Presenter

Irwin Kula

President, CLAL - The National Jewish Center

Irwin Kula, known as both a provocative religious leader and a respected spiritual iconoclast, Rabbi Irwin Kula has inspired thousands of people across the country using Jewish wisdom in ways that speak to modern life. As a cutting edge thinker and teacher, he brings the insights of an ancient tradition to the challenges of the present to help people live more fully. Named by both Fast Company magazine and ¡§Religion and Ethics Newsweekly¡¨ (PBS) as one of the new leaders shaping the American spiritual landscape, Kula provides a broad vision of religious pluralism. ¡§The freedom and openness of America invites us to bring our traditions to the marketplace of ideas. The challenge is in translating these wisdoms into American idioms that are accessible.¡¨ In 2004, Kula wrote and was featured in Time for a New God, an acclaimed documentary shown at film festivals nationwide. Filmed as a moving monologue along the beaches, wharves, and roller coasters of Coney Island, he offers religion as a ¡§giant tool box,¡¨ asking: ¡§In an era when we have what we need, and are the ¡§masters of our universe,¡¨ what kind of God do we seek?¡¨ In 2003, Kula hosted a first-ever 13-part national public television series, ¡§Simple Wisdom With Irwin Kula,¡¨ using Jewish wisdom to explore the central issues of life ƒ{ family, love, money, spirituality, and work. President of CLALƒ{The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a leadership training institute, think tank and resource center, Kula is a much sought after speaker and commentator on public culture and religion in the public square. A regular on nationally syndicated radio, ¡§The Lars Larson Show,¡¨ on Westwood One; featured on ¡§Frontline¡¨ (PBS) on the anniversary of 9/11; and a repeat guest on ¡¨The Oprah Winfrey Show,¡§ Kula is a popular and often quoted analyst for the media. A frequent lecturer, he is in great demand by leaders from such diverse fields as business, technology, science, and religion. Nationally recognized as an educator, Kula also serves as a consultant to both corporate and family foundations, as well as to federations, synagogues and agencies on leadership development and institutional change. He is the winner of the 2004 Advocate of the Year Award from AIPAC. Author of the forthcoming book, Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life (Hyperion, September 2006), he will be featured in a public television special in December 2006. He is the co-editor of The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices: CLAL¡¦s Guide to Everyday & Holiday Rituals and Blessings (Jewish Lights, 2001), and co-founder of the Aitz Hayim Center for Jewish Living in Chicago. Kula received his B.A. in Philosophy from Columbia Univ., his B.H.L. from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA) in NY, and his M.A. in Rabbinics and Rabbinic Ordination from JTSA. He has served as rabbi of congregations in St. Louis, MO; Queens, NY; and Jerusalem, Israel.

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