Arnold M. Eisen, Ph.D. (born 1951) is an American Judaic scholar who was
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the
Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He stepped down at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. 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, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty in 1986, he taught at
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
and
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
[
]
The Jewish Theological Seminary
In 2006, Eisen was appointed as the seventh chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary, replacing Rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
Dr. Ismar Schorsch. Eisen is the second non-rabbi, after Cyrus Adler
Cyrus Adler (September 13, 1863 – April 7, 1940) was an American educator, Jewish religious leader and scholar.
Early years
Adler was born to merchant and planter Samuel Adler and Sarah Sulzberger in Van Buren, Arkansas on September 13, 186 ...
, to hold this post. He is also the first person with a social science
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of s ...
background to serve as chancellor; previous chancellors had backgrounds in Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
or Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
. 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; th
Institute for Jewish Learning at JTS
(and its flagship program Con''text''); the interfaith Center for Pastoral Education at JTS; and the Tikvah Institute for Jewish Thought. By 2011, hi
Mitzvah Initiative
will involve some 75 congregations in a process of reflection upon "commandment, commandedness, and the Commander."
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 University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. Dr. Eisen earned a PhD in the History of Jewish Thought from Hebrew University, a BPhil in the Sociology of Religion at Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and a BA in Religious Thought from the University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
. He was a student of Professor Samuel Tobias Lachs. He previously served as senior lecturer at the Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
and assistant professor at Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
Religious change
He believes that American Jews
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora J ...
feel connected to Jewish ritual but maintain autonomy to decide what to practice and thus many do not attend synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...
regularly.
Eisen is a recognized expert in religious change and the modern transformation of Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
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 Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Tanakh
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...
movement's Hebrew Union College
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
. They have two children, Shulie, a recent graduate of Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, p ...
, and Nathaniel, a student at Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
.
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. Cohen
Steven M. Cohen (born April 3, 1950) is an American sociologist whose work focuses on the American Jewish Community. He served as a Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and the Direct ...
(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 Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses 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' ...
(Chicago), 1998. (Koret Jewish Book Award The 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 transla ...
, 1999)
*''The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America''[
"Arnold M. Eisen." Marquis Who's Who TM. Marquis Who's Who, 2008.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
Fee. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
Document Number: K2020026923
]
*''The Chosen People in America: A Study in Jewish Religious Ideology'', Indiana University Press
Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...
(Bloomington), 1983.
*(Author of commentary) Michael Strassfeld
Michael Strassfeld is an American rabbi. Strassfeld was rabbi of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, a Manhattan synagogue. Before that he was the rabbi of Congregation Ansche Chesed.
Biography
Michael Strassfeld is a graduate of the Ma ...
, 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. Cohen
Steven M. Cohen (born April 3, 1950) is an American sociologist whose work focuses on the American Jewish Community. He served as a Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and the Direct ...
) ''The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America'', Indiana University Press, 2000[
Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
Fee. Retrieved 2008-12-07. Entry updated: 12/12/2006.
Document Number: H1000135943
]
Several o
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. Cohen
Steven M. Cohen (born April 3, 1950) is an American sociologist whose work focuses on the American Jewish Community. He served as a Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and the Direct ...
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an Israeli research institute specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy founded in 1976. Currently, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs's research portfolio consists of five primar ...
: 2001)
*
The Rhetoric of Chosenness and the Fabrication of American Jewish Identity
' (Transaction Publishers
Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey-based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged wit ...
: 1990)
Arnold Eisen is also writing a series of essays for ''The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''. 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
The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.[Koret Foundation
The Koret Foundation is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. Its mission is to strengthen the Bay Area and support the Jewish community in the U.S. and Israel through grantmaking to organizations involved with education, arts an ...]
, 1998, for ''Rethinking Modern Judaism''
*Koret Prize, 1999, for outstanding contributions to the Jewish community[
*]Marshall Sklare Award The Marshall Sklare Award is an annual honor of the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry (ASSJ). The ASSJ seeks to recognize "a senior scholar who has made a significant scholarly contribution to the social scientific study of Jewry. ...
, 2018
References
Citations
Sources
The Jewish Theological Seminary - Arnold Eisen
Official JTSA biography
Sources say JTS Set to Select Eisen As Chancellor
-- ''Forward''
Arnold M. Eisen Named New Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary (press release)
Conservatives tap dynamic scholar, not rabbi, to head theological school
* Choice
A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models. For example, a traveler might choose a route for a journey based on the preference of arriving at a give ...
, May, 1984, p. 1319.
* Choice, February, 1987, pp. 896–897.
* Christian Century
''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and revi ...
, 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
David Biale is an American historian specializing in Jewish history.
Biale earned a degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley in 1971, and remained at the institution to complete a master's degree in modern European history ...
, review of Galut, pp. 376–379.
* Library Journal
''Library Journal'' is an American 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 pract ...
, November 1, 1986, p. 103; June 15, 1998, p. 84.
* Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
Book Review, January 8, 1984, p. 8.
* New Leader
''The New Leader'' (1924–2010) was an American political and cultural magazine.
History
''The New Leader'' began in 1924 under a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, such as Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas. It was p ...
, November, 2000, William B. Helmreich, review of The Jew Within, p. 33.
* Reference & Research Book News, August, 1998, p. 12.
* Religious Studies Review
''Religious Studies Review'' (RSR) is the journal of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion (CSSR), which is based at Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Te ...
, October, 1987, p. 357.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisen, Arnold
1951 births
Living people
Jewish historians
Judaic scholars
20th-century American Jews
American Conservative Jews
Jewish Theological Seminary of America people
Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni
Columbia University faculty
Stanford University Department of Religious Studies faculty
Tel Aviv University faculty
University of Pennsylvania alumni
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Alumni of the University of Oxford
21st-century American Jews