David L. Lieber (1925-2008),

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

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

, was president emeritus of the University of Judaism (now known as the American Jewish University)Honored Colleague - Rabbi David Lieber
by AJU and the senior editor of the Etz Hayim Humash.Publications Humash
by the Rabbinical Assembly He helped pioneer the Ramah camps, serving as the founding head counselor in the first of the camps in Wisconsin, a director in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, the founding director of Camp Ramah in California, and the founding director of the Mador.David Lieber, PhD
by AJU

Biography

Early life

David Leo Lieber was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on February 20, 1925 in the town Stryj (the city is now part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). His parents, Max and Gussie Yarmush Lieber, moved with him to 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 ...

, when he was two years old. The family spent some time on a relative's farm before ultimately settling in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

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 ...

, where David grew up.

Education

At age 19, he graduated from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

while simultaneously receiving a bachelor's degree in Hebrew literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary ( JTS). In 1947, at age 22, he earned his master's in philosophy from Columbia, and he received his ordination from JTS a year later, in 1948. In 1951, he received a doctorate in Hebrew literature from JTS. His dissertation was on Tehilim, which he loved.

Family

David met the love of his life and wife of 63 years, Esther Kobre, through her brother, with whom he was good friends, and also through Hashomer Hadati (now Bnei Akiva). In 1943, when David Lieber was 18 and Esther Kobre was 16, they became engaged, and they married two years later on June 10, 1945.CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions of Remarks E129
/ref> David and Esther Lieber had four children: Michael, Daniel, Deborah, and Susan.

Career

From 1950 to 1954, he served as rabbi at Sinai Temple in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. From 1954 to 1956 he served as chaplain in the U.S. Air Force. In 1956, he was named dean of students at the University of Judaism. In 1964, he was named president of the University of Judaism, a post which he held for 29 years. As the university's first full-time president, Lieber oversaw the institution's expansion and established its rabbinic program, the first on the West Coast for

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 ...

, as well as its MBA program for non-profit management. When he stepped down as president in 1993, David Lieber was one of the nation's longest-serving college presidents. His career did not end with his retirement. After stepping down from the post of president, Lieber continued to teach as the Flora and Arnold Skovron Distinguished Service Professor of Biblical Literature and Thought at the UJ, he served as president of the Rabbinical Assembly from 1996 to 1998, and he also served as senior editor for the Etz Hayim Humash, the first official Torah and commentary of the Conservative Movement.The Lieber Humash
by the AJU Lieber first conceived of the idea of writing the Etz Hayim Humash in 1969, in order to create a "new Torah commentary to reflect the age in which it is made," but began working on the project eighteen years later, in 1987. The Etz Hayim Humash is more accepting of

biblical criticism Modern Biblical criticism (as opposed to pre-Modern criticism) is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible without appealing to the supernatural. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical c ...

than the Humash previously used by the Conservative movement, the

Hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...

, containing a number of essays which challenge the historicity of some of the biblical narratives. It also reduces the frequency with which the word "He" is used to describe God. Lieber described his work on the Etz Hayim Humash as "a great privilege" and stated that he "worked with great scholars," and "Just seeing how they worked was an inspiration. It was a great honor and zechut, merit. It is a great joy to see it done."

Death

Lieber died at age 83 on December 15, 2008 due to a lung illness. His Yahrtzeit is observed on Yud- Tet

Kislev Kislev or Chislev (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Kīslev'' Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Kīslēw''), is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew c ...

(יט כיסלו). His wife, Esther Lieber, died January 27, 2017 (כט טבת).

Awards

2002: National Jewish Book Award in the Nonfiction category for '' Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary''

References

External links

American Jewish University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieber, David L. 1925 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis American Conservative rabbis American Jewish University faculty American people of Polish-Jewish descent City College of New York alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Jewish scholars Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni People from the Lower East Side Polish emigrants to the United States Rabbis in the military United States Air Force chaplains