Since her ordination in 1980, Ellen Lewis has enjoyed a bi-vocational career as both a rabbi and a psychotherapist. She spent 35 years serving synagogues in Dallas, Texas; Summit, NJ (named Rabbi Honorata); and Washington, NJ (named Rabbi Emerita). She was a founder and co-chair of the Women’s Rabbinic Network. She is an active member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and currently serves on the Task Force on the Experience of Women in the Rabbinate. She is also a certified pastoral counselor and is a member of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education.
While serving as a congregational rabbi, Ellen Lewis became increasingly interested in why people do what they do, leading her to train at the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies and become a licensed psychoanalyst. That training in emotional education led to her focusing on helping rabbis and cantors manage the challenges of the professional arena, including collegial conflict, work-life balance, gender issues, and personal and professional transformations, with the overall aim of an increased capacity for self-care, reflection and contentment. She is in private practice in Bernardsville, NJ, and New York City.
Ellen Lewis’ writings and teachings have focused on the intersection of psychoanalytic thinking and Judaism with a concentration on the rabbinate and Jewish communal life. Her essay “Changing Your Past: Reflections on Forgiveness,” appears in the new Mishkan HaNefesh: Machzor for the Days of Awe. She has contributed chapters to The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate (“Funny, You Don’t Look Like a Rabbi”) and to Jewish Pastoral Care: A Practical Handbook (“Preparing for the Chupah: Premarital Counseling”). She has also written in the area of sexual abuse, including the unfortunately timely “Preventing Clergy Sexual Abuse” in Keeping Faith in Rabbis: A Community Conversation about Rabbinic Education.
Sessions in which Ellen Lewis participates
- Small Group Conversations - Seesawing Between Family and Community – Can We Find the Center? Hotel Irvine - Think Tank
- 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM | 1 hour 15 minutes
- Many of us feel torn between the needs of family and the demands of the community we serve. We strive...
- Meeting
- Small Group Conversations - “Can the Rabbi Be My Friend”? Hotel Irvine - Think Tank
- 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM | 1 hour
- Is it possible to develop meaningful relationships with members of your community while maintaining appropriate boundaries? Am I always the rab...
- Meeting
- What Did You Just Say?: Tools for Responding to Inappropriate Comments Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon B
- 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- What are the tools we can use to counter comments that are inappropriate, offensive, or hurtful? We will explore techniques for responding to comme...
- Workshop
- Small Group Conversations - Do You Feel Your Community Rests Solely on Your Shoulders? Hotel Irvine - Think Tank
- 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rabbis often feel that we carry the weight and responsibility for the Jewish future on our shoulders. To be a moral compass in turbulent times ...
- Meeting
Sessions in which Ellen Lewis attends
- Opening Program - DAHLIA LITHWICK: The Battle for the Future of America at the Supreme Court Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- The Jacob Radar Marcus Memorial Lecture sponsored ...
- General Session
- Opening Reception in Honor of Orange County Rabbis & MARAM - Sponsored by Ayelet Tours Hotel Irvine - The Backyard
- 6:00 PM - 7:15 PM | 1 hour 15 minutes
- Reception
- Opening Night Dinner Hotel Irvine - Pavilion
- 7:15 PM - 8:45 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Welcome: HaMotzi: Birkat HaMazon: Our opening dinner provide...
- Meal
- Shacharit Convention Service - President's Sermon And Honoring 50 Year Rabbis Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 8:30 AM - 10:15 AM | 1 hour 45 minutes
- Convention Service Sh’lichei TziburMari Chernow, Jeffrey SaxeTorah Service
- Worship
- Hafsakah – Visit Exhibit Area (Coffee served) - Grand Ballroom Foyer
- 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM | 45 minutes
- Break
- Rabbis and Civic Engagement: Betty T. Yee, CA State Controller, Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, Mayor Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento - Moderated by Dara Frimmer Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | 1 hour
- Keynote
- Lunch with Colleagues - Food Trucks Onsite: Rolling Sushi Van & Tres Compas Mexican Grill Irvine, CA - Offsite
- 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Meal
- Small Group Conversations - Seesawing Between Family and Community – Can We Find the Center? Hotel Irvine - Think Tank
- 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM | 1 hour 15 minutes
- Many of us feel torn between the needs of family and the demands of the community we serve. We strive...
