Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld (February 6, 1913 – April 15, 1996) was a rabbi within the movement 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 ...

and activist.

Early life and education

Lelyveld was born in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

on Feb. 6, 1913. He graduated from Columbia College in 1933. At Columbia, he was the first Jewish editor of the ''

Columbia Daily Spectator The ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' (known colloquially as ''Spec'') is the student newspaper of Columbia University. Founded in 1877, it is the second-oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after '' The Harvard Crimson'', a ...

'', leader of the glee club, and competed on the wrestling team. In 1939, he graduated from 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 ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Career

After marrying Toby Bookholtz, an actress and scholar of Shakespeare, Lelyveld moved to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

in 1941, where he led Temple Israel. In 1944, he then moved to New York, where he took on organizational rabbinic roles, including heading up the national Hillel organization. He served as a rabbi in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

for a time. He also served as president of the

Zionist Organization of America The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA; ) is an American nonprofit pro-Israel organization. Founded in 1897, as the Federation of American Zionists, it was the first official Zionist organization in the United States. Early in the 20th century ...

from 1944. From 1958 until 1986, Lelyveld served as rabbi of Fairmount Temple in the

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

suburb of

Beachwood, Ohio Beachwood is a city in eastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 14,040. A suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. History The land that eventually became Beachwo ...

. From 1966 to 1972, he was president of the

American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests in the US and internationally through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The idea for a ...

, a 50,000-member organization. He served as president of the

Central Conference of American Rabbis The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada. The CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world. ...

, and of the

Synagogue Council of America The Synagogue Council of America was an American Jewish organization of synagogue and rabbinical associations, founded in 1926. The Council was the umbrella body bridging the three primary religious movements within Judaism in the United States. It ...

. Lelyveld retired from the rabbinate in 1986. As senior rabbi emeritus, he served as a lecturer in Jewish thought at

John Carroll University John Carroll University (JCU) is a Private university, private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio, United States. Located in a suburb of Cleveland, it is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts college, liberal arts institution compo ...

. Rabbi Lelyveld was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and died at the Montefiore Home in

, on April 15, 1996. His funeral at Fairmount Temple was attende by more than 1,200 people. Presidents

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

sent condolences. He was interred at

Mayfield Cemetery Mayfield Cemetery is a historic Judaism, Jewish cemetery located at 2749 Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Established in 1890, it is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County and the only Jewish Rural ...

Cleveland Heights, Ohio Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. One of Cleveland's historic streetcar suburbs, it was founded as a village in 1903 and a city in 1921. History The area that is ...

Activism

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Lelyveld was a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

and

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

, though he did propose sending a Jewish relief force to Europe. He headed the Jewish Peace Fellowship, a coalition, formed in 1941, of a number of groups of Jewish antiwar activists.''L'Chaim to Life''
, a history of the Jewish Peace Fellowship, Isador B. Hoffman Lelyveld voiced his support for the recognition of the

State of 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 ...

and was the executive director for the Committee on Unity for Palestine. in 1946, lobbying

Harry S Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th Vice president of the United States, vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Frank ...

to that end. He was also active in attempts to create harmonious relations between

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

blacks Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ch ...

in 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 ...

. While he was in Omaha, he was a member of the local

Urban League The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...

. He was also active in the registration of black voters in the South during the 1960s. During the

Freedom Summer Freedom Summer, also known as Mississippi Freedom Summer (sometimes referred to as the Freedom Summer Project or the Mississippi Summer Project), was a campaign launched by civil rights movement, American civil rights activists in June 1964 to r ...

of 1964 he suffered a concussion after he was beaten with a tire iron by

segregationist Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by peopl ...

s in

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...

.''Exhibit captures Freedom Summer of '64''
, Joseph Tkacik, ''The Colonade'', December 6, 2002

Family

Lelyveld had five children. His son

Joseph Lelyveld Joseph Salem Lelyveld (April 5, 1937 – January 5, 2024) was an American journalist. He was executive editor of ''The New York Times'' from 1994 to 2001, and interim executive editor in 2003 after the resignation of Howell Raines. He was a Pu ...

was the executive editor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and won a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for journalism. His son David Lelyveld was a professor of history at William Paterson University; he retired in 2012. Another son, Michael S. Lelyveld consults on . His daughter, Robin Lelyveld, is a psychologist. Lelyveld's youngest son, Benjamin, died in 1988 at the age of 30. His second marriage, to Teela Stovsky, lasted 35 years.

Bibliography

* ''A study of the Tanya of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Ladi.'' AJ Lelyveld, Hebrew Union College, 1939. * ''The Virtues of Uncertainty'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1950. * ''Religion in Higher Education'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1952. * ''A Collection of Chapel Sermons'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1956. * ''Atheism Is Dead: A Jewish Response to Radical Theology'', A Lelyveld, The World Publishing Company, 1968. * ''Punishment: For and against,'' A Lelyveld, New York: Hart, 1971. * ''The Virtues of Uncertainty: The Role of the University in Training for Social Welfare'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1979. * ''The unity of the contraries: paradox as a characteristic of normative Jewish thought'', AJ Lelyveld, Syracuse University, 1984. *
The Steadfast Stream: An Introduction to Jewish Social Values
'' A Lelyveld, The Pilgrim Press, 1995.

References

External links

* Arthur J. Lelyveld Papers at the

American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...

at the

Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City, namely the American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva Univ ...

Arthur J. Lelyveld Papers
at the

Western Reserve Historical Society The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) is a historical society in Cleveland, Ohio. The society operates the Cleveland History Center, a collection of museums in University Circle. The society was founded in 1867, making it the oldest ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lelyveld, Arthur American Reform rabbis American pacifists Jewish pacifists Rabbis from Cincinnati 1913 births 1996 deaths American Jewish Congress members Columbia College (New York) alumni Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni 20th-century American rabbis Reform Zionists Zionist Organization of America members