David Ellenson
Encyclopedia
David Ellenson is a rabbi
who is known as a leader of the Reform movement
in Judaism
. He is the president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
(HUC-JIR), and the I.H. and Anna Grancell Professor of Jewish Religious Thought. He is also a fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute
of Jerusalem, and a fellow and lecturer at the Institute of Advanced Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Ellenson was named as HUC's eight president in October 2002, succeeding Dr. Norman J. Cohen.
Ellenson is the author of Tradition in Transition: Orthodoxy, Halakhah and the Boundaries of Modern Jewish History (1989), Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer and the Creation of a Modern Jewish Orthodoxy (1990), and After Emancipation: Jewish Religious Responses to Modernity (2004).
David Ellenson and his daughter Ruth Andrew Ellenson, editor of The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt
, won the National Jewish Book Award in the same year--the only father and daughter to do so since Abraham Joshua Heschel
and Susannah Heschel.
On May 4, 2008 Rabbi Ellenson handed over the Roger E. Joseph Prize to Desbois in New York http://www.huc.edu/news/08/5/desbois/.
Additionally, President George W. Bush
appointed Ellenson to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.
with a B.A. in 1969. He was then ordained
at HUC-JIR in 1977, and received his Ph.D from Columbia University
in 1981.
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...
who is known as a leader of the Reform movement
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...
in Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. He is the president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
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...
(HUC-JIR), and the I.H. and Anna Grancell Professor of Jewish Religious Thought. He is also a fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute
Shalom Hartman Institute
Shalom Hartman Institute is a Jewish research and education institute based in Jerusalem, Israel, that offers pluralistic Jewish thought and education to scholars, rabbis, educators, and Jewish community leaders in Israel and North America...
of Jerusalem, and a fellow and lecturer at the Institute of Advanced Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Ellenson was named as HUC's eight president in October 2002, succeeding Dr. Norman J. Cohen.
Ellenson is the author of Tradition in Transition: Orthodoxy, Halakhah and the Boundaries of Modern Jewish History (1989), Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer and the Creation of a Modern Jewish Orthodoxy (1990), and After Emancipation: Jewish Religious Responses to Modernity (2004).
David Ellenson and his daughter Ruth Andrew Ellenson, editor of The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt
The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt
Edited by Ruth Andrew Ellenson, The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt is an anthology featuring work by authors including Aimee Bender. It won a National Jewish Book Award in 2005. Ms. Ellenson and her father, Rabbi David Ellenson, won the National Jewish Book Award in the same year—the only...
, won the National Jewish Book Award in the same year--the only father and daughter to do so since Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
and Susannah Heschel.
On May 4, 2008 Rabbi Ellenson handed over the Roger E. Joseph Prize to Desbois in New York http://www.huc.edu/news/08/5/desbois/.
Additionally, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed Ellenson to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.
Education
Ellenson graduated from the College of William and MaryCollege of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
with a B.A. in 1969. He was then ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
at HUC-JIR in 1977, and received his Ph.D from 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...
in 1981.
Books
- National Jewish Book Awards on the same year,*After Emancipation: Jewish Religious Responses to Modernity. HUC-Press, 2004.
- Between Tradition and Culture: The Dialectics of Jewish Religion and Identity in the Modern World. Scholar's Press, 1994.
- with Stanley Chyet. Bits of Honey: Essays for Samson H. Levey. Scholar's Press, 1993.
- Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer and the Creation of a Modern Jewish Orthodoxy. University of Alabama Press, 1990).
- Tradition in Transition: Orthodoxy. Halakhah and the Boundaries of Modem Jewish Identity. University Press of America. 1989.
External links
- Dr. David Ellenson, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
- Father, Daughter Each Earn Book Awards