In Pursuit of Godliness: A Conversation About Harold Schulweis

In Pursuit of Godliness: A Conversation About Harold Schulweis

9am PDT

Widely regarded as the most influential pulpit rabbi of his generation, Harold Schulweis played a key role in shaping Jewish life in the late 20th century. Schulweis was at once a noted post-Holocaust theologian, outspoken moral activist, and stirring public intellectual. His work was celebrated on a segment of 60 Minutes, an episode of The Simpsons, and in the music of Bruce Springstein. Schulweis' innovations in Jewish communal life included the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, Mazon, and Jewish World Watch. Rabbi Ed Feinstein, Schulweis' successor at Valley Beth Shalom, has written a new biography, In Pursuit of Godliness and a Living Judaism. Rabbi Feinstein will be joined by AJU Professor Michael Berenbaum to discuss the life and legacy of Harold Schulweis.

Rabbi Ed Feinstein is Senior Rabbi of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California. He has served on the faculty of the Ziegler Rabbinical School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University since 1990 and is an instructor for the Wexner Heritage Program, lecturing widely across the United States. In 1982, Rabbi Feinstein became the founding director of the Solomon Schechter Academy of Dallas, Texas, building the school’s enrollment from 40 to over 500 in eight years, and winning national recognition as center of educational excellence. In 1990, he assumed the position of executive director of Camp Ramah in California, the largest Jewish camp and conference center in the western United States. He came to Valley Beth Shalom in 1993 at the invitation of the renowned Rabbi Harold Schulweis, whom he succeeded as the congregation’s senior rabbi in 2005. Rabbi Feinstein is a member of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, a member of the school board of Milken Community High School and an active member of AIPAC. A survivor of two bouts of colon cancer, he speaks frequently to cancer support groups all over Southern California.

Michael Berenbaum is a Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute at the American Jewish University. He is a writer, a scholar and a creator of Museums. His work has been recognized by Emmy and the Academy Awards.