“Conservative Judaism ”

Herbert Parzen

PARZEN, HERBERT (1896–1985), U.S. rabbi, author, editor. Born in Ozorkow, Poland, he came to the United States in 1909, earning his B.A. at the University of Michigan in 1919 and then entering the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was ordained in 1926. He also earned an M.H.L. from the seminary that year and an M.A. from Columbia University. The seminary awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1972.He began his rabbinate at Temple Aaron in St. Paul (1926–28) and then at Temple Ahavai Shalom in Portland, Oregon, where he brought new leadership to a declining congregation and also was president of the Portland Chapter of the Zionist Organization of America (1939–41)... read article

Simon Noveck

NOVECK, SIMON (1914–2005), U.S. rabbi. Born in Atlanta, he earned a B.A. from Yeshiva College and then moved to the Jewish Theological Seminary where he was ordained in 1941. He earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1955.He entered the pulpit upon ordination serving Baldwin Jewish center during the early war years (1940–44) and as acting rabbi in Temple Beth El in Cedarhurst during the last part of World War II and rabbi in B'nai Israel in Freeport, Long Island (1946–49). He then assumed the assistant rabbi position at Park Avenue Synagogue under Milton *Steinberg and became rabbi upon his passing in 1950... read article

C. David Matt

MATT, C. DAVID (1887–1951), U.S. rabbi. Born in Kovno, he was raised in Philadelphia where he came with his family in 1890. C. (Calman) David Matt grew up in Rabbi Bernard Levinthal's synagogue; Levinthal's sons Rabbi Israel Levinthal and Judge Louis Levinthal were literally life-long friends and spoke at his funeral. He went to public school, Yeshiva Mishkan Israel, and Gratz College. He earned his B.A. in 1909 at the University of Pennsylvania and was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1913... read article

Josh Radnor

Josh Radnor is a Jewish American actor, producer, director and writer. Born in Columbus, Ohio to Alan, a medical malpractice lawyer, and Carol Radnor, Josh grew up in suburban Bexley, Ohio. He and his two sisters were raised in Conservative Judaism and he attended Orthodox Jewish day schools in his youth, including the Columbus Torah Academy... read article

Letty Cottin Pogrebin

POGREBIN, LETTY COTTIN (1939– ), U.S. feminist activist, prolific writer, and cofounder with Gloria *Steinem of the National Women's Political Caucus. Born in Queens, New York City, to Cyral (Halpern) and Jacob Cottin, Pogrebin was among the first girls to celebrate a bat mitzvah in Conservative Judaism (1952). A 1959 graduate of Brandeis University, she married Bertrand Pogrebin, a New York City lawyer, in 1963. Following her marriage, Pogrebin worked for Bernard Geis Associates, a publishing company, becoming director of publicity and vice president. Her experiences inspired her first book, How to Make It in a Man's World (1970)... read article

Bernard Segal

SEGAL, BERNARD (1907–1984), U.S. Conservative rabbi, administrator. Segal was born in Lipno, Poland, and immigrated to the United States in 1922. He received a B.S. from Columbia University in 1931 and was ordained at the *Jewish Theological Seminary in 1933, earning a D.H.L. there in 1950. He served briefly as rabbi of the Patchogue Jewish Center on Long Island, N.Y. (1933–34), before becoming rabbi of Queens Jewish Center (1934–40)... read article

Pittsburgh Platform

The Pittsburgh Platform was a formulation of principles agreed upon by the Reform movement in 1885 at the Pittsburgh Conference. The conference was called together by Kaufmann *Kohler of New York and was chaired by Isaac M. *Wise of Cincinnati, the foremost figure in *Reform Judaism. The Pittsburgh Platform symbolized the merger of the Eastern U.S. and Germanic-oriented wings of Reform Judaism. The Eastern wing had previously been led by David *Einhorn, Kohler's father-in-law; Wise led the Germanic-oriented wing, which was stronger in the western U.S... read article

Lesbianism

Until the late 20th century, lesbians were invisible in Jewish textual traditions and within Jewish societies. Only recently have Jewish scholars and communities faced the issue of how erotic love between women fits into a Jewish view of the world. While male homosexual behavior is prohibited in the book of Leviticus, same-sex sexuality between women is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Some commentators think that this difference exists because in ancient times only acts in which men emitted semen were defined as sexual... read article

Ismar Schorsch

Ismar Schorsch is the sixth Chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary and is the Rabbi Herman Abramovitz Professor of Jewish History. Founded in 1886, JTS is a Jewish university that serves as the spiritual and academic center of Conservative Judaism. Throughout his eighteen years as Chancellor, Dr... read article

Reconstructionist Judaism: Who is a Reconstructionist Jew?

A Reconstructionist Jew has strong commitments both to tradition and to the search for contemporary meaning. Reconstructionists encourage all Jews to enhance their own lives by reclaiming our shared heritage and becoming active participants in the building of the Jewish future. The Evolving Religious Civilization of the Jewish People Reconstructionists define Judaism as the evolving religious civilization of the Jewish people... read article

Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, S.W. Ohio metropolis. Cincinnati shelters the oldest American Jewish community west of the Alleghenies. It was mid-19th century America's third largest Jewish community.Congregational LifeThe first Jew to settle in Cincinnati was Joseph Jonas, who arrived from Plymouth, England, in 1817. Additional Jews from England joined him in ensuing years, and in 1824, the small community met at the home of Morris Moses, and drafted a constitution for the first congregation west of the Alleghenies, K.K. Bene Israel (Rockdale Temple). Toward the end of the 1830s, Jews from Holland, Alsace, and Germany arrived, and in 1840 organized K.K. Bene Yeshurun (Isaac M... read article

Jewish Practices & Rituals: Bar/Bat Mitzvah

BAR MITZVAH, BAT MITZVAH (Heb. masc. בַּר מִצְוָה, fem. בַּת מִצְוָה; lit. "son/daughter of the commandment," i.e., a person under obligation, responsible), term denoting both the attainment of religious and legal maturity as well as the occasion at which this status is formally assumed for boys at the age of 13 plus one day, for girls at 12 plus one day (Maim. Yad, Ishut, 2:9–10)... read article

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias of General Content in Hebrew and Yiddish Outside of IsraelThe first Hebrew encyclopedias were translations or adaptations of Arabic works, which were intended as systematic presentations of the sciences in the medieval Aristotelian scheme, not usually arranged in alphabetical order. The first of these was Yesodei ha-Tevunah u-Migdal ha-Emunah by *Abraham b. Ḥiyya ha-Nasi of Barcelona (in the early 12th century), which included sections on mathematics, geometry, astronomy, optics, and music. Only the preface and the beginning of this work have been preserved in manuscript. In 1247 Judah b... read article

The Jewish Virtual Library - Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements of contributors of material to the Jewish Virtual Library... read article

A History of the Abuyudaya Jews of Uganda

A History of the Abuyudaya Jews of Uganda... read article

Reports on Religious Freedom: Israel

Executive Summary The country’s laws and policies provide for religious freedom and the government generally respected religious freedom in practice. The trend in the government’s respect for religious freedom did not change significantly during the year... read article

Biographies and Autobiographies

... read article

Uganda Virtual Jewish History Tour

A history of the Jewish community of Uganda and the Abayudaya... read article

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements of contributors to the Jewish Virtual Library... read article

Reports on Religious Freedom: Israel

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The country’s laws and policies protect religious freedom and, in practice, the government generally respected religious freedom. The government did not demonstrate a trend toward either improvement or deterioration in respect for and protection of the right to religious freedom... read article