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{{Infobox person
⚫
'''Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld''' (February 6, 1913 - April 15, 1996) was a rabbi within the movement of [[Reform Judaism]]. As well as being a prominent rabbi he also embraced social activism in many forms.
| name = Arthur J. Lelyveld
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1913|2|6}}
| birth_place = [[Manhattan, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|4|15|1913|2|6}}
| death_place = [[Beachwood, Ohio]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Cleveland Heights, Ohio]], U.S.
| alma_mater = [[Hebrew Union College]]
| occupation = [[Rabbi]], [[activist]]
| spouse = Toby Bookholtz<br/>
Teela Stovsky
}}


⚫
'''Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld''' (February 6, 1913 – April 15, 1996) was a rabbi within the movement of [[Reform Judaism]] and activist.
⚫
After marrying Toby Bookholtz - an actress and scholar of Shakespeare<ref>[http://www.baltimoresecularjews.org/omaha-blues/ Review of ''Omaha Blues: A Memory Loop'', Bob Jacobson, 2005.]</ref> - he moved to live in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], where he led a congregation, before moving to New York, where he took on organizational rabbinic roles, including heading up the national [[Hillel]] organization. He served as Rabbi in [[Cincinnati]] for a time. He also served as president of the [[Zionist Organization of America]] from 1944.


== Early life and education ==
⚫
From 1958 until 1986, he served as rabbi of [[Fairmount Temple]] in the [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]] suburb of [[Beachwood, Ohio]]<ref>[http://www.fairmounttemple.org/history.htm "Temple History," Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2007]</ref>. Rabbi Lelyveld was president of the [[American Jewish Congress]], a 50,000-member organization, from 1966 to 1972. He served as president of the [[Central Conference of American Rabbis]], and of the [[Synagogue Council of America]].
Lelyveld was born in [[Manhattan]] on Feb. 6, 1913. He graduated from [[Columbia College (New York)|Columbia College]] in 1933. At [[Columbia University|Columbia]], he was the first Jewish editor of the ''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]'', leader of the glee club, and competed on the wrestling team. In 1939, he graduated from the [[Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion|Hebrew Union College]] in [[Cincinnati|Cincinnati, Ohio]].<ref name=":0" />


== Career ==
⚫
Unusually, in the Reform movement, he voiced his support for the recognition of the [[State of Israel]]<ref>[http://secure.britannica.com/eb/topic-335630/Arthur-Lelyveld ''Britannica Yearbook 1997'', obit.]</ref> in 1946, lobbying [[Harry S Truman]] to that end.<ref>[http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/11547/index1.html ''The Scoop of His Life'', Stephen J. Dubner, New York Magazine, February 2006]</ref> He was also active in attempts to create harmonious relations between [[Jews]] and [[Black people|blacks]] in the [[United States]]. He was active in the registration of black voters in the South during the 1960s. During the [[Freedom Summer]] of 1964 he suffered a concussion when he was beaten with a tire iron by [[segregationist]]s in [[Hattiesburg, Mississippi]].<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/books/review/03OZICKL.html?ex=1174276800&en=050f5b7259709c03&ei=5070 ''Review of "Omaha Blues", Cynthia Ozick, New York Times, April 3, 2005.]</ref><ref>[http://media.www.gcsunade.com/media/storage/paper299/news/2002/12/06/Variety/Exhibit.Captures.Freedom.Summer.Of.64-339213.shtml ''Exhibit captures Freedom Summer of '64'', Joseph Tkacik, The Colonade, 12/6/02.]</ref>
⚫
After marrying Toby Bookholtz, an actress and scholar of Shakespeare, Lelyveld moved to [[Omaha, Nebraska]] in 1941, where he led Temple Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacobson |first=Bob |date= |title=Omaha Blues: A Memory Loop by Joseph Lelyveld |url=http://www.baltimoresecularjews.org/omaha-blues/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210163845/http://www.baltimoresecularjews.org/omaha-blues/ |archive-date=10 February 2006 |website=Baltimore Jewish Cultural Chavurah}}</ref> In 1944, he then moved to New York, where he took on organizational rabbinic roles, including heading up the national [[Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life|Hillel]] organization. He served as a rabbi in [[Cincinnati]] for a time. He also served as president of the [[Zionist Organization of America]] from 1944.


⚫
From 1958 until 1986, Lelyveld served as rabbi of [[Fairmount Temple]] in the [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]] suburb of [[Beachwood, Ohio]].<ref>[http://www.fairmounttemple.org/history.htm "Temple History"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609230322/http://www.fairmounttemple.org/history.htm |date=June 9, 2007 }}, Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2007</ref> From 1966 to 1972, he was president of the [[American Jewish Congress]], a 50,000-member organization. He served as president of the [[Central Conference of American Rabbis]], and of the [[Synagogue Council of America]].
⚫
During the [[Second World War]] Lelyveld was a [[pacifist]] and [[conscientious objector]], though he did propose sending a Jewish relief force to Europe.<ref>Ibid.</ref> He headed the ''Jewish Peace Fellowship'' a coalition - formed in 1941 - of a number of groups of Jewish antiwar activists.<ref>[http://www.jewishpeacefellowship.org/jpfpublications1.htm ''L'Chaim to Life'' - a history of the Jewish Peace Fellowship, Isador B. Hoffman.]</ref>


Lelyveld retired from the rabbinate in 1986. As senior rabbi emeritus, he served as a lecturer in Jewish thought at [[John Carroll University]].<ref name=shepard>{{cite news|last=Shepard|first=Paul|title=Bittersweet Memories: Mourners Gather at Mayfield Cemetery to Say Goodbye to Rabbi Lelyveld, Who Lived to Improve the Lives of Others|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 18, 1996|page=B1}}</ref>
Lelyveld retired from the rabbinate in 1986 and died 10 years later.


