Julie Hilton Danan
Julie Hilton Danan is an instructor in Modern Jewish Studies and Religious Studies at California State University, Chico, where she teaches Jewish studies courses and has also taught Hebrew language. She holds a PhD in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas at Austin (2009), and wrote her dissertation on The Divine Voice in Scripture: Ruah ha-Kodesh in Rabbinic Literature (Ruah ha-Kodesh is Hebrew for "the Holy Spirit.").
Dr. Danan received an independent Rabbinic ordination through ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal in July of 2000, and serves as spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Israel in Chico. Previously she was spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Am (Jewish Reconstructionist Federation) in San Antonio, an instructor at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas, and an instructor for the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School in San Antonio.
Dr. Danan received her MA in Hebrew Studies, with a major in Rabbinic Literature and a minor in Biblical Literature, from the University of Texas at Austin in 2000. The title of her master's thesis is, Between Earth and Heaven: Elijah the Prophet in Rabbinic Literature. She received a BA with honors in English literature from Tel Aviv University and also studied in the combined Judaic studies major for Israeli students at Bar-Ilan University, and in the Plan II honors program at the University of Texas.
Rabbi Danan is the author of The Jewish Parents' Almanac (Jason Aronson, 1994) and has written about Jewish religious observance for over two dozen Jewish and general publications. Her interests as a rabbi include Jewish education, public speaking, pastoral care (as an AAPC Pastoral Care Specialist) and interfaith dialogue (she was co-founder of the Palestinian-Jewish Dialogue of San Antonio and first chairperson of the Celebration of Abraham in Chico). She has served as vice president and president of the Chico Area Interfaith Council. A non-traditional student, Rabbi Danan embarked on her graduate and professional training in her thirties, as the mother of five.
Phd, Hebrew Studies, University of Texas, Austin
Trinity 240
(530) 898-5108
Résumé (pdf)