Jewish Theological Seminary of America
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| Jewish Theological Seminary of America | |
|---|---|
 Jewish Theological Seminary of America Building at 3080 Broadway in Manhattan |
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| Motto | והסנה איננו אכל |
| Motto in English | And the bush was not consumed – Exodus 3:2 |
| Established | 1886 |
| Type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Conservative Judaism |
| Chancellor | Arnold Eisen |
| Provost | Alan Cooper |
| Location | New York City, New York, United States 40°48′43″N 73°57′37″W / 40.81194°N 73.96028°WCoordinates: 40°48′43″N 73°57′37″W / 40.81194°N 73.96028°W |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | www.jtsa.edu |
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA) is the academic and spiritual center of Conservative Judaism.
The JTSA operates five schools: Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies, which is affiliated with Columbia University and offers joint/double bachelors degree programs with both Columbia and Barnard College, The Graduate School, The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music, and the Rabbinical School.
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[edit] History
[edit] Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau
Rabbi Zecharias Frankel (1801-1875) at one time was in the traditional wing of the nascent Reform Judaism movement. After the second Reform rabbinic conference (1845, Frankfurt, Germany) he resigned after coming to believe that their positions were excessively radical. In 1854 he became the head of a new rabbinical school, the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau. In his magnum opus Darkhei HaMishnah (Ways of the Mishnah) Rabbi Frankel amassed scholarly support which showed that Jewish law was not static, but rather had always developed in response to changing conditions. He called his approach towards Judaism 'Positive-Historical', which meant that one should accept Jewish law and tradition as normative, yet one must be open to changing and developing the law in the same historical fashion that Judaism has always historically developed.
[edit] Positive-Historical Judaism in America
About this time in America, Rabbi Sabato Morais championed the reaction to American Reform. At one time Rabbi Morais had been a voice for moderation within the coalition of Reformers. He had opposed the more radical changes, but was open to moderate changes that would not offend traditional sensibilities. After the Reform movement published the Pittsburgh Platform, Rabbi Morais recognized the futility of his efforts and began the creation of a new rabbinical school in New York City. He was soon joined by Rabbi Alexander Kohut and Rabbi Bernard Drachman, both of whom had received semicha (rabbinic ordination) at Rabbi Frankel's Breslau seminary. They shaped the curriculum and philosophy of the new school after Rabbi Frankel's seminary. The first graduate to be ordained was Rabbi Morris Mandel who went to lead Adas Israel congregation (Washington, D.C.).
In 1902, Professor Solomon Schechter assumed presidency of JTSA. In a series of papers he articulated an ideology for the nascent movement. In 1913 he presided over the creation of the United Synagogue of America. (The name was changed in 1991 to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.)
Prominent professors at the Seminary at the time included such luminaries as Saul Lieberman, Alexander Marx, Louis Ginzberg and Louis Finkelstein and many others.
In 1930 the organization commissioned a new headquarters for 122nd Street and Broadway in a neo-colonial style, with a tower at the corner. The architects were Gehron, Ross and Alley.
Between 1940 and 1985, the JTSA produced a radio and television show called The Eternal Light. The show aired on Sunday afternoons, featuring well-known Jewish personalities like Chaim Potok and Elie Wiesel. Broadcasts did not involve preaching or prayer, but drew on history, literature and social issues to explore Judaism and Jewish holidays in a manner that was accessible to persons of any faith.
[edit] Library fire
In April 1966 the JTSA's library caught fire. 70,000 books were destroyed, and many others were damaged.
[edit] Admission of female students
In 1983, the JTSA faculty voted to ordain women as rabbis and as cantors.[1] The first female rabbi to graduate from the school (and the first female Conservative Jewish rabbi in the world) was Amy Eilberg, who graduated and was ordained as a rabbi in 1985 [1]. Erica Lipitz and Marla Rosenfeld Barugel were the first women ordained as cantors by the JTSA (and the first female Conservative Jewish cantors in the world.) They were both ordained in 1987 [2]
[edit] Admission of LGBT students
Since March 2007, the JTSA has accepted openly gay and lesbian students into their rabbinical and cantorial programs (the Seminary's other three schools upheld such non-discrimination policies prior to this date). A survey conducted prior to the decision indicated that 58% of the rabbinical student body supported this change.[2] The school issued a press release[3] announcing the new admission policy, without taking a stance on same-sex unions. JTSA marked the first year anniversary of the change with a special program. Some students who opposed the change in admission policy said they felt excluded from the day's program because it did not sufficiently recognize the pluralism in the student body.
