 | Founded in 1974 by Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Elie Wiesel, and Rabbi Stephen Shaw. |
| Originally called the National Jewish Resource Center, the name was changed to CLAL
-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership in 1985. |
| Original programs focused on the challenges confronting Jewish life in the wake of
the Holocaust and the birth of the State of Israel. |
| Rabbi Irving Greenberg and CLAL were central in establishing the United States
Holocaust Memorial Council and the Holocaust Memorial Museum through Zachor, our
Holocaust programming division. |
| Another goal of CLAL -- to establish retreat centers for Jewish programs --
resulted in numerous centers across North America. |
| By the mid 1980s, CLAL was known for its courses and classes which enabled lay
leaders to connect meaningfully and spiritually to reimagine Judaism through its Shamor
division. |
| CLAL's renowned faculty of rabbis has from its inception represented all the
denominations of Judaism, the only national organization with this unique composition. |
| In the early 1980s, CLAL established Am Echad (One People), a division
devoted to pluralism in American Jewish life. |
| In 1986, CLAL held the first Critical Issues Conference examining the issue of
pluralism, "Will There Be One Jewish People in the Year 2000?" When new issues
arise, CLAL continues to gather Jewish communal leaders to address them, i.e. The Ethics
of Jewish Power, Arab/Jewish Coexistence, Jewish healing. |
| In 1986 the CLAL internship program commenced with senior rabbinic students of all
the denominations studying together at CLAL and learning about pluralism, unity and
diversity within Judaism. |
| In 1988 CLAL initiated a Fellowship Program, renamed in 1997 as the Rabbi Irving
Greenberg CLAL Fellowship Program. Outstanding young rabbis and scholars spend a year
studying and working at CLAL. Rabbi Irwin Kula, CLAL's new President, was the first CLAL
Fellow. |
| In 1991 CLAL initiated its two-year young leadership seminar. More than 750 people
have participated in this program from cities across North America. |
| In 1992 CLAL began a series of continuing education retreats for rabbis, communal
professionals and educators across denominational and institutional lines. With funding
from Andrea and Charles Bronfman, these intensive pluralist seminars forged new
relationships, provided new perspectives about the Jewish community and offered new ways
to reimagine Judaism in Jewish life. |
| Since 1992 CLAL has hosted six Scholars Conferences, bringing together significant
Jews who are experts in a variety of fields to address key issues facing the Jewish
community. |
| In 1995 CLAL commenced an intensive community building and institutional change
program in which transformation and revitalization of the Jewish communities within a city
are undertaken. The Denver Initiative, begun in 1996, is an example of this effort. |
| In 1997 Rabbi Irving Greenberg became President Emeritus and Rabbi Irwin Kula
succeeded Rabbi Greenberg as President of CLAL. |
| In November 1997, Rabbi Kula addressed the General Assembly in Indianapolis, laying
out CLAL's philosophical approach to transforming and reimagining Judaism in North
America. |
CLAL Rabbinic Community On Line
