Graduates and Honorees Celebrated at Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles

On May 18, 2026, graduates, alumni, honorees, and their guests came together on a sunny and bright day at Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles.

Hebrew Union College honored graduates from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education, the Zelikow School of Nonprofit Management, and the 2001 graduates returning for their 25-Year Honorary Degrees.

Michael Zeldin, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Jewish Education, offered the Invocation, in which he feted the accomplishments of the Rhea Hirsch School of Education and its graduates, knowing that "we can be confident that the impact and values of its graduates will continue and long endure." View Full Remarks.

And he offered a prayer for the day:

"Our God and God of our ancestors, be with those who are graduating and those who are being honored today.  May they experience awe as they ignite awe in others whenever and wherever they touch lives, transform communities, and make the world better by bringing Jewish values to life."

Following Professor Zeldin, Rabbi Mari Chernow '03, Dean of the Jack H. Skirball Campus in Los Angeles, welcomed everyone to Leo Baeck. She specifically called out the friends, family, and supporters of our graduates and honorees, saying, "We know how critical you are to their development and their growth. Thank you for being with us."

President Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., offered the presidential charge, telling the assembled, "Inquiry is the best means that we have to raise up leaders for an open society."

President Rehfeld had the honor of introducing the graduation speaker, Joshua Holo, Ph.D., calling him a "scholar, a builder, and a voice for what Jewish learning can look like in the twenty-first century."

Professor Holo, at the end of a deep and meaningful speech that probed the nature and profound power of regret, proposed a new-old word:

"So, I say let's appropriate this old word, 'ruth,' for renewal, because it serves precisely to name the kind of regret that our history captures: brokenhearted dissatisfaction and regret, infused with compassion and responsibility.

So, with this old-new word in mind, I offer to you, our graduands, three wishes for your future:

In your pursuit of experience, I wish you poor judgment

In your lifelong search for wisdom, I wish you ignorance.

And in your careers of service, I wish you…  Ruth. Ruth that propels you to better the world." View Full Remarks.

President Rehfeld and Dean Chernow presented the Alumni Honorary Degrees, with help from Interim Rabbinical School Director Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, '95, Ed.D., MAJE '94 for the Doctors of Divinity, Interim Director of the School of Education Lauren Applebaum, Ed.D. for the Doctors of Jewish Religious Education, and Director of the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management Rabbi Shirley Idelson '91, Ph.D., for the Doctors of Jewish Nonprofit Management.

Rabbi Idelson introduced and awarded the degrees for Master of Arts in Jewish Nonprofit Management, the graduates joining their classmates who already received their degrees in New York on May 4 and awaiting those who will receive their degrees in August.

Professors Applebaum and Rabbi Novak Winer then awarded degrees to the new Masters of Educational Leadership, and one degree in Master of Arts in Jewish Learning. These graduates join the School of Education students who received their degrees in New York, and those who will get Certificates from the DeLeT program later this summer.

Rabbi Novak Winer had the honor of presenting the ten candidates for the Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters.

Mollie Leibowitz, a new Master of Educational Leadership, delivered the student perspective, offering these words:

"The contributions we make to our fields will only count because of the Jewish leaders who paved the way for our journeys, and the family, friends, and communities who have, and continue to, support us on our ways. As graduates, we have the opportunity to lift up their insights and carry them with us into our own versions of what is to come. As Jews, it is our tradition to make the old new and the new holy." View Full Remarks.

Provost Judah Cohen, Ph.D., spoke movingly, invoking his hopes for the graduates.

"I hope you have also seen your time at Hebrew Union College as an exercise in rationality, refinement, and tradition, and in the opportunity to envision the Jewish future you wish to pursue. Thank you for trusting us, thank you for your role in creating our sacred community; and please come back often." View Full Remarks.

Cary Davidson, Member of the Board of Governors and Chair of the North America Board of Advisors, confirmed the degrees and gave the graduates and honorees these words:

"What are we asking of you? It's a big ask. We will depend on you to be guardians of Judaism's ethical tradition. We expect you to lead with wisdom and courage, and to be voices for the values our world so desperately needs: justice, compassion, dignity, and hope. I know you're ready to far exceed our expectations." View Full Remarks.

To close the ceremonies, for both the day and the season, Karen E.H. Skinazi, Ph.D., Director of the Louchheim School for Judaic Studies, offered this benediction:

"I wish for you that wherever you go, your impact on the world, intentional and unintentional, is for the good." View Full Remarks.