Rabbi Benjamin Edidin Scolnic (born October 28, 1953), is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

who has been the spiritual leader at Temple Beth Sholom in

Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant (Connecticut), Sleeping Giant". The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecti ...

since 1983. He was educated at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and 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 as well as a hub for academic scholarship in Jewish studies ...

(JTS). He also received his Ph.D. from JTS. Scolnic is the model for one of the rabbinical detectives in Jacob Appel's popular murder mystery ''Wedding Wipeout''. Scolnic was the editor of the journal

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations ...

from 1993–2000. He has taught at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

, and JTS. He served as the host for a series of

The Eternal Light ''The Eternal Light'' was an American radio and television program on the NBC Radio Network, produced in conjunction with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Jewish Theological Seminary, that was broadcast between 1944 and 1989. Featuring ...

radio shows, which were produced by JTS. Scolnic is the author of several books and many articles and essays on the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, feminism, liturgy, Jewish education, the relationship between religion and the media, and the future of

Published books

*Theme and Context in Biblical Lists (1995), *Chronology and Papponymy : A List of the Judean High Priests of the Persian Period, (1999), *Are You Talking to Me? (2001), *Shoes for the Road: Thoughts for Living in a Troubled Time (2003), *Alcimus, Enemy of the Maccabees (2004), , *If the Egyptians Drowned in the Red Sea, Where are Pharaoh's Chariots? Exploring the Historical Dimension of the Bible (2005), , *Unfinished Business (2006), *Conservative Judaism and the Faces of God's Words (2006), *Thy Brother's Blood: The Maccabees and the Morality of Kinship (2007),

References

External links

WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scolnic, Benjamin People from Hamden, Connecticut 1953 births Living people American male non-fiction writers Jewish American non-fiction writers American Conservative rabbis Jewish Theological Seminary of America semikhah recipients 21st-century American rabbis