- Meeting
- Creating Cultural Change: Engage with the Work of the Task Force on the Experience of Women in the Rabbinate Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 3:15 PM - 4:45 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Workshop
- Small Group Conversations - “Can the Rabbi Be My Friend”? Hotel Irvine - Think Tank
- 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM | 1 hour
- Is it possible to develop meaningful relationships with members of your community while maintaining appropriate boundaries? Am I always the rab...
- Meeting
- Reception: Thank you to all CCAR Sponsors, Donors and Volunteers Hotel Irvine - The Backyard
- 6:00 PM - 6:45 PM | 45 minutes
- Reception
- Celebrate Israel’s 70th Anniversary! Dor chadash: Engaging with the Next Generation of Israeli Rabbinic Leadership Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- We are sorry to share that Tzipi Livni will not be able to join us at CCAR Convention. We received word from her personally that she regrets not...
- Keynote
- Breakfast Hosted by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) Including Class Roll Call Hotel Irvine - Pavilion
- 7:15 AM - 8:15 AM | 1 hour
- Meal
- Introspective Shacharit Service Hotel Irvine - Quail Hill
- 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM | 30 minutes
- Worship
- HEALTH CARE: 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES A DAY LONG, IN-DEPTH EXPLORATION -Opening by Susan Samueli of the Susan Samueli Institute for Integrative Medicine Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 9:15 AM - 9:45 AM | 30 minutes
- Workshop
- Mind-Body Medicine: Mindfulness in Healthcare and Well-being Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon D
- 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM | 1 hour
- The practice of mindfulness has been shown to relieve suffering which shows benefits in a variety of illnesses, as well as enhancing well-being an...
- Workshop
- Getting Good at Getting Older: Boomers Changing the Paradigm of Aging Hotel Irvine - Theater
- 3:15 PM - 4:30 PM | 1 hour 15 minutes
- "Boomers" (people born between 1946 and 1964) are the first generation in human history … to reasonably anticipate living … into their 80’s a...
- Workshop
- Nechemta: A Healing Service of the Heart Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 4:45 PM - 5:15 PM | 30 minutes
- We come together to share the healing torah of our day, our lives, our rabbinates, our traditi...
- Workshop
- Reception Hosted by URJ Hotel Irvine - Pavilion
- 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM | 1 hour
- Reception
- WRN Dinner: All CCAR Women Rabbis Are Welcome (By reservation only) Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon E
- 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Meal
- ACTING NOW: THE IMPERATIVE OF GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION with Mike Feuer, LA City Attorney, Sally Weber, Crisis Response Expert & Adam Friedman, NFTY SAVP. Moderated by Joel Mosbacher. Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- LA City Attorney Mike Feuer will share his work to reduce gun violence in Los Angeles, and nationwide. He will be joined by Sally Weber, Crisis ...
- General Session
- Meditative Musical Shacharit Hotel Irvine - Quail Hill
- 7:30 AM - 8:00 AM | 30 minutes
- We are thrilled to have cantors partnering with rabbis this year for some exciting and musical T’filah experiences. For an extra special tre...
- Worship
- Sister Simone Campbell — The Nun on the Bus: A Prophetic Voice for Justice Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM | 1 hour 15 minutes
- Sister Simone Campbell is a leading social justice activist and religious leader. In 2012, she rallied&nbs...
- Keynote
- Special Session: CCAR Today and Tomorrow - Continuing Rabbinic Education proposal - Food sponsored by Da’at/ARZA World Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- General Session
- What Did You Just Say?: Tools for Responding to Inappropriate Comments Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon B
- 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- What are the tools we can use to counter comments that are inappropriate, offensive, or hurtful? We will explore techniques for responding to comme...
- Workshop
- Small Group Conversations - Do You Feel Your Community Rests Solely on Your Shoulders? Hotel Irvine - Think Tank
- 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rabbis often feel that we carry the weight and responsibility for the Jewish future on our shoulders. To be a moral compass in turbulent times ...
- Meeting
- Ten Years of The Torah: A Woman's Commentary with Andrea Weiss, Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, and Hara Person (Session 2) Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon E
- 4:30 PM - 5:15 PM | 45 minutes
- The groundbreaking volume, The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, debuted ten years ago, originally published by URJ Press and Women of...
- Workshop
- Closing Program: Mark Hetfield, President and CEO of HIAS. Because We Are Jewish: Responding to the Global Refugee Crisis Hotel Irvine - Grand Ballroom - Salon C
- 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM | 1 hour 30 minutes
- Mark Hetfield is an international expert in refugee and immigration law, policy and
- Keynote