi Leonard Zev Muroff
Rabbi Ron Muroff
Rabbi Hillel A. Norry
Rabbi Harris Jonathan Perlman
Rabbi Ruben Saferstein
Rabbi Elaine Sharon Landau Schnee
Rabbi Benjamin Steven Sendrow
Rabbi Albert Isaac Slomovitz
Rabbi Palti Somerstein
Rabbi Mychal Batsheva Springer
Rabbi Howard Adam Stecker
Rabbi Jay Michael Stein
Rabbi Valerie Stessin
Rabbi Ariel Akiva Stofenmacher
Rabbi Loren A. Sykes
Rabbi Michael N. Ungar
Rabbi Elyse Winick
Rabbi Elana Zaiman
About | The Jewish Theological Seminary
JTS is a preeminent institution of Jewish higher education, training thoughtful, innovative leaders—rabbis, cantors, educators, lay leaders, and scholars—who strengthen our communities with a vision of Judaism that is deeply grounded in the Jewish past and thoroughly engaged with contemporary society. JTS also provides high-caliber lifelong learning and professional development to our alumni, adult learners, and Jewish communities throughout North America. Through its Library, JTS preserves and makes accessible to students and scholars throughout the world the greatest collection of Judaica in the Western Hemisphere.
