Shaping the High Holy Days: Alumni and Students Reflect on Leading Communities

As we welcome the new year, 5786, and emerge from the High Holy Days, we reflect on the wisdom, creativity, and leadership of our alumni and students who guided communities through these sacred days. From pulpits to classrooms, military bases to family services, they balanced tradition and innovation, held space for vulnerability, and drew strength from their learning and networks. Together, their reflections highlight the resilience and spiritual depth with which Jewish leaders, both emerging and seasoned, are meeting the evolving needs of Jewish communities around the world.

This year's reflections also take on special meaning as we celebrate 150 years of preparing rabbis, cantors, educators, and nonprofit leaders to step into sacred moments like these, shaping Jewish life for generations.

Wisdom from our Alumni: Leading with Experience and Vision

Our alumni noted how leading High Holy Day services is at once humbling, overwhelming, and deeply meaningful. They reflected on the responsibility of guiding communities through sacred texts and liturgy, the challenge of addressing brokenness with honesty and hope, and the importance of the networks and teachings they carry from Hebrew Union College.

Chaplain (MAJ) Cantor David Frommer '11
US Military Academy Jewish Chaplain

As an Army Chaplain, Cantor Frommer supports Jewish service members who face unique concerns about faith and future conflicts. He credits his time at Hebrew Union College not only with teaching sacred text and music, but also with giving him a network of support that sustains him in his chaplaincy.

"It's challenging to reassure them (American Jewish Service Members) that the small number of Jewish Chaplains currently serving in uniform will be enough to support the spiritual needs of more than 10,000 Jewish personnel in such a future conflict, but it's very meaningful to be one of that number at such a precarious time.

As an Army Chaplain, I realize the most valuable gift that Hebrew Union College gave me was a network of incredibly generous friends, colleagues, and institutions to support me and our Jewish Service Members in our work. Rabbinic and cantorial colleagues who sponsor kosher meals for Jewish Soldiers, synagogues like Temple Mount Sinai in El Paso that welcome Jewish military families, and professional organizations like the ACC and the CCAR that offer financial assistance to military Chaplains, are part of a broad family that ensure I don't have to walk this path alone."

Rabbi Adrienne Scott '04
Senior Associate Rabbi, Congregation Beth Israel

For Rabbi Scott, the High Holy Days are a sacred time to meet her congregation in joy and in brokenness, reminding them of the strength found in community.

"This year, I gave a sermon on Yom Kippur morning where I addressed the difficult topic of finding healing after experiencing a traumatic event. By using the example, from Talmud, of Moses carrying the shattered pieces of the first set of the Ten Commandments along with the second complete and full set, I hoped to impress upon my congregation that through sadness Judaism can help put context to our pain. When we come together around our faith and legacy, we are strengthened and supported despite the broken and jagged parts of our lives"

David Scott J.D., RJE, M.A.R.E., '17
Second-year Rabbinical Student, Virtual Pathway
Director of Lifelong Learning and Engagement, Congregation Beth Israel

Rabbi Scott's husband, David, found a new depth and inspiration this year as he blew the shofar before his congregation in Houston, TX.

"This year's shofar service on Rosh Hashanah felt different. It was one of the most moving experiences I have had while standing on the bimah of our congregation. There was a sense that I was standing before God with humility, and the sound of the shofar came from deep within without anxiety or worry."

He was also able to add unique perspective as both an alum and a virtual pathway rabbinical student.

"Having a cohort of rabbinic students who are all engaged in the same process of rabbinic formation is a gift, and I was inspired by my classmates as we all prepared in our own ways for these sacred days. Perhaps this is what helped move me while standing on the bimah this year, surrounded by the clergy team and our Temple leadership to whom I am so grateful. I knew that so many other rabbinic students, including those in the Virtual Pathway, were serving congregations all over the country in similar ways. This powerful bond will continue well beyond my years as a student"

Stories from our Students: Stepping into Leadership

For many students, this year marked their first time leading communities during the High Holy Days. They spoke about the vulnerability of stepping into new roles, the balance of study with responsibility, and the ways their Hebrew Union College training is already shaping their leadership. Their reflections reveal the humility, excitement, and deep sense of purpose that comes with guiding Jewish communities through the holiest days of the year.

Jade Gordon
Second-year Rabbinical Student

Serving as solo clergy in Amarillo, TX, Jade balanced rooted tradition with stepping into something entirely new.

"My time at Hebrew Union College greatly shaped the way I came into this High Holy Days season. Last year in Israel, my focus was on immersing myself in the land, the learning, and my own spiritual growth. This year felt different. It was much less about what I'm taking in and more about what I can give. This year I walked with a community through these sacred days serving as a guide and supporter as we go through the holidays together.

One of the unexpected inspirations for me that I carried with me into the holidays came from a book I found here in Amarillo, Meditations on the Texas Panhandle. There's a poem that describes seeing both an old windmill and a new turbine standing together, and it ends with these words: "This vantage point imposes a broader view, a chance to reflect on the passage of the past into the present and how both determine the shapes of the future." That line has stuck with me because it feels like exactly what the High Holy Days are meant to do. We are all holding the past, present, and future all at once, and we ask ourselves how we want to shape what comes next."

Dana Bederson
Third-year Cantorial Student

Serving her student pulpit at Temple Micah in Washington, D.C., Dana reflected on the balance of tradition and innovation in music and prayer.

"I stepped into this year's High Holy Days feeling inspired by the world around me, by both its challenges and its possibilities. I carried with me a profound sense of hope: hope for peace in our world, especially in Israel; hope for healing and safety for Jews and Palestinians alike; and hope for a future marked by compassion and understanding across divides. These hopes fueled my prayers and my music this year. For my community, my greatest wish was that they feel a sense of connection, whether it's through a melody or a quiet moment of reflection. Each person who walked through the doors brought their own story, joys, struggles, and needs. My role as student clergy is not to provide all the answers, but to create a space where people can encounter something meaningful, something that resonates deeply with their unique lives. If congregants walked away feeling even a small spark of inspiration or connection, then I feel I have done my work with integrity and hear."

Danielle Wolff
Master of Educational Leadership & Jewish Learning 2026

As religious school director at Temple Beth Israel in Pomona, CA, Danielle led children and family High Holy Day programming while balancing school and her own spiritual journey.

"Preparing for the High Holy Days was a balancing act - balancing my responsibilities to the congregation, completing schoolwork, and my own spiritual journey was quite the challenge! However, being able to reflect on the themes of the High Holy Days alongside my learners was such a blessing."

Lauren Reeves
Master of Jewish Program 2026
Director of Education, the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation

Lauren led family High Holy Day services with creativity and joy, drawing from her studies in Hebrew Union College's EMA program.

"This year, I was especially excited about a giant Seder Chayim, Book of Life, I made to help young children understand the concept of being inscribed for blessing. When is their birthday, who lost a tooth this year, and how might we grow and change in the year to come?"

As we look beyond this High Holy Day season, the voices of our alumni and students reflect the legacy of visionary leaders, rabbis, educators, and scholars who have shaped Reform Jewish life in North America and around the world. For 150 years, we have equipped leaders to meet the sacred challenges of their time. Today, as our alumni and students continue that work, we celebrate not only the High Holy Days, but also the ongoing story of faculty, students, alumni, and supporters who have made Hebrew Union College a beacon of Jewish learning, leadership, and creativity for decades-and continues to do so with strength and vision for the future.