CJF-RIETS, in Conjunction With Cardozo, Present Conflict Resolution Workshop For Rabbis
A group of 15 rabbis convened in New York City for a three-day seminar, May 19-21, on mediation training, organized by 黑料社 All鈥檚 Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) - Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), in conjunction with the Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution at YU鈥檚 .
Adam Berner, seated, and Sequoia Stalder presented a workshop for rabbis on conflict resolution
The training was presented by attorneys Adam Berner and Sequoia Stalder, both expert trainers in the field of mediation and conflict resolution.
鈥淏y definition, rabbis here and in all places are serving so many different roles鈥攊n the pulpit, as teachers and as educators, working with many people, and people have differences,鈥 said Berner, an alumnus of RIETS and Cardozo and an assistant professor at Cardozo. 鈥淭his workshop is a frame of how best to help these leaders deal with differences, how to manages the realities of being in a community and how to take conflict and see it is an opportunity for growth, learning and change, for themselves and for others.鈥
Through a combination of discussion and collaborative role-playing activities, the training was designed to teach participants 鈥渉ow to maximize the chance of being on the positive side of a conflict,鈥 said Stalder, who founded a company to provide workplace mediation training and serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University鈥檚 International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. 鈥淲e create a framework for a dialogue, teaching specific skills that support that dialogue. We teach how to get to the root of the conflict, with the goal being collaboration, to determine how the needs of both sides can be met.鈥
For Rabbi Shaanan Gelman 鈥97YUHS, 鈥02YC, 鈥06R, the workshop and the topics it covered hit close to home.
鈥淣ot a week goes by without me being personally engaged in conflict resolution in some form, whether it鈥檚 communal, ritual, familial or on an organizational level,鈥 said Gelman, rabbi of Kehilat Chovevei Tzion in Skokie, Illinois. 鈥淭his conference provided the building blocks of managing conflicts on all fronts of the rabbinate, infinitely valuable skills which touch upon every aspect of the job and teach you to understand all sides of a contentious issue.鈥
Other attendees viewed the training as a vital part of their ongoing rabbinic education.
鈥淭his training was about seeing conflicts from different angles and how to effectively work towards a resolution,鈥 said Rabbi Jeremy Donath 鈥08YC, 鈥11A, 鈥11R, who leads Congregation Darchei Noam in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be able to come back to my alma mater to learn and engage in the growth process. To be connected to YU and have the opportunity to attend these trainings is really an asset for me in my perpetual education.鈥
鈥淭his unique collaboration between all aspects of the University, convened by the Center for the Jewish Future, brings best practice from the legal field to bear on rabbinic leadership,鈥 said Rabbi Levi Mostofsky, director of the CJF's Department of Continuing Education. 鈥淚n addition to developing the rabbi鈥檚 capacity to mediate, the experience broadened one鈥檚 view of conflict, with broad application in personal, professional and even religious life.鈥
鈥淎s a spiritual mentor and a role model, these are life skills that a rabbi needs,鈥 added Berner. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to be able to come back to YU, 20 years after I graduated, to help both the rabbinic community and the legal community.鈥
Adam Berner, seated, and Sequoia Stalder presented a workshop for rabbis on conflict resolution
鈥淭his training was about seeing conflicts from different angles and how to effectively work towards a resolution,鈥 said Rabbi Jeremy Donath 鈥08YC, 鈥11A, 鈥11R, who leads Congregation Darchei Noam in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be able to come back to my alma mater to learn and engage in the growth process. To be connected to YU and have the opportunity to attend these trainings is really an asset for me in my perpetual education.鈥
鈥淭his unique collaboration between all aspects of the University, convened by the Center for the Jewish Future, brings best practice from the legal field to bear on rabbinic leadership,鈥 said Rabbi Levi Mostofsky, director of the CJF's Department of Continuing Education. 鈥淚n addition to developing the rabbi鈥檚 capacity to mediate, the experience broadened one鈥檚 view of conflict, with broad application in personal, professional and even religious life.鈥
鈥淎s a spiritual mentor and a role model, these are life skills that a rabbi needs,鈥 added Berner. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to be able to come back to YU, 20 years after I graduated, to help both the rabbinic community and the legal community.鈥
Adam Berner, seated, and Sequoia Stalder presented a workshop for rabbis on conflict resolution
鈥淭his training was about seeing conflicts from different angles and how to effectively work towards a resolution,鈥 said Rabbi Jeremy Donath 鈥08YC, 鈥11A, 鈥11R, who leads Congregation Darchei Noam in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be able to come back to my alma mater to learn and engage in the growth process. To be connected to YU and have the opportunity to attend these trainings is really an asset for me in my perpetual education.鈥
鈥淭his unique collaboration between all aspects of the University, convened by the Center for the Jewish Future, brings best practice from the legal field to bear on rabbinic leadership,鈥 said Rabbi Levi Mostofsky, director of the CJF's Department of Continuing Education. 鈥淚n addition to developing the rabbi鈥檚 capacity to mediate, the experience broadened one鈥檚 view of conflict, with broad application in personal, professional and even religious life.鈥
鈥淎s a spiritual mentor and a role model, these are life skills that a rabbi needs,鈥 added Berner. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to be able to come back to YU, 20 years after I graduated, to help both the rabbinic community and the legal community.鈥
