Dan Ehrenkrantz
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Telephone: 215.576.0800, ext. 129
Email:
Dan Ehrenkrantz is a rabbi and the president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC). He is the first of its graduates to lead the Reconstructionist movement’s intellectual center and rabbinical training school. For 14 years, he served as rabbi of Bnai Keshet, a Reconstructionist congregation in Montclair, NJ; his interfaith work there received national attention. Ehrenkrantz also is a leading professor at RRC where his subjects include Jewish and Hebrew literature and darshanut (text interpretation). He has written rabbinic commentary for Dream of Zion: American Jews Reflect on Why Israel Matters to Them (Jewish Lights, 2007), the forthcoming Men’s Torah Commentary (Jewish Lights), The Guide to Jewish Practice (RRC Press) and the Kol Haneshamah prayer book series (Reconstructionist Press).
Kol HaNeshamah: Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday Night Service with a Twist!
Ritual & Prayer
- Friday 4:35PM–6:10PM Embassy Room 2
An engaging and thought-provoking Kabbalat Shabbat service that strives to make every participant feel welcome, truly included, and in touch with the Divine, whatever each person perceives that to be. Kol HaNeshamah, the siddur used, is known for its gender-neutral language, its transliteration of all communal prayers, and its liberal use of commentary. This service maintains the core of the traditional liturgy while infusing it with a mix of familiar and new niggunim, spirited singing, inspiring teachings, and general ruach (liveliness and spirit). (There will be mixed gender seating, and musical instruments will be used.)
Moses and the Challenge of Leadership
An Examination of the Parsha (Torah portion) Yitro
Torah & Text
- Friday 9:10PM–10:25PM Golden Gate Auditorium
Millions admire Barack Obama, but few consider the sacrifices he and his family have made. His is just one example of the price leaders and those close to them pay. Even Moses was not immune. No one would fault him for devoting himself to God and his people, but his decision came at a cost. Nowadays we talk about finding a balance between work and family. Parshat Yitro reveals that this may be the wrong goal and suggests alternatives that are both more realistic and more satisfying.
A False Dichotomy?
Judaism, Christianity and the Centrality of Faith
Torah & Text
- Saturday 4:30PM–5:45PM Empire Room 3 South
Can you observe the commandments simply by having faith in Moses? One of the great sages of Polish Hasidism, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter of Ger, known as “the Sefat Emet” (“the language of truth”), suggested that you can. In this session we will study one of his texts and discuss how his idea relates to Christianity’s understanding that salvation is achieved through faith in Jesus.
Politics, Prophets and Particularism
Jonah and the Concept of “the Other”
High School, Torah & Text
- Saturday 9:00PM–10:15PM Cousin Brucie
Get up! Go! Call out! God's urgent commands and Jonah’s attempt to escape them offer lessons about identity, attitudes toward “the other,” and responsibility to the community. At a time when talk of enemies abounds, political ads portray candidates as either prophets or villains, and Barack Obama’s middle name is used to stir up fear, the Book of Jonah shows how profoundly language and behavior can alienate us from each other, and how we can regain a sense of shared humanity.
Jewish Law
Its process, development and current dilemmas
Torah & Text
- Sunday 10:00AM–11:15AM Empire Room 1
This panel will consider how Jewish Law has evolved or not over time. It will discuss who are the proper decisors and interpreters of Jewish Law or Halacha and what criteria are used for its interpretation. Panelists will examine the relative importance of the “divinity” or origin of Torah and oral Torah to the integrity of that interpretation. The panlelists who are the heads and leaders of the denominational seminaries come to the table with a variety opninions. Join what will rpove to be a thought provoking exchange between the leaders of our time.
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