Harold M. Schulweis

Harold M. Schulweis (1925- ) is a rabbi, author, and a longtime Spiritual Leader at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, CA. Known for his highly skilled oratory, Schulweis, starting back in 1970 when he came to Valley Beth Shalom, began to attract hundreds of congregants each week to his Friday night Sabbath services and is generally given credit for reviving and re-newing Judaism among many of his followers.

Schulweis was born in Bronx, New York in 1925 to secular parents, who respected Zionism and Jewish traditions. His early Jewish education was influenced by his grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Rezak who introduced him to the Talmud. In 1945, Schulweis graduated Yeshiva University, with a degree in philosophy.

At the time of his graduation, the Orthodox leadership had been engaged in a public feud with Mordecai Kaplan, who was excommunicated and had his books burned. Taking curiosity in his teachings, Schulweis enrolled in the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he studied under Kaplan and Abraham Joshua Heschel. Like Schulweis, both of these figures were raised Orthodox, but gradually developed their own concepts of Judaism. At the same time as his JTS learning, Schulweis also studied philosophy at New York University, where he met his wife Malkah.

Excited about the prospect of leading a congregation, Schulweis was given his first chance in 1952, when he took a pulpit at Temple Beth Abraham, a Conservative congregation in Oakland, California. Among the innovations he introduced was the inclusion of women in minyanim and bat mitzvah ceremonies for girls. Instead of sermons, he used the alloted time for questions and answers.

Schulweis has received criticism from the religious right for his interfaith and conversion programs, and open inclusion of homosexuals. Rabbi Meir Kahane criticized Schulweis for allowing a pro-PLO Arab Knesset member to speak at his synagogue, while refusing to extend the same opportunity to Kahane, who was also a Knesset member at the time. [Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews by Rabbi Meir Kahane. p.40]

A recent list, which was published in Newsweek, dubs him as "the leading Conservative rabbi of his generation" and places him 13th on their list of The Top 50 Rabbis in America [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17721005/site/newsweek/ The Top 50 Rabbis in America] ] . Though he is affiliated with the Conservative Movement he is considered one of the greatest authorities and theologians of Reconstructionist Judaism today. He is the founder of the human rights watch group, the Jewish World Watch. Schulweis was instrumental in the creation of the Chavurah movement in the late 1960s [ [http://www.vbs.org/rabbi/hshulw/shulbio.htm Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis Biography from Valley Beth Shalom] ] ., and was instrumental in advancing the cause of women equality in Judaism and religion.

Trivia

Schulweis has also served as a technical advisor for Judaism-themed episodes of the Simpsons [ [http://www.snpp.com/episodes/8F05 Springfield Nuclear Power Plant:Episodes:8F05] ] .

External links

* [http://www.vbs.org/rabbi/hshulw/shulbio.htm Biography from Valley Beth Shalom]
* [http://www.vbs.org/rabbi/hshulw/index.htm Sermons and Articles by Rabbi Schulweis]
* [http://www.schulweisinstitute.org/ Harold M. Schulweis Institute]
* [http://www.jewishworldwatch.org/ Jewish World Watch]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17721005/site/newsweek/ Newsweek: The Top 50 Rabbis in America]

Footnotes