The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL) is a leadership training institute, think tank, and resource center. It is an inter-disciplinary and inter-denominational movement, in which rabbis from all major

Jewish denominations Jewish religious movements, sometimes called " denominations", include different groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Today, the most prominent divisions are between traditionalist Orthodox movements (includi ...

in North America participate. The organization is described by ''

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ...

'' as a "think-tank dedicated to questions of

Jewish identity Jewish identity is the objective or subjective state of perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jewish. Under a broader definition, Jewish identity does not depend on whether a person is regarded as a Jew by others, or by an exter ...

and religious practice...in its quest to expand the boundaries of Jewish communal life". Rabbis

Irwin Kula Irwin Kula (born November 29, 1957) is an American rabbi and author, currently serving as the president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL). In 2008, he was listed as 7th in ''Newsweek''’s “50 most influential ra ...

and Brad Hirschfield presently serve as co-presidents of CLAL."50 Influential Rabbis"
''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'', April 30, 2009.

Etymology

CLAL is an acronym formed from the organization's English language name (Center for Leadership and Learning). It is also a

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

of a Hebrew word that can mean community, as in the expression "Klal Yisrael" which refers to the Jewish people as a whole. It is intended to suggest the organization's stated mission to serve as a center of interdenominational cooperation in American Judaism.

History

CLAL was founded in 1974 by Rabbi

Irving Greenberg Irving Yitzchak Greenberg (born May 16, 1933), also known as Yitz Greenberg, is an American scholar, author and rabbi. He is known as a strong supporter of Israel, and a promoter of greater understanding between Judaism and Christianity. Early ...

, Nobel Laureate

Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in Fr ...

, an
Rabbi Steven Shaw

Programs

CLAL runs Rabbis without Borders.

References

{{reflist

External links

National Jewish Center for Learning and LeadershipClal publications
on the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner Jewish educational organizations Leadership training Yaakov Rechter buildings