California State University, San Bernardino will award Rabbi Hillel Cohn, who has led the Jewish community in the greater San Bernardino area for more than 50 years and has been a leader in a number of civic and charitable organizations and committees, a doctorate of humane letters during the university’s commencement ceremonies on June 17.
Cohn served as rabbi of Congregation Emanu El in San Bernardino from 1963 to 2001 and was named rabbi emeritus of the synagogue. From 2014 to 2015 he returned to lead the congregation, which is now located in Redlands. In his retirement he has served congregations in Las Vegas and Palm Desert, and currently serves as rabbi of the Sun City Jewish Congregation in Palm Desert. He will be honored at the university’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences commencement.
'It is a truly deep honor to be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by California State University, San Bernardino, an institution that I have watched grow from its very beginnings into the fine educational institution it is today,” Cohn said. “It has been a true blessing of my life to have been able to provide support and leadership to many organizations and causes dedicated to the enhancement of life in our city and the entire Inland Empire region while at the same time serving as rabbi of an historic congregation.'
CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales said Rabbi Cohn’s dedication to the community was truly inspiring.
“We are delighted to recognize Rabbi Cohn for his remarkable commitment to not only to his congregation, but also to the city of San Bernardino, the inland region and Cal State San Bernardino,” said Morales. “He has worked tirelessly to promote understanding, tolerance and diversity not just within the Jewish religion, but with all faiths. We are truly blessed and better people because of his dedication.”
The college recently established the Rabbi Hillel Cohn Endowed Lecture on the Contemporary Jewish Experience in recognition of Cohn’s many achievements as a religious and community leader. The lecture series is the first time in the CSU system’s history that a rabbi has been so honored. The inaugural lecture featuring Rabbi David Ellenson will be held on March 8 at the university’s Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art from 7-9 p.m.
A native of Germany, Cohn was brought to the United States as an infant by his parents, who were refugees from Nazism. He grew up in the Pacific Northwest, as well as Southern California. Cohn came to Congregation Emanu El in 1963 to serve as assistant rabbi with Rabbi Norman F. Feldheym. In 1964, he was named co-rabbi and in 1971 he became the senior rabbi of the congregation. During his tenure, Cohn compiled numerous prayer books, oversaw the construction of the Norman F. Feldheym Religious Education Center, and wrote two national award-winning curriculums for the congregation’s Jewish education program.
A frequent participant on radio and television programs, Cohn and the late Dr. William Loveless of the Loma Linda Broadcasting Network, co-hosted and produced 'Options', a series of televised conversations on contemporary moral and spiritual issues on the International 7th Day Adventist Television Network. For a number of years he was a regular participant on 'Religion on the Line', a popular radio show on KABC in Los Angeles. He produced and hosted “The Many Faces of San Bernardino: Dialogues on Diversity, a regular half-hour program on KCSB (Channel 3); served as editor of the CCAR Newsletter, the monthly publication of all reform rabbis in the world; and currently edits Ohr L'Naorrr, the newsletter of the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis. Cohn continues to be called on frequently to speak to religious and civic groups locally and throughout the nation. He is also the author of Haggadah for Passover, and his sermons have been published regularly in various publications.
Some of the community board’s that Cohn currently serves on include: the CSUSB College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Development Council; the Morrow-McCombs Memorial Lecture Advisory Board; the Brightest Star; Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties; the Inland and Desert Hillel Council, which serves Jewish students of the region; the Community Foundation of Riverside and San Bernardino; Making Hope Happen Foundation of the SBCUSD; Think Together; and the Diocesan Health Care Committee of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino.
In 2010 he served as the chairperson of the San Bernardino Bicentennial Commission and is currently a member of the Citizens Volunteer Charter Review Committee of the City of San Bernardino. He also served on The Unforgettables Foundation, the San Bernardino City Library Foundation, St. Bernardine Medical Center Foundation and as the founding chairperson of the City of San Bernardino Human Relations Commission.
Cohn has also served as president or chairperson of the San Bernardino Area Mental Health Association, the Family Service Agency, the San Bernardino Clergy Association, Paradise Lodge #237 B'nai B'rith and the San Bernardino United Jewish Welfare Fund. He was also a founder of ICUC, Inland Congregations United for Change and for the past 30 years he has been a leading member of the Priest-Rabbi Dialogue, a project jointly sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Board of Rabbis of Southern California.
Some of the honors that Cohn has received include: the Time for Change Foundation Humanitarian Award, a Community Honoree by the Western Inland Empire Coalition Against Hate; the 'Man in the Spirit of Martin Luther King' Award from the African-American Churches of the Inland Empire; the Dale Evans-Roy Rogers Award for a Lifetime of Commitment to the Spirituality of Children from the Loma Linda University Medical Center, the Black Rose Award of the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation; the Our Lady of Guadalupe Award and 'Amar Es Entregarse' Award of the Diocese of San Bernardino. He was also named to the CSUSB College of Social and Behavioral Science Hall of Fame and was made an honorary member of Phi Beta Delta, the organization of international scholars at CSUSB.
Additionally Cohn has served as treasurer and board member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis as well as chairperson of its national Committee on Resolutions, as president of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis and as president of the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis. He also served as west coast chairperson of the rabbinic cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal and as a member of the board of trustees of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
Cohn received a B.A. in political science from UCLA. His rabbinical training was at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles and Cincinnati, where he was ordained as a rabbi in 1963 and received a master’s degree. He earned a doctor of ministry degree from the Claremont School of Theology in 1984, specializing in ethics and communication and in 1988 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by the Hebrew Union College.
Cohn and his wife Rita live in San Bernardino and have two children, Elana Cohn-Rozansky and Marc Cohn, and four grandchildren, Jeremy and Adam Rozansky and Sarah and Leah Cohn.
See also the related news release, “CSUSB launches the Rabbi Hillel Endowed Lecture Series March 8.”