Asher Lopatin (born September 1, 1964) is the Director of Community Relations at the

Jewish Federation The Jewish Federation (JFED) is a secular Jewish non-profit organization found within many metropolitan areas across the United States with a significant Jewish community. They provide supportive and human services, philanthropy, financial grants ...

of Greater Ann Arbor in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. Lopatin is a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

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 leader of Kehillat Etz Chayim, a Modern Orthodox

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

Oak Park, Michigan Oak Park is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Oak Park borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 29,560. Hi ...

, and a Jewish denominational pluralist. He is also the founder and executive director of the Detroit National Center for Civil Discourse, which has run a Fellowship in Civil Discourse at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

since September 2019. Previously, he was the president of

Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School (YCT) is a Modern Orthodox yeshiva founded in 1999 by Rabbi Avi Weiss. Currently located in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York, YCT's declared mission is to educate and place rabbis who are ...

(2013–2018) and the spiritual leader of

Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel (Hebrew for: "People of Peace" followed by "Children of Israel") is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 540 West Melrose Street, in the Lakeview neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Il ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, before that. He is a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

and a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

Biographical information

Lopatin is a graduate of the

Maimonides School Maimonides School (Hebrew: ישיבת רמב"ם ''Yeshivat Rambam'') is a coeducational, Modern Orthodox Judaism, Modern Orthodox, Jewish day school located in Brookline, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1937 by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitch ...

and received a B.A. in International Relations and

Islamic Studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. In 1989, he was awarded a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in Medieval Arabic Thought. He has also done doctoral work at Oxford on

Islamic fundamentalist Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a revivalist and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. The term has been used interchangeably with similar terms such as Islamism, Islamic revivalism, Qut ...

attitudes toward Jews, authoring a chapter on Muslim–Jewish relations entitled "The

Uncircumcised Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

Jewish Heart (in Islamic and

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

ic Thought)." Lopatin's academic honors include being a Rhodes Scholar, a Wexner Fellow, a

Truman Scholar The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is a graduate fellowship in the United States for public service leadership. It is a federally funded scholarship granted to U.S. undergraduate students for demonstrated leadership potential, academic excellence ...

, and a Boston University Trustee Scholar. He is a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. He received rabbinic ordination (''semikhah'') from both

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan S ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

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 ...

in 1996 and Rabbi Aharon Soloveichik. Lopatin also received honorary ''semikhah'' from

(YCT) in 2002. Lopatin was the spiritual leader of

, a synagogue in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's Lakeview neighborhood. He and his wife Rachel were founders of the multi-denominational

Chicago Jewish Day School Chicago Jewish Day School (CJDS) is a private, multi-denominational Jewish day school in Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois, serving over 200 students from junior kindergarten to grade eight. For the 2023-2024 school year, tuition ranges from $21,6 ...

. In 2006, during the political battle over the Chicago City Council ban on the sale of

foie gras ; (, ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a Domestic duck, duck or Domestic goose, goose. According to French law, ''foie gras'' is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by ''gavage'' (force feeding). ''Foie gras'' i ...

, Lopatin was widely quoted supporting the ban on the grounds that the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

prohibits

cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or Injury, harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...

, saying: "Chopped liver is good, but foie gras is bad." In 2009, Lopatin proposed plans for a group of 200 families to immigrate to Israel and settle in the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

. The plan was postponed indefinitely due to a serious illness in the Lopatin family. In February 2012, Lopatin participated in an Indonesia

Interfaith Interfaith (also called "interreligion") may refer to various ways of relating between beliefs, creeds, ideologies, faiths, or religions: * Interfaith conflict (disambiguation) * Interfaith dialogue, also known as interfaith cooperation * Interfai ...

Middle East Peace Tour. Five rabbis, four

Christian clergy In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance ...

, and three American Muslim clerics traveled through Indonesia (meeting with 12 Indonesian Muslim clerics),

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

, and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Lopatin made blog posts about the journey on the website Morethodoxy.org. On August 30, 2012, YCT's rabbinical school announced that Lopatin would succeed Rabbi

Avi Weiss Avraham Haim Yosef haCohen Weiss (; born June 24, 1944) is an American Open Orthodox ordained rabbi, author, teacher, lecturer, and activist who led the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in The Bronx, New York until 2015. He is the founder of Yeshi ...

, its founder, as president of the organization. In August 2017, Lopatin announced that the 2017–2018 academic year would be his last as president of YCT.

Affiliations

* Chicago Board of Rabbis, vice president (Open Orthodox) *

International Rabbinic Fellowship The International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF) is a Modern Orthodox rabbinical organization founded by Rabbis Avi Weiss and Marc D. Angel in 2007. The group is open to Orthodox rabbis, including graduates of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Mahara ...

, board member (Open Orthodox) * Chicago Jewish Day School, board of trustees, ''ex officio'' ("halachic, inclusive")

Honors

* American Jewish Congress Young Leadership Award, 1998 * Maimonides School Pillar of Maimonides Award, 2000 * Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago Keter Torah Award, 2001 * Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Honorary Smicha, 2002 * ''Newsweek'' Top 25 Pulpit Rabbis (#22), 2008 * ''Newsweek'' America's 25 Most Vibrant Congregations (Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel), 2009 * ''Newsweek'' Top 50 Rabbis (#21), 2011 * ''Newsweek'' Top 50 Rabbis (#24), 2012

Ideological positions

Lopatin has expressed a lack of affinity to Orthodox Judaism, expressing that the denominational lines separating Jews are less important than the commitments shared by Orthodox,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

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 ...

and non-aligned Jews.

I am a pluralist: We need to learn from all Jews, and connect and relate to all Jews – Reform, Conservative, Renewal; I believe it is critical for Judaism that we engage with the greater society as well... While there is a lot to critique in the Orthodox world – Modern, Centrist and Chareidi – all of us sometimes take a strident attitude that may not exhibit sufficient respect and love for our fellow Jews and their motivations. All of us can make an effort to try to make our first response be one of embracing all of Orthodoxy – all Jews of course, and all human beings – and being open to learning – sometimes with a critical, but respectful ear – from our fellow Orthodox Jews.Lopatin, Rabbi Asher
"Morethodoxy Openly Embraces the Entire Orthodox World"
, May 16, 2012. Accessed September 10, 2012.

References

External links

Interview with Rabbi Asher Lopatin
by Nicole Neroulias, November 26, 2008, Religion News Service.

by Raphael Ahren, August 2009, Ha'aretz

by Jacob Kanter, December 2009, Jerusalem Post
The New ‘Morethodox’ Rabbi

Rahm Emanuel's Judaism Through His Rabbi's Eyes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopatin, Asher Living people Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford American Rhodes Scholars Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients 1964 births 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis Open Orthodox Jews