The Jewish Communal Service Association of North America is pleased to provide this personal reflection on Jewish communal leadership by Richard A. Siegel, Interim Director, School of Jewish Communal Service, HUC-JIR Los Angeles. Thoughts on Jewish Communal Service as a Calling What is Jewish communal service? A career? A profession? A field? A setting? I have been struggling with this question for the past year as Interim Director of the School of Jewish Communal Service at HUC-JIR in LA with the primary responsibility to develop a new strategic plan for the school. What exactly is “Jewish communal service” and how do you educate someone to excel in its practice? I come to a response out of my own experience which may well be idiosyncratic. Although I received an MA in Contemporary Jewish … Continue Reading