| Richard (Rick) J. Jacobs | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956 New Rochelle, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Rabbi |
| Organization | Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Spouse | Susan K. Freedman |
Richard (Rick) J. Jacobs is a Reform rabbi, currently the senior rabbi at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, New York. Nominated in March 2011, he was elected in June 2011 to succeed rabbi Eric Yoffie in 2012 as president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), the congregational arm of the Reform movement in North America which represents an estimated 1.5 million Reform Jews in more than 900 synagogues across the United States and Canada.
Jacobs was among a group of American Reform rabbis who called for “urgent change” in the Reform movement. He focuses on environmentalism, social justice and liberal Zionism alongside traditional worship. He has served on the boards of several Jewish organizations, including the World Union for Progressive Judaism, American Jewish World Service and the New Israel Fund.
He is listed number seven in the 2011 The Daily Beast and Newsweek list of “America′s 50 Most Influential Rabbis” and holds position three on 2011′s “Forward 50”, the Jewish Daily Forward′s list of the fifty most significant Jews in the United States.
A native of New Rochelle, New York, a Westchester County suburb,[1] who grew up in Tustin, California,[2] Jacobs was ordained as rabbi in 1982 by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York where he had also earned his M.A. in Hebrew Literature in 1980.[3] In the same year, he joined Avodah Dance Ensemble, a modern dance company which performs services in dance and concerts throughout the United States. He remained with the company until 1986 as dancer and choreographer,[4] working as part-time rabbi in order to continue performing after being ordained.[5]
In Jerusalem, he studied at the Shalom Hartman Institute and at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance. He considered a career as a dancer, but decided to “dedicate his life to a religious and spiritual mission, and chose the rabbinate”.[6]
Before becoming rabbi at Westchester Reform Temple in 1991, Jacobs served as rabbi at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue from 1982 till 1991, where he founded and co-directed the first homeless shelter at a synagogue in New York City and led the congregation's work with Brooklyn Ecumenical Cooperatives, an interracial coalition of faith communities which built 1,200 housing units in Brooklyn.[7] Under Jacobs’ leadership, Westchester Reform Temple grew from less than 800 member families to more than 1,200. Advocating for the Jewish mission of tikkun olam (repairing the world), the synagogue underwent an eco-friendly renovation and expansion in 2009 and houses a ner tamid (eternal flame) powered by solar energy.[8]
Jacobs was among a group of 17 rabbis of large American Reform congregations – the “Rabbinic Vision Initiative” formed in December 2009 – who called for “urgent change” in the Reform movement in February 2011, criticizing the Union for Reform Judaism as “unwieldy, lacking in excellence and underperforming in fund-raising”.[2] His nomination as URJ’s next president has drawn both positive and negative reactions – among the latter the Zionist Organization of America – which mainly criticized Jacobs' attitude toward Israel.[9] According to the Israeli daily Haaretz however, it was Jacob′s “reputation as a Zionist activist who insists on nurturing close ties with Israel” that was decisive for his being chosen to head the URJ.[6]
Jacobs was a member of the Union of Reform Judaism′s board of trustees from 1994 till 1998 and served as the Secretary of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and on the board of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ), who rewarded him with the “International Humanitarian Award” for his commitment to human rights and social and economic justice in September 2000. He was a part of the international board of the New Israel Fund from 1992 to 2001, and now serves as the Chair of the organization's pluralism grants committee.[10] He is listed as a member of the rabbinic cabinet of J Street,[9] and serves on the boards of UJA-Federation of New York and the American Jewish World Service, an international development organization. In 2005 he visited the Chad–Darfur border area with an international humanitarian mission, and raised more than US$ 250,000 to aid Darfur refugees. He delivered the opening prayer for the 2006 Darfur rally in Washington, D.C. He was the only rabbi who participated in the 2009 Brookings U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar,[3] an annual conference designed to bring together key leaders in the worlds of politics, business, media, academia, and civil society from across the Muslim world and the United States. Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, he joined a delegation to assess disaster response.[7] In July 2010 he participated in a protest in Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem, explaining: “I take issue with residents of east Jerusalem being taken out of their homes to make room for Jewish settlers”,[11] in August of the same year he spoke on CNN in support of the proposed Islamic center near ground zero.[12]
Jacobs has published several essays in Reform Judaism magazines and is working on his Ph.D. in ritual dance at New York University. He is also a senior rabbinic fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.[13] In 2007, he received a Doctor of Divinity honoris causa from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.[14]
Immediately after his nomination for the URJ presidency, The Daily Beast and Newsweek have put him as number seven on their 2011 list of “America's 50 Most Influential Rabbis”,[15] describing him as “magnetic” and “known for prioritizing social justice ... and rethinking worship to engage the disaffected.”[16] The Jewish Daily Forward has him on position three on the 2011 “Forward 50”, its list of the fity most significant American Jews.[17]
Pointing out his view of the future of the Reform Movement to the URJ Board of Trustees in his acceptance speech after being unanimously elected president of the URJ on June 12, 2011,[18] he said:
“Unless we change our approach, there is little chance that Jews in their twenties and thirties will even enter the revolving door of synagogue affiliation. Hoping is not a strategy; the Jewish world needs new approaches for engaging the future. ... Everywhere we look, there are dramatic challenges facing our people; yet each is a phenomenal opportunity to revitalize Jewish life. Only very rarely has Jewish history known an era of so much creativity or innovation; no previous generation has possessed our resources and potential. For two centuries, Reform Judaism has pointed the way forward. For the past forty years, our religious ingenuity has made us the fastest growing theologically liberal denomination in America. And yet we've become bogged down. Too many Jewish leaders seem paralyzed by fear of the future. This moment in Jewish history demands bold thinking with big ideas; this is not a time for staying the course. It's time to reinvent the architecture of Jewish life. It's a time to cast a broad net, to explore options rather than to rule things out, and to recreate a Movement which will be as meaningful in the future as it has been in the past.”[19]
Jacobs is married to Susan Freedman, the President of the Public Art Fund.[20] The couple has three children, and resides in Scarsdale, NY.[7] The family also owns an apartment in Jerusalem and often visits Israel.[6]