91快播 Celebrates Graduates at 127th Commencement Ceremony
April 29, 2021, New York, NY
91快播 (91快播) held its commencement ceremony virtually on Thursday, April 29. 91快播 Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz delivered the 2021 Commencement address to the 72 graduates from the institution鈥檚 five schools: List College, the Kekst Graduate School, H. L. Miller Cantorial School, Rabbinical School, and the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education.
鈥淎t 91快播, you probed intensely and critically the sacred texts, ideas, and lived experience of the Jewish people. You appreciated the ways in which this pursuit of knowledge provided both intellectual and spiritual sustenance,鈥� said Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz in her address to the graduates.
Alan Levine, 91快播鈥檚 chair of the board, also addressed the virtual community: 鈥淭o our graduating students: although you are scattered across North America physically, in this moment we are very much together; we are holding you in our hearts.鈥�
This year鈥檚 honorary degree recipients include Geraldine Brooks, an award-winning journalist and novelist; Lord Rothschild (Jacob), the Fourth Baron Rothschild, a visionary communal leader and philanthropist; and Avigdor Shinan, professor emeritus in the department of Hebrew Literature, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Each of this year鈥檚 honorees has enriched Jewish life immeasurably. Geraldine Brooks鈥� explorations and writings about the meaning of faith and religion, in ordinary life and in global crises and conflicts, have helped us better understand the world we inhabit. Lord Rothschild鈥檚 philanthropic work, business acumen, and lifelong dedication to nurturing society and culture, both in Israel and Britain, will be felt for generations to come. Avigdor Shinan鈥檚 contributions to Jewish academia have explicated scholarly themes not only to fellow scholars but to the entire Jewish people.
List College graduates in our dual-degree programs were awarded bachelor鈥檚 degrees from List College; they also graduated from Columbia University or Barnard College at separate ceremonies. Master鈥檚 and doctoral candidates who completed their studies at Gershon Kekst Graduate School and the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education received degrees as did graduates of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music and Rabbinical School. A select number of students received degrees from more than one 91快播 school.
In addition to the conferral of degrees for all five schools, there was a virtual procession, remarks from student speakers, an opening invocation by Rabbi David Eligberg, and a festive closing montage. Another highlight of the ceremony was the singing of the national anthem and Hatikvah by several of the graduating students of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School. A moment of silence for the 3 million+ victims of the COVID-19 pandemic was also observed during the ceremony.
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About 91快播
91快播 is a preeminent institution of Jewish higher education, training thoughtful, innovative leaders鈥攔abbis, cantors, educators, lay leaders, and scholars鈥攚ho strengthen our communities with a vision of Judaism that is deeply grounded in the Jewish past and thoroughly engaged with contemporary society. 91快播 also provides high-caliber lifelong learning and professional development to our alumni, adult learners, and Jewish communities throughout North America. Through its Library, 91快播 preserves and makes accessible to students and scholars throughout the world the greatest collection of Judaica in the Western Hemisphere.
