JTS Honors 45 Rabbis for their Dedication and Commitment at 2020 Convocation
January 28, 2020, NEW YORK, NY – The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), at a convocation ceremony on January 26, 2020, awarded honorary doctorates to 45 rabbis for having served the Jewish community and the Conservative Movement with distinction for over 25 years. Through the degrees conferred, JTS celebrated the achievements of these important leaders and expressed appreciation for their contributions to Jewish life.
The ceremony took place at JTS in New York City. Professor Arnold M. Eisen, chancellor of JTS, conferred the degrees and delivered the convocation address. Rabbi Daniel S. Nevins, Pearl Resnick Dean of The Rabbinical School and dean of the Division of Religious Leadership, and Rabbi Julia Andelman, director of Community Engagement at JTS, sponsored the honorees. Alan Levine, Esq., chair of the Board of Trustees, welcomed the assembled, and Rabbi Debra Newman Kamin, president of the Rabbinical Assembly, delivered greetings on behalf of the RA. Rabbi Stephen Weiss, spiritual leader of B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike, Ohio, delivered remarks on behalf of the honorees. An opening niggun was led by Sam Blustin and Maya Zinkow, JTS rabbinical students.
The rabbis receiving this distinction included congregational rabbis, Jewish communal professionals, educators, and chaplains from across the United States, as well as from Israel, Europe, South America, and Asia.
Read Chancellor Arnold M. Eisen’s address at the convocation
The 2020 honorees (Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa) are:
Rabbi David Mark Ackerman
Rabbi Roberto Arbib
Rabbi Mauricio Balter
Rabbi Pamela Barmash
Rabbi David Israel Berkman
Rabbi Alfredo Fabio Borodowski
Rabbi Ari Bursztein
Rabbi Eitan J. J. Chikli
Rabbi Mitchell H. Cohen
Rabbi Thomas Edward Cohen
Rabbi Melissa Crespy
Rabbi Gilah Dror
Rabbi Nathaniel Ezray
Rabbi Michael Bernard Friedland
Rabbi Robert Frolich
Rabbi David A. Gedzelman
Rabbi Bernard R. Gerson
Rabbi Leslie Ann Gordon
Rabbi Michael Jay Gotlieb
Rabbi Adrian Gottfried
Rabbi William G. Hamilton
Rabbi Brad Hoffman
Rabbi Scott A. Hoffman
Rabbi Debra Newman Kamin
Rabbi Barry Dov Katz
Rabbi Daniel Bass Kohn
Rabbi David Aaron Kunin
Rabbi Alan David Londy
Rabbi Eliot Malomet
Rabbi Randall Corey Mark
Rabbi Rhonda Beth Goodman-Nebel
Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Rabbi Debra Rachel Orenstein
Rabbi Carl M. Perkins
Rabbi Amy Esther Roth
Rabbi Jeffrey L. Rubenstein
Rabbi Aaron Benjamin Rubinstein
Rabbi John S. Schechter
Rabbi Rona Gail Shapiro
Rabbi Steven Leyton Silberman
Rabbi Geoffrey Arnold Spector
Rabbi Miriam T. Spitzer
Rabbi David Benjamin Starr
Rabbi Stephen Irwin Weiss
Rabbi Gordon Yaffe
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.
