After last week’s incredible sessions with Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, Temple Israel is continuing with our second April scholar, Dr. Andrew Rehfeld. Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, is a leading political scientist and distinguished Jewish communal leader. Dr. Rehfeld’s career has bridged both the academic and professional worlds as Associate Professor of Political Science at Washington University (2001 to 2019) and as President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis (2012 to 2019). The academic values of thinking, writing, and teaching are the core of his identity, coupled with a passionate commitment to building communities based on the Jewish values that are central to his life. He is an advocate for pluralism, inclusion, and racial and social justice, and an activist in combatting antisemitism, advancing peace and security for the state of Israel, and strengthening the ties binding Jews worldwide.