Burton L. Visotzky
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Burton L. Visotzky (born 1951) is an American rabbi and scholar of
midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
. He is the Appleman Professor of
Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
and Interreligious Studies, Emeritus at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS).


Education

Visotzky was educated at the
University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
, where he received his BA,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, where he received his EdM, and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he received his MA, Ph.D. and rabbinic ordination. He is a life member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.


Career

Visotzky joined the JTS faculty, teaching
midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
, following his ordination in 1977. He also served as associate and acting dean of The Graduate School of JTS, and he was the founding rabbi of JTS's egalitarian worship service in the Women's League Seminary Synagogue. Visotzky was appointed as director of the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2010. He has served in visiting faculty positions at a variety of schools including
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 th ...
, Clare Hall – University of Cambridge, Union Theological Seminary,
Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...
, Hebrew Union College,
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
, the Russian State University for the Humanities in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, the
Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...
in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Rabbi Visotzky also serves on J-Street's National Advisory Council.


Interfaith dialogue

Visotzky has been active in
interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...
, including at a groundbreaking meeting of Muslims, Christians, Jews sponsored by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
in 2008. He also participated in interfaith dialogue in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...
, where he was in the first group of
Jews 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 ...
invited by the emir of
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
. Visotzky was appointed as director of the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2010. His work as director of the Finkelstein Institute has focused on Muslim-Jewish-Christian dialogue. In October 2010, Visotzky and Arnold Eisen organized a group of prominent Muslim and Jewish scholars and leaders, joined by the heads of several Christian seminaries, to meet at JTS for two days for a workshop comparing the situations of Islam and Judaism in America. In 2012 Visotzky was awarded the Goldziher Prize for his work in Jewish-Muslim relations. In 2011, as a result of a naming gift, Visotzky became director of the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at JTS. He also serves as Louis Stein Director of the Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies, charged with programming on public policy. Rabbi Visotzky is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.


Publications

Visotzky's books include: *''Reading the Book: Making the Bible a Timeless Text'' (1991) *''The Genesis of Ethics: How the Tormented Family of Genesis Leads Us to Moral Development'' (1996) *''The Road to Redemption: Lessons from Exodus on Leadership and Community'' (1998) *''From Mesopotamia to Modernity: Ten Introductions to Jewish History and Literature'' (co-editor with
David Fishman David Fishman is an American academic and author. He is a professor of Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Fishman's 2017 book, ''The Book Smugglers: Partisans, Poets, and the Race to Save Jewish Treasures from the Nazis, ...
, 1999) *''A Delightful Compendium of Consolation: A Fabulous Tale of Romance, Adventure and Faith in the Medieval Mediterranean'' (2008) *''Sage Tales: Wisdom and Wonder from the Rabbis of the Talmud'' (2011) *''Aphrodite and the Rabbis: How the Jews Adapted Roman Culture to Create Judaism as We Know It' ' ( 2016) *''The Changing Face of the American Jewish Family'' Co-editor (2018) *''Fathers of the World: Essay in Rabbinic and Patristic Literatures'' (1995) *''Judaism: I: History, II. Literature, III. Culture and Modernity'' Co-editor, (2021)


References


External links

*
Faculty Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visotzky, Burton 1951 births Living people American Conservative rabbis American religion academics American Jewish theologians Jewish American writers Judaic studies Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni University of Illinois Chicago alumni Historians of Jews and Judaism American historians of religion 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)