BCC Celebrates New Rabbi, Milken Student Completes Prestigious Internship

Progressive, LGBTQ+ congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim (BCC) welcomed its new spiritual leader, Rabbi Jillian Cameron, during a recent installation ceremony. 

Participants of the Friday night installation service, held July 29, included BCC Rabbi Emerita Lisa Edwards and BCC Cantor Juval Porat.

Cameron’s rabbi, Rabbi Elyse Frishman, was also in attendance. 

More than 60 people attended the service at BCC in person, and another 40 tuned in on Zoom, “making the installation the Shabbat service with the most attendees post pandemic,” BCC Executive Vice President Jessica Donath told the Journal. 

Cameron is the BCC community’s first permanent rabbi since Edwards, who led BCC for 25 years, retired in 2019. 

Since joining BCC in July 2020, Cameron has ushered the congregation through an uncertain and unprecedented time. 

Festivities celebrating Cameron continued at the synagogue, located on Pico east of La Cienega Boulevard, all weekend long. On Saturday morning, the congregation held a study session with Frishman, editor of the Reform movement’s prayer book, in its parking lot. On Saturday afternoon, a family-friendly open house featured a bounce house, snow cones, the dedication of a time capsule marking the end of BCC’s 50th-anniversary celebration year, havdalah, a tour through the building led by its architects and a light dinner.

BCC was founded in 1972, at a time when gay and lesbian Jews were not welcome at the majority of mainstream American synagogues. The congregation recently celebrated its 50th anniversary year with a gala event.

Seth Cohen, a Milken Community Schools student, was selected for the prestigious Student Enhancement in Earth and Space Science (SEES) summer internship, which was held at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Space Research.

As part of the hybrid program, featuring in-person and remote work opportunities, students collaborated with scientists and engineers and conducted authentic research from data received from NASA’s earth observing satellites as well as designing Mars habitats, Lunar Exploration and analysis of images from the International Space Station.

The nationally competitive program, sponsored by NASA’s Texas Space Grant Consortium, selects students who will increase their knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and math through earth and space education. Almost 1100 applications were received for the coveted 92 on-site internship positions. Students worked remotely with their project scientist prior to the on-site internship.

Cohen and the other students came together in-person from July 16-30 in Austin, Texas to conduct experiments, tour facilities, network and conduct research while being mentored by NASA subject matter experts at University of Texas at Austin. The internship culminated with a virtual symposium held Aug. 1-3, during which time project teams presented their research.