November 6, 2026
Earthquakes happen when tectonic plates move together, causing pressure that makes the Earth feel like it’s moving. Metaphorical earthquakes happen when a single human being has such an impact on the world that it literally shifts beneath your feet. This week, Professor Sara Lee passed away. There are not enough words that begin to describe the impact that she had on the world of Jewish education. Sara was the longtime Director of the Rhea Hirsch School of Jewish Education (RHSOE) at HUC’s Los Angeles campus. It was a position she held for over 30 years, during which she trained countless educators and professionalized the field of Jewish education. In 2005, she earned the Pras HaNasi, the Israeli President’s Prize for influence in the field of Jewish Education in the Diaspora. That honor fractionally describes the influence she had on the field of Jewish education. Sara Lee caused an earthquake in the world of Jewish education, shifting it in indescribable ways.
Both Debra and I are alumni of the RHSOE and call Sara our mentor. After her retirement, she returned to Boston, where she spent the remaining years of her life near her children and near her birth home. When we moved Zoe into school in August, I asked Debra if we should reach out to Sara to try to visit with her; unfortunately, time did not allow for that.
I remember the first time I met Sara. It was 1999. I was visiting HUC’s Los Angeles campus as a prospective student. My mentor, Rabbi Matt Cutler, said that I had to meet Sara, and if I was going to go to HUC, I should really consider adding an extra year to earn a master’s degree in Jewish education. I sat on Sara’s infamous yellow couch, which would trap you if you sat all the way back. As someone who was earning an undergraduate degree in education, Sara informed me that if I were to come to HUC, I would also enroll in the School of Jewish Education. For Sara, it wasn’t a choice. She was as prophetic as she was wise.
After spending the first three years as a rabbinic student, the time came for me to enroll in the School of Jewish Education. Sara taught us organizational development, reminding us about the four frames in which nonprofit organizations functioned. Her goal was to make us better educators, but she really inspired an entire generation of students to become educational leaders who would not just think about the classroom but also about how the entire organization could grow and improve. As Sara raised more disciples, she transformed the field, professionalizing it and helping her graduates impact countless students, teachers, and Jewish institutions. If you were one of Sara’s students, you could call on her for life. She helped us navigate career searches long after graduation, and we could call on her whenever we needed her. As I think about my time since HUC, the RHSOE faculty were the teachers I called on more than others.
Perhaps it is fitting that she took her last breath during the week in which we read from Parashat Chayei Sarah—the life of Sarah. In the opening verses, we learn that Sarah died at the age of 127. Midrash (Gen. Rabbah 58:2) teaches us that when the sun rises, the sun also sets, referencing Ecclesiastes 1:5. Rabbi Aba bar Kahana asks the obvious question, saying, “Don’t we know this?” But the midrash then comes to explain that before the Holy One, Blessed be God, causes the sun of a righteous person to set, God causes the sun of that person’s righteous counterpart to rise. While we cannot know who the righteous person is who has arisen prior to Sara Lee’s death, perhaps there might never arise a person who will reach her stature in the field of Jewish education. If that is indeed the case, we might think about all her students, who collectively have brought her influence to countless Jewish organizations around the world. Sara Lee was a teacher who helped me to become the rabbi and educator I am today. She helped Debra become the educator she is today. May her memory be for a blessing.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rick Kellner