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Hebrew Union College could stop ordaining Reform rabbis in Cincinnati after 147 years

JL;DR SUMMARY Hebrew Union College (HUC), after 147 years of ordaining Reform rabbis in Cincinnati, faces a critical decision about its rabbinical program's future. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Reform JudaismHebrew Union CollegeReform MovementRabbinical TrainingEnrollment DeclineCincinnatiMidwestern JudaismRehfeldLow Residency ProgramDenominational Competition

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"The board of directors for Reform Judaisms historic seminary is set to vote next month in New York City on a proposal to stop enrolling rabbinical students in Cincinnati"
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
"Since 1875, Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati has been minting Reform rabbis but it may not for much longer."
Los Angeles, California, United States
"aspiring Reform rabbis would enroll instead at the movements seminaries in New York and Los Angeles"
Jerusalem, Israel
"All students spend their first year at a fourth campus, in Jerusalem."
Chicago, Illinois, United States
"They spoke of the citys shrinking prominence as a center of Jewish communal life compared to other Midwestern cities such as Chicago"
Denver, Colorado, United States
"Rabbi Joseph Black, a graduate of HUCs Cincinnati campus who currently leads Temple Emanuel in Denver"
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
"such as Hebrew College in Boston"
Marion, Ohio, United States
"Budman has been serving a small congregation in Marion, Ohio"
Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
"while Torop works with one in Lafayette, Louisiana."
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
"noting that as a former executive director of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, he has a long track record of supporting Midwestern Jewish communities."
Oberlin, Ohio, United States
"said Shari Rabin, a historian of American Jewry at Oberlin College."

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Cairo Item ID 83564
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Retrieved 2026-05-29 05:31:31 UTC
Curated 2026-05-29 08:31:28 UTC