Spirituality

Hearing The Call

Secular Humanists hold second rabbinic ordination,
and begin rabbinic outreach to other temples.

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN

Staff Writer

r

or Rabbi Miriam. Jerris, the
Oct. 19 ceremony where she
and two others were
ordained as Secular
Humanistic rabbis was also an unusual
family celebration.
In some rabbinic traditions, it is corn-
mon for daughters of rabbis to marry
rabbis, but typically that parent is the
father. "But we in Secular Humanistic
Judaism are accustomed to breaking new
ground," she says, referring to her
daughter Alison's upcoming marriage —
not just to a rabbi, but to Rabbi Adam
Chalom, ordained in the same ceremony
as Rabbi Jerris.
Sharing the ordination spotlight with
Rabbis Jerris and Chalom were Rabbi
Binyamin Biber and 13 graduating stu-
dents from the professional leaders pro-
gram of the International Institute for
Secular Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ) in
Farmington Hills, where the three new
rabbis rabbis also trained.
The ceremony, held at the
Birmingham Temple, marks the second
ordination of rabbis trained by the
IISHJ, the intellectual and educational
arm of the International Federation of
Secular Humanistic Jews.
The Secular Humanistic Jewish move-
ment is based on a human-centered phi-
losophy of life with a belief in the value
of human existence and in the power of
human beings to solve their problems.
In addition to the four rabbis ordained
in Secular Humanistic movement, 11
others, ordained by other streams of
Judaism, join in serving some of the
more than 60 North American Secular
Humanistic Jewish communities.
"These communities need to take the
next step in their development by hav-
ing a rabbi available to lead them," says
Rabbi Tamara Kolton of the
Birmingham Temple, who, in 1999,
became the first ordained Secular
Humanistic rabbi.
Founded by Rabbi Sherwin Wine,
who also established the Birmingham
Temple, Secular Humanistic Judaism
holds a non-theistic approach to Jewish
identity and Judaism. It views Judaism

as the historic culture of the Jewish peo-
ple who share a destiny and a belief in
the continuing creation of the Jewish
people with freely adapted celebrations
of holidays and life cycle events.

officiates at weddings
and funerals.
Rabbi Chalom also
is assistant to the
dean of the IISHJ.

The New Rabbis
• Rabbi Binyamin. Biber, an Iowa
native, began serving as the first rabbi of
Machar, the Washington Congregation
for Secular Humanistic Judaism, in
Washington, D.C., in September.
He holds a bachelor's degree in sociol-
ogy and political science from the
University of Iowa and was a University
of Michigan merit scholar, receiving a
master's degree in social work after com-
pleting fieldwork as a rabbinic counselor.

• Rabbi Miriam
Jerris of Huntington
Woods is director of New Secular Humanistic Rabbis Miriam Jerris, Binyamin
the IISHJ's intermar- Biber and Adam Chalom
riage department. She
is the first Secular
the credibility of the. smaller congrega-
Humanistic rabbi to also be a Humanist
tions to have a rabbi doing programs for
Minister, having been ordained by the
them."
Humanist Society of Friends of the
She also hopes to expand her work in
American Humanist Association in
the field of intermarriage issues.
Washington, D.C.
Rabbi Jerris sees being ordained along
She also serves as the rabbinic associ-
with Rabbi Chalom as a "rabbinic tradi-
ate for community development and is
tion taken seriously."
founding executive director of the
With reference to her future son-in-
Society for Humanistic Judaism. Rabbi
law, she says, "It is a rare gift — a mod-
Jerris holds master's degrees in Near
em world gift — to be able to say that I
Eastern studies from U-M and humanis-
learn as much from the next generation
tic and clinical psychology from the
as, hopefully, Adam does from me." 0
Center for Humanistic Studies. She
earned a Ph.D in Jewish Studies from
the Union Institute in Cincinnati the
week before her rabbinic ordination.
"I don't see career changes as much
as career enhancements," says Rabbi
Jerris, who will retain positions with
both the IISHJ and the SHJ.
"The Society for Humanistic
Judaism really needs a circuit rabbi
who will travel around the country
and work with the smaller
congregations," she says. "I love
doing that kind of work. Having
the rabbinic title increases our credi-
bility as a movement and increases

• "I was involved at Birmingham
Temple before I was born," says Rabbi
Adam Chalom of Farmington. "I had a
baby naming at Birmingham Temple,
went to their school from kindergarten
through graduation from high school,
was vice president of the youth group —
and even went to Friday services once in
a while of my own volition while in high
school."
He met his future wife through the
temple's youth group. The wedding is
scheduled for October 2002. .
During Rabbi Chalom's junior year in
high school, Rabbi Wine suggested he
consider the rabbinate, leading to sum-
mers as a rabbinic intern at the temple,
where he became assistant rabbi in
1999.
Rabbi Chalom received his bachelor's
degree in Judaic Studies from Yale
University, a master's degree in Hebrew
and Judaic Cultural Studies from U-M
and is currently pursuing a doctorate in
Hebrew and Jewish Cultural Studies at
U-M.
Rabbi Chalom will continue to hold a
post at the Birmingham Temple, where
he and Rabbi Kolton direct the School
for Cultural Judaism. His primary
responsibility is working with b'nai mitz-
vah students. He also teaches in the tem-
ple Hebrew school, Shabbat morning
Bible program and adult education class-
es. He is also involved with the youth
group and takes a turn leading Friday
night and High Holiday services, and he

Above: ISHJ graduate Deborah Judith Davis lights a celebratory candle.
Below: Rabbi Sherwin Wine speaks at the ordination ceremony to Rabbis Tamara
Kolton, Adam Chalom, Binyamin Biber and Miriam Jerris.

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