- ^ Keller, Rosemary Skinner; Rosemary Radford Ruether; Marie Cantlon (2006). Encyclopedia of women and religion in North America, Volume 2. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 551. ISBN 0253346878. http://books.google.com/books?id=WPILfbtT5tQC&dq.
- ^ shamir, Shlomo (2007-03-28). "NY Jewish seminary to accept gay students". Haaretz.com. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/842238.html. Retrieved 2009-01-06. "A Conservative Jewish seminary in New York has agreed to admit gays and lesbians who want to become rabbis and cantors, but declined to take a stand on whether rabbis should officiate at same-sex unions."
- ^ "JTS to Accept Qualified Gay and Lesbian Rabbinical And Cantorial School Students". JTSA. 2007-03-26. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20070818191505/http://www.jtsa.edu/about/communications/press/20062007/20070326.shtm. "Note: The original page has been removed from school's web site"
[edit] Notable faculty
- Cyrus Adler
- Arnie Eisen
- José Faur
- Louis Finkelstein
- Louis Ginsberg
- David Weiss Halivni
- Judith Hauptman
- Abraham Joshua Heschel
- Max Kadushin
- Mordechai Kaplan
- Saul Lieberman
- David Marcus
- Alexander Marx
- David G. Roskies
- Joel Roth
- Solomon Schechter
- Ismar Schorsch
- Gordon Tucker
- Jack Wertheimer
- Yochanan Muffs
- Neil Gillman
[edit] Notable alumni
- Philip R. Alstat, early Conservative rabbi and leader
- Ben Zion Bokser
- Daniel Boyarin, Hermann P. and Sophia Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture, Departments of Near Eastern Studies and Rhetoric, University of California at Berkeley.
- Menachem Creditor, rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA and founder of ShefaNetwork.org, co-founder of Keshet Rabbis
- David G. Dalin, historian
- Matthew Eisenfeld, student killed in the Jerusalem bus 18 massacres
- Ben-Zion Gold, Rabbi of Harvard Hillel
- Jonathan A. Goldstein, Bible scholar
- Arthur Green, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis and Rector of the Rabbinical School at Hebrew College.
- Joseph H. Hertz, British Chief Rabbi and Author; first graduate of JTS
- Arthur Hertzberg
- Ian Kagedan
- Irwin Kula, Director of president of CLAL, the Center for Learning and Leadership.
- Lee I. Levine, Scholar of Ancient Judaism
- Albert L. Lewis, synagogue rabbi, and central character in Mitch Albom work, Have a Little Faith
- Hershel Matt, former congregational rabbi and professor at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
- Marshall Meyer
- Jacob Neusner, Chair of the Judaic Studies Department at Bard College.
- Norman Podhoretz, former Editor, Commentary magazine
- Chaim Potok, author, and rabbi
- Paula Reimers, Rabbi
- Arnold E. Resnicoff, Military chaplain and consultant to military and civilian leaders
- Samuel Schafler, past president of Hebrew College, superintendent of the Chicago Board of Jewish Education
- Henrietta Szold, founder of Hadassah
- Mordecai Waxman, prominent rabbi in the Conservative movement and senior rabbi of Temple Israel of Great Neck.
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jewish Theological Seminary of America |
[edit] References
- ^ Keller, Rosemary Skinner; Rosemary Radford Ruether; Marie Cantlon (2006). Encyclopedia of women and religion in North America, Volume 2. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 551. ISBN 0253346878. http://books.google.com/books?id=WPILfbtT5tQC&dq.
- ^ shamir, Shlomo (2007-03-28). "NY Jewish seminary to accept gay students". Haaretz.com. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/842238.html. Retrieved 2009-01-06. "A Conservative Jewish seminary in New York has agreed to admit gays and lesbians who want to become rabbis and cantors, but declined to take a stand on whether rabbis should officiate at same-sex unions."
- ^ "JTS to Accept Qualified Gay and Lesbian Rabbinical And Cantorial School Students". JTSA. 2007-03-26. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20070818191505/http://www.jtsa.edu/about/communications/press/20062007/20070326.shtm. "Note: The original page has been removed from school's web site"
[edit] External links
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