Arnold Eisen
Encyclopedia
Arnold M. Eisen, Ph.D. is Chancellor
of the Jewish Theological Seminary
. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University
. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty in 1986, he taught at Tel Aviv University
and Columbia University
.
, replacing Rabbi
Dr. Ismar Schorsch
. Eisen is the second non-rabbi, after Cyrus Adler
, to hold this post. He is also the first person with a social science background to serve as Chancellor; previous chancellors had backgrounds in Jewish history
or Talmud
. He took office as Chancellor-elect on July 1, 2007, the day after Schorsch stepped down, and assumed the position full time on July 1, 2008.
Since his appointment in 2007, he has increased JTS's impact on the communities it serves by transforming the education of religious leadership for Conservative Judaism; articulating a new vision for JTS; guiding the formulation of a strategic plan to implement that vision; and developing innovative programs in synagogue arts and practices, adult education, pastoral care, Jewish thought, interreligious dialogue, and the arts. His initiatives include new curricula for, and synergy among, all of JTS's five schools; the Institute for Jewish Learning at JTS (and its flagship program Context); the interfaith Center for Pastoral Education at JTS; and the Tikvah Institute for Jewish Thought. By 2011, his Mitzvah Initiative will involve some 75 congregations in a process of reflection upon "commandment, commandedness, and the Commander."
Recently, Eisen became the first JTS chancellor to tweet. Follow him @ArnoldEisen.
. Dr. Eisen earned a PhD in the History of Jewish Thought from Hebrew University, a BPhil in the Sociology of Religion at Oxford University, and a BA in Religious Thought from the University of Pennsylvania
. He was a student of Professor Samuel Tobias Lachs. He previously served as Senior Lecturer at the Tel Aviv University
and Assistant Professor at Columbia University
.
feel connected to Jewish ritual but maintain autonomy to decide what to practice and thus many do not attend synagogue
on a regular basis.
Eisen is a recognized expert in religious change and the modern transformation of Jewish religious belief and practice. He is also one of the world's foremost experts in the sociology of American Judaism. For the past twenty years, he has worked closely with synagogue and federation leadership around the country to analyze and address the issues of Jewish identity, the revitalization of Jewish tradition, and the redefinition of the American Jewish community.
(Tanakh
) at the Reform Judaism
movement's Hebrew Union College
. They have two children, Shulie, a recent graduate of Brandeis University
, and Nathaniel, a student at Stanford University
.
(2000), which examines the meanings of Judaism and Jewish belonging to contemporary American Jews.
Several of Eisen's shorter works and publications are available on the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner, including:
Arnold Eisen is also writing a series of essays for The Huffington Post
. These are available to read here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arnold-m-eisen
In May, 2011, Eisen launched “Conservative Judaism: A Community Conversation,” an interactive website featuring original essays on Conservative Judaism, with responses from Movement and Lay leaders and scholars.
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty in 1986, he taught at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
The Jewish Theological Seminary
In 2006, Eisen was appointed as the seventh Chancellor of The Jewish Theological SeminaryJewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
, replacing Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Dr. Ismar Schorsch
Ismar Schorsch
Ismar Schorsch had been the son of hanoveranian Rabbi Emil Schorsch. They both experienced the so called "Reichskristallnacht" in a different manner. Dr. Ismar Schorsch became the sixth Chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary and is the Rabbi Herman Abramovitz Professor of Jewish history...
. Eisen is the second non-rabbi, after Cyrus Adler
Cyrus Adler
Cyrus Adler was a U.S. educator, Jewish religious leader and scholar.-Biography:Adler was born in Van Buren, Arkansas, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania in 1883 and gained a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1887, where he taught Semitic languages from 1884 to 1893...
, to hold this post. He is also the first person with a social science background to serve as Chancellor; previous chancellors had backgrounds in Jewish history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
or Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. He took office as Chancellor-elect on July 1, 2007, the day after Schorsch stepped down, and assumed the position full time on July 1, 2008.
Since his appointment in 2007, he has increased JTS's impact on the communities it serves by transforming the education of religious leadership for Conservative Judaism; articulating a new vision for JTS; guiding the formulation of a strategic plan to implement that vision; and developing innovative programs in synagogue arts and practices, adult education, pastoral care, Jewish thought, interreligious dialogue, and the arts. His initiatives include new curricula for, and synergy among, all of JTS's five schools; the Institute for Jewish Learning at JTS (and its flagship program Context); the interfaith Center for Pastoral Education at JTS; and the Tikvah Institute for Jewish Thought. By 2011, his Mitzvah Initiative will involve some 75 congregations in a process of reflection upon "commandment, commandedness, and the Commander."
Recently, Eisen became the first JTS chancellor to tweet. Follow him @ArnoldEisen.
Scholarship and training
Arnold Eisen served in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University, the Department of Jewish Philosophy at Tel Aviv University, and the Department of Religion at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Dr. Eisen earned a PhD in the History of Jewish Thought from Hebrew University, a BPhil in the Sociology of Religion at Oxford University, and a BA in Religious Thought from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. He was a student of Professor Samuel Tobias Lachs. He previously served as Senior Lecturer at the Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
and Assistant Professor at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Religious change
He believes that American JewsAmerican Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
feel connected to Jewish ritual but maintain autonomy to decide what to practice and thus many do not attend synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
on a regular basis.
Eisen is a recognized expert in religious change and the modern transformation of Jewish religious belief and practice. He is also one of the world's foremost experts in the sociology of American Judaism. For the past twenty years, he has worked closely with synagogue and federation leadership around the country to analyze and address the issues of Jewish identity, the revitalization of Jewish tradition, and the redefinition of the American Jewish community.
