Eugene Borowitz

Rabbi
Eugene Borowitz
Born (1924-02-20)February 20, 1924
Columbus, Ohio
Died January 22, 2016(2016-01-22) (aged 91)
Stamford, Connecticut
Alma mater Ohio State University, Columbia University, HUC-JIR
Occupation writer, philosopher
Years active 1948–2016
Awards National Jewish Book Award (1974)
Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award (2005)

Eugene B. Borowitz (February 20, 1924 – January 22, 2016) was an American leader and philosopher in Reform Judaism,[1] known largely for his work on Jewish theology and Jewish ethics. He also edited a Jewish journal, Sh'ma, and taught at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

He was awarded the Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award by the Union for Reform Judaism (2005), selected as a Scholar of Distinction for a retrospective on his work by the Jewish Publication Society (2002) and given the Jewish Cultural Achievement medal for scholarship by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. He received the National Jewish Book Award (1974) for The Mask Jews Wear. As is apparent from a bibliography of his works, Borowitz was a prolific author.

During the Korean War, he served as a chaplain for the U.S. Navy. Borowitz held degrees from Ohio State University, Columbia University and HUC-JIR.

Early life

Borowitz grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and attended Ohio State University. After graduation, he went to Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, where he was ordained as a Rabbi in 1948 and received his D.H.L. in 1950.

Career

Borowitz became the founding rabbi of the Community Synagogue in Port Washington, New York, while at the same time pursuing a PhD. in religion from the joint program sponsored by Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary. In 1957, he was appointed as director of the Religious Education Department of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Because of this, he switched to Columbia's doctoral program in education and received the Ed.D. in 1958. From 1962 until his death, he was a faculty member at the New York campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he became the Sigmund L. Falk Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Education and Jewish Religious Thought. He was elected as the first Jewish president of the American Theological Society in 1981 and served until 1982 [2] [3] He celebrated his hundredth semester with the college in 2012.

Borowitz is best known for his development of "covenant theology," a term he first introduced in a 1961 article in Commentary.[4] His work concerned itself with the dilemma of the postmodern Jew: committed to individual autonomy, but nevertheless involved with God, Torah and Israel. His interest in redefining covenant led him to significant work in normative ethics, some of which was collected in his book Exploring Jewish Ethics (264), and his teaching on the subject led to the volume, Reform Jewish Ethics and the Halakhah (298). Borowitz's work in covenant theology found its mature expression in his 1991 book, Renewing the Covenant (273).

One of Borowitz's most significant accomplishments was his founding of Sh'ma, a Journal of Jewish Responsibility in 1970. He was its publisher and editor for twenty-three years, and he served as Senior Editor from 1993 to 1997. Sh'ma provided a forum where voices from all segments of the Jewish community could be heard on a wide range of controversial topics. Borowitz wrote numerous short book reviews for Sh'ma.

Personal life

Borowitz died January 22, 2016 at the age of 91 at his home in Stamford, Connecticut.[5][6]

Selected publications and edited works[3]

Selected works

Bibliography, 1944-1999, additional works.

Religion Lectures Given at the Chautauqua Institution

References

  1. ↑ Daniel F. Moore (2011). Jesus, an Emerging Jewish Mosaic: Jewish Perspectives, Post-Holocaust. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 0567105946.
  2. ↑ "American Theological Society List of Presidents" American Theological Society List of Presidents American Theological Society Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  3. 1 2 "Eugene B. Borowitz, Rabbi, D.H.L., Ed.D." Directory, Hebrew Union College. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  4. ↑ Borowitz, Eugene B. (July 1961). "Crisis Theology and the Jewish Community." Commentary, 32(1), p. 36-42. Online version retrieved 2016-01-31.
  5. ↑ "Rabbi Eugene Borowitz, 'Larger-Than-Life' Reform Leader and Teacher, Dies at 91". Jewish Forward. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Berger, Joseph (30 January 2016). "Rabbi Eugene B. Borowitz, Reform Leader, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2016.

Sources

External links

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