Above All, We Are Jews
A Biography of Rabbi Alexander Schindler
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Rabbi Alexander Schindler (1925-2000) was an extraordinarily influential leader in the history of Reform Judaism. From 1973 to 1996, he served as president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (today's Union for Reform Judaism), where his charisma and vision raised the Reform Movement to unprecedented influence. Never afraid to be controversial, he argued for recognizing patrilineal descent, institutionalized outreach to interfaith families and non-Jews, and championed LGBTQ rights and racial equality. He was a tireless advocate for Israel while maintaining diaspora Jews' right to speak out independently on the Jewish state. In this nuanced biography, historian Michael A. Meyer draws on extensive archival research and interviews to paint a definitive portrait of Schindler's life. A foreword by Jonathan D. Sarna situates Schindler in American Jewish history, and Rabbi Rick Jacobs's afterword reflects on his legacy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Historian Meyer (Rabbi Leo Baeck) chronicles in this comprehensive account the life of Alexander Schindler (1925–2000), an American rabbi who reshaped the Jewish reform movement. Born in Munich to the son of a Yiddish poet and a businesswoman, Schindler and his family fled to Manhattan in 1938. He initially studied engineering in college, but after a stint in the U.S. Army he was inspired to become a rabbi. He ascended through the ranks in the reform movement, and in 1973 he became president of the Association of Reform Congregations—a position whose power he harnessed to push the movement into new, sometimes controversial directions (like fully accepting Jews of patrilineal descent and gay and lesbian Jews). Meyer links his subject's life to a perceptive analysis of the growth of reform Judaism in the 20th century, as proponents like Schindler promoted the movement as a way of applying Jewish ethics directly to the world (rather than hewing strictly to ritual). As Meyer points out, however, Schindler acknowledged that the movement's popularity stemmed in part from its convenience for Jews wishing to assimilate to American society, and also called for reform Judaism to develop its own "sense of the sacred." The result is a scrupulous and definitive biography of a vital figure in American Judaism.
