Aaron D. Panken (May 19, 1964 – May 5, 2018) was an American

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

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 t ...

and academic administrator. He served as the 9th president of the

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

Jewish Institute of Religion The Jewish Institute of Religion was an educational establishment created by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise in 1922 in New York City. While generally incorporating Reform Judaism, it was separate from the previously established Hebrew Union College. It ...

Early life

Panken was born on May 19, 1964, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He graduated from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He also earned a doctorate in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and Judaic Studies from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He married Lisa Messinger in 1992.

Career

Panken was ordained by the HUC-JIR in New York in 1991 and joined the faculty there in 1995. He was installed as the president on June 8, 2014 and led the organization that has 4,000 active alumni who served the estimated 1.5 million adherents of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

in some 900 congregations. Panken was a rabbi, scholar, teacher and Reform Jewish leader for almost three decades. He spoke as an invited scholar through the years at congregational and university communities throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, at Jewish camps in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and at locations such as the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and the University of Nanjing. He was a certified commercial pilot and

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

Death

Panken was killed in a

plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

on Saturday, May 5, 2018, at

Randall Airport Randall Airport is a public use airport in Orange County, New York, United States. It is owned by Aerodrome Dev Corp and is located two nautical miles (3.74 km) southeast of the central business district of the City of Middletown. Accordi ...

, in Middletown,

, during a routine flight check with an instructor. Upon hearing of his death, many tributes appeared from around the world including from Israel's consul general in New York, Dani Dayan, Rabbi Jonah Pesner and many others.

Dan Shapiro Daniel Benjamin "Dan" Shapiro (born August 1, 1969) is an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Israel from 2011 to 2017. He was nominated by President Barack Obama on March 29, 2011, and confirmed by the Senate on May 29. ...

, the former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, said that Panken was a "brilliant Jewish leader."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panken, Aaron D. 1964 births 2018 deaths Rabbis from New York City Hunter College High School alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni New York University alumni American Reform rabbis Presidents of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in New York (state) 21st-century American rabbis Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2018