Jules Harlow (born June 28, 1931) is a

Conservative Jewish Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

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 ...

and liturgist; son of Henry and Lena Lipman Harlow. He was born in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

. In 1952 at Morningside College in Sioux City he earned a B.A., and from there went to New York City to study in the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

; here he became ordained as a rabbi in 1959. He then became a staff member of the

Rabbinical Assembly The Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, a ...

(RA), the international organization of rabbis in

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generati ...

. He soon began work as a liturgist on the RA's prayerbook committee, working with Rabbi Gershon Hadas on new

siddur A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, '' ...

im (Jewish prayerbooks) for use in Conservative congregations. Under the editorship of Rabbi Hadas, they succeeded in printing the widely used ''Weekday Prayer Book'' in 1961. He took a greater role by editing and translating the movement's

mahzor The ''machzor'' ( he, מחזור, plural ''machzorim'', and , respectively) is the prayer book which is used by Jews on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized ''machzorim'' on the three pilgr ...

(prayerbook for

Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , ...

and

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

) which was published in 1972. He soon became the chief liturgist for the Conservative movement, and was the editor in the groundbreaking ''

Siddur Sim Shalom Siddur Sim Shalom ( he, סדור שים שלום) refers to any siddur in a family of ''siddurim'', Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. There are fo ...

'' in 1985. Siddur Sim Shalom became the prototype for an entire family of later Conservative siddurim, including ''Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Yom Tov'', ''Siddur Sim Shalom for Weekdays'' and ''Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom''. Among his many other important publishing activities within Conservative Judaism is his work as literary editor on the ''Etz Hayim: A Torah Commentary''. Rabbi Jules Harlow, together with his wife, Navah, has played a paramount role in the cause of the Bnei Anusim (descendants of crypto-Jews) in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

. Thanks to the Harlows' assistance in cooperation with Masorti Olami, the Bnei Anusim of Lisbon have been able to return to the Jewish faith, and a new congregation (Kehilat Beit Israel) has been founded in Lisbon, namely the first non-orthodox synagogue in the history of Portugal. His son David Harlow is a lawyer and his daughter Ilana Harlow is a folklorist.

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Omaha World-Herald, Andrew J. Nelson 18 September 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harlow, Jules 1931 births Living people Morningside University alumni Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni American Conservative rabbis 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis

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