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Dan Cedarbaum Leaves Significant Legacy As He Passes Presidency to Bob Barkin
One of the themes that infused the entire five days from the JRF Board meeting through the four days of convention, was the leadership transition from Dan Cedarbaum to Bob Barkin. Dan Cedarbaum served two two-year terms as President of JRF. He was a strong leader and advocate for the strong development of the nascent Camp JRF. He played a major role in spearheading its fund raising. Dan's intellectual interest in Judaism and Reconstructionism were palpable during hes tenure, expressed in writing articles for RT and the Reconstructionist and speaking around the country at Reconstructionist congregations. Dan is passionate about his ideas of taking halachah (Jewish Law) and Jewish ritual seriously. He has spoken often on these topics. Dan cared about serving the greater Jewish community and representing Reconstructionsim to that community. Earlier this year he became a part of the first Reconstructionist delegation to the World Zionist Congress. Dan's passion about Israel much preceded the WZC. He helped lead and shepherd JRF's Israel Policies Task force which produced important results. Dan was committed to leading the movement by knowing the movement. He has personally visited close to 50 of the movement's 109 congregations and havurot. During all the speeches and thank-yous during the convention, Dan never once failed to thank his wife Caryn and his boys Jacob and Sam for their patience and perseverance during his time-consuming service to the Reconstructionist Movement and the Jewish community. This short article cannot begin to express the endeavors and accomplished Dan has achieved as JRF's President. Please use the ability to add comments to these articles to extend the reach of this article in documenting the legacy of Dan Cedarbaum and his role as a leader of the JRF.
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 Darfur Syndicate
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Dan's written work
Dan is a "gutsy" writer. In a movement that often refers to itself as post halakhic, it is no simple act to begin one's presidency by calling on Reconstructionism to embrace certain halakhic ways of thinking. Dan has also seriously questioned our whole approach to the fashioning of liturgy. In both cases he used his position to challenge our thinking without pressuring the movement to accept his point of view. I think it was very enriching for us to be led by someone with a well thought out perpective on many of the central issues and challenges facing contemporary Judaism.
Israel Task Force and Dan Cedarbaum
As co-chair of the Israel Task Force that Dan conceived and created, I want to emphasize Dan's vision and courage in insisting that JRF become fully engaged with Israel programs and Israel policy issues. At a time when many believed it would be "divisive" to engage liberal Jews on Israel programs and issues, Dan saw that we could not be true to our Reconstructionist heritage, ideals and values unless we spoke out clearly and without fear on this central aspect of our Jewish identity and our Jewish civilization. Further, he had confidence that Reconstructionists had something important to contribute to the ongoing work in helping Israelis build a Jewish state that relects the best of our democratic ideals and respect for diverse points of view.
The struggle to connect JRF and our Movement to Zionism and Israel continues, but Dan's leadership can not be questioned. On a personal note, I will always treasure the support and concern Dan has always shown me, but particularly his faith in me to help carry out his vision for the Task Force. I have confidence that JRF and Reconstructionist Jews will find a way to engage constructively with Israel and Israelis in large part because of Dan's leadership.
Dan Cedarbaum's Legacy
When Dan Cedarbaum began his presidency, he stated his commitment to making JRF's relationship with Israel a more considered one. Zionism is one of the cornerstones of Kaplan's understanding of a reconstructed Judaism, and Dan was honoring our legacy. He assembled a stellar Task Force; we should be proud of its work. The recent JRF Convention was the fruition of much of the creative thinking that realizes that what is going on in Israel in the area of religious pluralism is closely akin to our approach to Judaism - a way of owning the texts on our own terms. I look forward to nurturing this relationship, both with the Israelis we met in Philly, and those dedicated to Reconstructionist principles in Israel.
Dan is a man of ideas, well-read, and eager to share his views. I will always appreciate the high level of discourse at board meetings, and reading his thoughtful articles.
My guess is he has more projects up his sleeve and may have more time to work on them now that he has passed the tallis along to Bob Barkin. I look forward to seeing these develop.
Leadership Through Hard Times
Dan led the JRF through some very difficult times. Because of his hard working dedication, his incredible patience and insight and his grace under pressure, the JRF is in the best shape it is ever been in.