Max Vorspan (1916 – June 2002) was an American

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 of ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, and administrator at the

American Jewish University American Jewish University (AJU), formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish institution in Los Angeles, California. Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in ...

, and leader in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Jewish community. He was the founder of the Pacific Southwest Region of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, and the co-author of ''The History of the Jews of Los Angeles''. Vorspan attended the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he was ordained. After serving as a chaplain in Saipan during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he began teaching at the University of Judaism, eventually rising to the position of Senior Vice President. For 18 years, he hosted a weekly Sunday-morning public affairs talk show on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

named ''Commitment''. He also served as the associate director of the Brandeis Bardin Camp Institute.http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jun/16/local/me-vorspan16, ''Los Angeles Times'', "Rabbi Max Vorspan, 86; Scholar and Historian", June 16, 2002, retrieved April 30, 2011. Co-authored by Lloyd P. Gartner, Vorspan wrote ''The History of the Jews of Los Angeles'' in 1970, chronicling the Jewish community's growth from the first establishment of the City of Los Angeles until the present day. Vorspan died at the age of 86 in June 2002.

Family

Several of Vorspan's family members are also active in the

Jewish community 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 ...

. Albert Vorspan, his brother, was an author and Director Emeritus of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism until his death in February 2019. His son, David Vorspan, is founding rabbi of Congregation Shir Ami, and Rabbi-in-Residence of de Toledo High School (formerly New Community Jewish High School.)http://www.shirami.com/rabbi.html, Congregation Shir Ami website, "Rabbi Vorspan", retrieved April 30, 2011.

References

External links

Photos of Rabbi Vorspan at the University of JudaismHistory of The Jews of Los Angeles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vorspan, Max 1916 births 2002 deaths American Conservative rabbis American Jewish University faculty Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American Jews American military personnel of World War II American military chaplains