Outside JTS
Dr. Eisen sits on the board of directors of the Tanenbaum Center, the Covenant Foundation, and the Taube Foundation, and chairs the steering committee of the Academic Consortium. He is married to Dr. Adriane Leveen, a professor of the Hebrew BibleHebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
(Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
) at the Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
movement's Hebrew Union College
Hebrew Union College
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
. They have two children, Shulie, a recent graduate of Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, and Nathaniel, a student at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Works
His recent publications include a personal essay, Taking Hold of Torah: Jewish Commitment and Community in America (1997), which addresses the renewal of Jewish community and commitment in America through a series of five essays built around the Five Books of Moses; a historical work about the origins of contemporary dilemmas concerning these issues, entitled Rethinking Modern Judaism: Ritual, Commandment, Community (1998); and The Jew Within: Self, Family and Community in America (2000), co-authored with sociologist Steven M. CohenSteven M. Cohen
Steven M. Cohen is a sociologist whose work focuses on the American Jewish Community. He is currently a Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Director of the .-Biography:...
(2000), which examines the meanings of Judaism and Jewish belonging to contemporary American Jews.
- Galut: Modern Jewish Reflection on Homelessness and Homecoming, Indiana University Press (Bloomington), 1986
- Rethinking Modern Judaism: Ritual, Commandment, Community, University of Chicago PressUniversity of Chicago PressThe University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including Critical Inquiry, and a wide array of...
(Chicago), 1998. (Koret Jewish Book AwardKoret Jewish Book AwardThe Koret Jewish Book Award is an annual award that recognizes "recently published books on any aspect of Jewish life in the categories of biography/autobiography and literary studies, fiction, history and philosophy/thought published in, or translated into, English." The award was established in...
, 1999) - The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America
- The Chosen People in America: A Study in Jewish Religious Ideology, Indiana University PressIndiana University PressIndiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. It was founded in 1950. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana....
(Bloomington), 1983. - (Author of commentary) Michael StrassfeldMichael Strassfeld-Biography:Michael Strassfeld is rabbi of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, a Manhattan synagogue. He was formerly the rabbi of Congregation Ansche Chesed....
, The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary, Harper & Row (New York City), 1985. - Taking Hold of Torah: Jewish Commitment and Community in America, Indiana University Press (Bloomington), 1997.
- (With Steven M. CohenSteven M. CohenSteven M. Cohen is a sociologist whose work focuses on the American Jewish Community. He is currently a Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Director of the .-Biography:...
) The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America, Indiana University Press, 2000
Several of Eisen's shorter works and publications are available on the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner, including:
- Choosing Chosenness in America: The Changing Faces of Judaism (NYU Press: 2009)
- The Sovereign Self: Jewish Identity in Post-Modern America, with Steven M. CohenSteven M. CohenSteven M. Cohen is a sociologist whose work focuses on the American Jewish Community. He is currently a Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Director of the .-Biography:...
(Jerusalem Center for Public AffairsJerusalem Center for Public AffairsThe Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem, Israel...
: 2001) - The Rhetoric of Chosenness and the Fabrication of American Jewish Identity (Transaction PublishersTransaction PublishersTransaction Publishers is a New Jersey-based publishing house that specializes in social sciences books. Some of its books have been published with the imprint "Transactions Publishers".-Overview:...
: 1990)
Arnold Eisen is also writing a series of essays for The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
. These are available to read here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arnold-m-eisen
In May, 2011, Eisen launched “Conservative Judaism: A Community Conversation,” an interactive website featuring original essays on Conservative Judaism, with responses from Movement and Lay leaders and scholars.
Awards
- National Jewish Book Award, 1987, for Galut
- National Jewish Book Award, Koret FoundationKoret FoundationThe Koret Foundation, along with the Koret Fund, is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was organized in 1978 by Joseph and Stephanie Koret, along with Tad Taube, their family friend and Chief Executive Officer of their women's sportswear company, Korett of...
, 1998, for Rethinking Modern Judaism - Koret Prize, 1999, for outstanding contributions to the Jewish community
Sources
- The Jewish Theological Seminary - Arnold Eisen Official JTSA biography
- A Biography of Arnold Eisen
- Sources say JTS Set to Select Eisen As Chancellor -- Forward
- Arnie Eisen: Teaching Religion Raises Devlish Questions
- Arnold M. Eisen Named New Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary (press release)
- Conservatives tap dynamic scholar, not rabbi, to head theological school
- ChoiceChoice (magazine)Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, or simply Choice, is a magazine published by the Association of College and Research Libraries...
, May, 1984, p. 1319. - Choice, February, 1987, pp. 896–897.
- Christian Century, January 25, 1984, pp. 88–89; January 5, 2000, Hayin Goren Perelmutter, review of Rethinking Modern Judaism, p. 37.
- Commentary, March, 1999, pp. 67–69.
- Judaism, summer, 1990, David Biale, review of Galut, pp. 376–379.
- Library JournalLibrary JournalLibrary Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
, November 1, 1986, p. 103; June 15, 1998, p. 84. - Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Book Review, January 8, 1984, p. 8. - New Leader, November, 2000, William B. Helmreich, review of The Jew Within, p. 33.
- Reference & Research Book News, August, 1998, p. 12.
- Religious Studies ReviewReligious Studies ReviewReligious Studies Review is the journal of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion , which is based at Rice University. The journal is published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell....
, October, 1987, p. 357.