OUDepartment of Public Relations

December 19, 2002

Convention Begins December 26

OU OPENS KEY SESSIONS AT NATIONAL CONVENTION AS IT PLANS FOR THE FUTURE OF MODERN ORTHODOXY AND PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE RAV

Key sessions devoted to planning for the future of Modern Orthodoxy as well as commemorating the 100th birthday and tenth Yahrzeit of Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik will be open to the public at no charge at the upcoming biennial National Convention of the Orthodox Union.

The Convention will be held from Thursday, December 26 to Sunday, December 29 at the Rye Town Hilton in Westchester County, NY, with the open sessions taking place on Thursday night, Saturday evening, and Sunday morning.

“Orthodox values are immutable but the issues confronting the Orthodox community change with the times,” declared OU President Harvey Blitz. “The Convention will provide the OU with a roadmap for defining and responding to these changes and for assuring that our member synagogues are able to work together effectively to implement the OU’s evolving agenda.”

“By opening these sessions to the public interested observers who may not be able to make a commitment to the entire Convention can still participate in our deliberations. By doing so they may challenge our thinking and bring back a message to their communities that a wide spectrum of opinions are being heard as the OU plans for the future,” said Convention Chair Elliot P. Gibber. “The tribute to the Rav should not be missed by teachers and students alike who will have an opportunity to deepen their understanding of his thought and impact on the Modern Orthodox world,” Gibber said.

Sessions open to the public include the Thursday evening plenary, “Areas of Challenge in Setting the Orthodox National Agenda.” Stephen H. Hoffman, President and CEO of the United Jewish Communities, will present “A View from the Organized Jewish Community.” Under the heading “Views from the Inside,” presentations will follow on “The Specific Needs of Local Communities,” “Involving Younger People In Orthodox Leadership,” “What Values Do We Hold Dear?” and “How Much of a Priority is Israel in Our Lives?”

Presenters in these sessions include Rabbi Howard Zack of Beth Jacob Congregation in Oakland, CA; Shira Reifman, Interim Director of Operations of the OU’s National Conference of Synagogue Youth; Rabbi Leonard Matanky of Congregation K.I.N.S. of West Rogers Park in Chicago; and Rabbi Shmuel Goldin of Congregation Ahavath Torah of Englewood, NJ and founder of Shvil Hazahav, an organization representing a moderate voice in Religious Zionism.

The Motzei Shabbat Keynote session will feature a “Town Hall Meeting” on “Action Plans for an Uncertain Century: The OU Looks Forward.” Dr. Karen Bacon, Monique C. Katz Dean of the Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University, will deliver the keynote address, “Anticipating the Need.” In response, OU President Blitz and Executive Vice President Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb will focus on “Meeting the Need.”

A distinguished group of Rav Soloveitchik’s students and experts on his thought will be featured at the Sunday morning Commemoration, which is being presented in conjunction with the Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute in Brookline, MA. Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, the Dean of the Institute and Rabbi of the Maimonides Minyan in Brookline, will provide an overview of the Rav’s work and influence. Julius Berman, Honorary President of the OU and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, will chair the program.

Sessions include:

  • The Rav’s Torah Scholarship, delivered by Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University;
  • The Rav as a Personal Rebbe, with Rabbi Kenneth Brander of the Boca Raton Synagogue in Florida, and a former personal aide to the Rav;
  • The Rav on Tefillah with Rabbi Menachem Genack, Rabbinic Administrator of the OU’s Kashrut Division;
  • The Rav on Israel and Religious Zionism, with Rabbi Dr. Aaron Rakeffet, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva University’s Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Institute in Jerusalem;
  • The Rav on Public Policy, with Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills in Queens; and
  • The Rav on Torah and Secular Studies, with Dr. David Shatz, Professor of Philosophy at Yeshiva University and Editor of Torah UMadda, a journal devoted to the interaction between Judaism and general culture.

“Anyone with interest in the position of Modern Orthodoxy in the Jewish world today and how it is responding to the critical issues of our time will welcome our Convention program,” said Rabbi Weinreb, the OU Executive Vice President. “Decisions made at the Convention will have a profound impact on Jewish life for years to come. I urge concerned members of the community to join us at the Convention and to contribute to our deliberations.”

For further information on the sessions, or to attend the entire Convention, call 212-613-0792, or visit www.ou.org.

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the (OU), is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 250,000 products manufactured in 68 countries around the globe.

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Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
Department of Public Relations

Stephen Steiner
Director of Public Relations

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