Rabbi Harold Schulweis of Conservative Temple Valley Beth Shalom (VBS) in Encino passed away on December 18, 2014.
His works, teachings, publications and organizations not only transformed portions of the San Fernando Valley, but reached throughout the United States and the world.
“Harold Schulweis was a public intellectual who redefined what it is
to be a Jew, an author and passionate orator who met injustices and
suffering with action,” said Rabbi Ed Feinstein, his friend and
successor as senior rabbi at VBS.
“He transformed his synagogue into a living laboratory of social
activism and creative spiritual life, introducing innovations that
became staples for Jewish congregations across North America,” Feinstein
said.
Schulweis recognized the power of congregations to shape the lives of a
generation of Jews isolated from community and alienated from their
traditions. In 1970, he took the pulpit of VBS in the burgeoning San
Fernando Valley. Under his leadership, the synagogue grew to become the
largest Conservative congregation in the Western United States.
In 1970, Rabbi
Schulweis was invited to the pulpit of Valley Beth Shalom, a
Conservative synagogue in the burgeoning San Fernando Valley community
of Encino. He transformed his synagogue into a living laboratory of
social activism and creative spiritual life introducing innovations that
became staples for Jewish congregations across North America. In 1971,
Schulweis introduced synagogue-based "Havurot," gathering small
groups of families to share religious and family life. His
"Para-Rabbinic" initiative offered a revolutionary model of
lay-professional synagogue leadership. A para-professional Counseling
Center was established at Valley Beth Shalom offering psychological and
family support to the synagogue and wider communities. In 1992,
Schulweis was among the first rabbis in the Conservative Movement to
openly welcome gay and lesbian Jews into the synagogue.
Schulweis'
reach went far beyond his congregation. His pulpit became a launching
pad for his efforts to re-focus contemporary Judaism. He founded the
Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (jfr.org), recognizing, celebrating
and supporting Christians who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. With
Rabbi Leonard Fine, he founded Mazon (Mazon.org), a Jewish community
response to hunger and poverty in America. In 2004, he established
Jewish World Watch (JewishWorldWatch.org), a coalition of Jewish
organizations dedicated to raising awareness and mobilizing resources in
response to the on-going genocide in Darfur and the Congo.
Speaking
on the occasion of Schulweis' 80th birthday in 2005, Rabbi Harold
Kushner described him as "the finest Rabbi in America." At a celebration
of the tenth anniversary of the founding of Jewish World Watch earlier
this year, Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg described Schulweis is "one of
the great teachers of our people's history."
As much public
intellectual as pulpit rabbi, Schulweis authored nine books and hundreds
of articles in which he offered a unique version of post-Holocaust
Jewish theology. Schulweis' "Theological humanism" is rooted in the
Biblical conviction that the human being bears the divine image, and in
philosopher Martin Buber's concept of God revealed in deep human
relationships. Schulweis imagined God not above us, but within and
between human beings. Prayer and religious observance, Schulweis
instructed, are not directed above as a plea for supernatural
intervention, but within - as an inspiration to individual and communal
reflection, commitment and moral action. Building on the theology
developed in his doctoral writing, Schulweis advocated "predicate
theology," identifying those aspects of human activity which are
"Godly". "God," he frequently argued, "is not believed, but behaved".
Conscience is the living nexus between the divine and the human in
everyday life. The cultivation of conscience is the central function of
religious life and religious education.
Schulweis remained active
in the life of the congregation until his death. He delivered sermons
during High Holiday services in September 2013 and remained at Shabbat
services and other community events.
Among
Rabbi Schulweis' greatest legacy is his vast library of publications
that will live on and serve for generations to come in his memory. Just a
few of note are: Evil and the Morality of God (Jersey City, N.J: Ktav Pub. House, 2010.); For Those Who Can't Believe, Overcoming the Obstacles to Faith (1995, New York: Harper Perennial; Finding Each Other in Judaism: Meditations on the Rites of Passage from Birth to Immortality (2001, New York: URJ Press); In God's Mirror, Reflections and Essays (2003, Jersey City, NJ: KTAV); Conscience: The Duty to Obey and the Duty to Disobey. (2010, Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights); Embracing the Seeker (2010, Halperin, M., (Ed.) Jersey City, NJ: KTAV). The Schulweis Institute online library, www.hmsi.info,
offers a collection serving as the living repository for over 750
audio, video and document copies of the Rabbi's writings, sermons and
teachings.
Schulweis is
survived by his wife, Malkah, his children Seth Schulweis of West Los
Angeles, Ethan Schulweis of Beit Hashita, Israel, and Alyssa (Peter)
Reich of West Los Angeles, and eleven grandchildren.
The
funeral will take place at Valley Beth Shalom, 15739 Ventura Boulevard,
Encino, CA at 11 a.m. on Sun., Dec. 21, 2014. A private burial will
follow.
