Rabbi Carole B. Balin is Professor Emerita of Jewish History at HUC-JIR/New York, where she trained and mentored over 500 beloved rabbinical, cantorial and education students.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College, Balin earned a Ph.D. at Columbia University and honed her spiritual practice in the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s program for clergy.

Balin co-curated the national traveling exhibit, “Bat Mitzvah Comes of Age,” co-sponsored by the National Museum of American Jewish History and the teen engagement organization Moving Traditions, and wrote and narrated the animated short “The Click Moment: Jewish Feminism 101.” She appears on PBS’ “The Jewish People: A Story of Survival,” blogs for the Huffington Post and lectures at synagogues and universities throughout the world.

Balin is the chair of the board of the Jewish Women’s Archive and is currently at work on a narrative non-fiction on shifting Jewish identities as told through the stories of bat mitzvah girls over the past century.

****Please RSVP for each session using its individualized Zoom Registration Link found below each bullet point.*****

Friday, March 4, 2022: Bat Mitzvah Girls Sparked a Revolution?! 

In light of the 100th anniversary of the first American bat mitzvah on March 18, 2022 – a rite that has become so mainstream that its newer nonbinary version made pop culture news recently on the season finale of HBO Max’s “And Just Like That” – we will celebrate the bat mitzvah pioneers who sparked a gender revolution in Jewish life. Blending storytelling with history, we’ll learn about gutsy girls at the cringey age of 12 or 13 who entered the spotlight and paved the way for all women and Jews of all genders to mark their coming-of-age and become visible, accepted, and engaged. During services, I’ll give a preview of the deeper dive we’ll take into the topic, which will include a slideshow, after the Oneg.

Note that this sermon is a part of RISE UP/ BAT MITZVAH AT 100, the national celebration of bat mitzvah, launched by the Jewish Women’s Archive and SAJ, the synagogue where the first bat mitzvah took place, and joined by 18 national Jewish organizations, including the Union for Reform Judaism, the Women of Reform Judaism, Hadassah, and the National Council of Jewish Women.

To learn more and to view resources – including “13 Ways to Celebrate,” special prayers to bless bat mitzvah girls, b’mitzvah firsts, and pioneering female leaders in your congregation; short videos by Rabbi Balin on the history of bat mitzvah with accompanying discussion questions; lesson plans for religious school students; and an Instagram series for teens to follow, click here or go to jwa.org/batmitzvah100

• 6:15 pm Diverse Access Available: Erev Shabbat Service with Sermon
  • To view services online, click HERE. 
• 7:30 pm-8:30 pm Diverse Access: Post Oneg Study Session
  • RSVP HERE

Saturday, March 5, 2022

• 9:00 am-10:15 am Diverse Access: Shabbat Morning Torah Study: Knowledge of the Heart, Knowledge of the Hands: Artistry and Art in the Bible
  Why did so many of us turn to sourdough baking or knitting or other art forms during the pandemic? Using classic and modern commentaries on Parashat Pekudei, including images of art, we’ll explore the difference between what the Torah calls “knowledge of the heart” and “knowledge of the hands” – and why they both matter in building our souls. 
  • RSVP HERE 

Sunday, March 6, 2022

• 9:15 am-10:45 am Diverse Access: Married to a Jew? Me Too! Celebrating and Exploring the Diversity of American Jewish Families
  Let’s talk about the fact that half of all young adult Jews have one Jewish parent and not two. Let’s disconnect from what is perceived as a “normal” Jewish community and discuss what it really is. Join other parents from the religious school community as we talk honestly about the growing diversity of the Jewish community.
  • RSVP HERE 

Masks are required if you are attending on our campus. This is whether or not you are vaccinated. If you are unable to wear a mask during the entire time, and this includes when you are speaking, please register using the link below and join in via Zoom for the sake of your comfort and others.

This program is made possible in part by the Bonnie Graff Scholar-in-Residence Fund Presented by Adult Education Committee