Rabbi Lelyveld was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and died at the Montefiore Home in [[Beachwood, Ohio]], on April 15, 1996. His funeral at Fairmount Temple was attende by more than 1,200 people. Presidents [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Bill Clinton]] sent condolences. He was interred at [[Mayfield Cemetery]] in [[Cleveland Heights, Ohio]].<ref name=shepard />
He had four children. A son [[Joseph Lelyveld]] was the executive editor of the [[New York Times]], and won a [[Pulitzer Prize]] for journalism. His son David Lelyveld is an authority on the frontier tribes of South Asia and is Professor of History at William Patterson University. Another son, Michael S. Lelyveld consults on Russian and Caspian energy. His daughter, Robin Lelyveld is a psychologist. His second marriage, to Teela Stovsky, lasted 35 years.


==References==
== Activism ==

<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count: 2; column-count: 2;">
⚫
During the [[Second World War]] Lelyveld was a [[pacifist]] and [[conscientious objector]], though he did propose sending a Jewish relief force to Europe.<ref name="Exhibit"/> He headed the [[Jewish Peace Fellowship]], a coalition, formed in 1941, of a number of groups of Jewish antiwar activists.<ref name="Life">[http://www.jewishpeacefellowship.org/jpfpublications1.htm ''L'Chaim to Life''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220071827/http://www.jewishpeacefellowship.org/jpfpublications1.htm |date=February 20, 2007 }}, a history of the Jewish Peace Fellowship, Isador B. Hoffman</ref>
<references/>

</div>
⚫
Lelyveld voiced his support for the recognition of the [[State of Israel]]<ref>[http://secure.britannica.com/eb/topic-335630/Arthur-Lelyveld Arthur Lelyveld], ''Britannica Yearbook 1997'', obit.</ref> and was the executive director for the Committee on Unity for Palestine.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/16/us/rabbi-arthur-j-lelyveld-83-rights-crusader.html|title=Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld, 83, Rights Crusader|last=Gelder|first=Lawrence Van|date=1996-04-16|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-05-01|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> in 1946, lobbying [[Harry S Truman]] to that end.<ref>[http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/11547/index1.html ''The Scoop of His Life''] Stephen J. Dubner, ''New York Magazine'', February 2006</ref> He was also active in attempts to create harmonious relations between [[Jews]] and [[Black people|blacks]] in the [[United States]]. While he was in Omaha, he was a member of the local [[Urban League]]. He was also active in the registration of black voters in the South during the 1960s. During the [[Freedom Summer]] of 1964 he suffered a concussion after he was beaten with a tire iron by [[segregationist]]s in [[Hattiesburg, Mississippi]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/books/review/03OZICKL.html?ex=1174276800&en=050f5b7259709c03&ei=5070 "Review of 'Omaha Blues'"], Cynthia Ozick, ''The New York Times'', April 3, 2005</ref><ref name="Exhibit">[http://media.www.gcsunade.com/media/storage/paper299/news/2002/12/06/Variety/Exhibit.Captures.Freedom.Summer.Of.64-339213.shtml ''Exhibit captures Freedom Summer of '64''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927042904/http://media.www.gcsunade.com/media/storage/paper299/news/2002/12/06/Variety/Exhibit.Captures.Freedom.Summer.Of.64-339213.shtml |date=September 27, 2007 }}, Joseph Tkacik, ''The Colonade'', December 6, 2002</ref>

== Family ==

Lelyveld had five children. His son [[Joseph Lelyveld]] was the executive editor of ''[[The New York Times]]'', and won a [[Pulitzer Prize]] for journalism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/lelyveld-arthur-joseph|title=Lelyveld, Arthur Joseph|website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org|language=en|access-date=2017-05-01}}</ref> His son David Lelyveld was a professor of history at William Paterson University; he retired in 2012. Another son, Michael S. Lelyveld consults on {{Clarify span|Russian and Caspian energy|seems like a very vague and mystical term|date=January 2024}}. His daughter, Robin Lelyveld, is a psychologist. Lelyveld's youngest son, Benjamin, died in 1988 at the age of 30.

His second marriage, to Teela Stovsky, lasted 35 years.


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
Line 23: Line 43:
* ''Religion in Higher Education'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1952.
* ''Religion in Higher Education'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1952.
* ''A Collection of Chapel Sermons'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1956.
* ''A Collection of Chapel Sermons'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1956.
* ''Punishment: For and against, A Lelyveld, New York: Hart, 1971.
* ''Atheism Is Dead: A Jewish Response to Radical Theology'', A Lelyveld, The World Publishing Company, 1968.
* ''Punishment: For and against,'' A Lelyveld, New York: Hart, 1971.
* ''The Virtues of Uncertainty: The Role of the University in Training for Social Welfare'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1979.
* ''The Virtues of Uncertainty: The Role of the University in Training for Social Welfare'', A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1979.
* ''The unity of the contraries: paradox as a characteristic of normative Jewish thought'', AJ Lelyveld, Syracuse University, 1984.
* ''The unity of the contraries: paradox as a characteristic of normative Jewish thought'', AJ Lelyveld, Syracuse University, 1984.
*''[https://www.amazon.com/Steadfast-Stream-Introduction-Jewish-Social/dp/0829810234/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=steadfast+stream+lelyveld&qid=1592257155&s=books&sr=1-1 The Steadfast Stream: An Introduction to Jewish Social Values],'' A Lelyveld, The Pilgrim Press, 1995.

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
*''Omaha Blues: A Memory Loop'', Joseph Lelyveld, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.
*''Omaha Blues: A Memory Loop'', Joseph Lelyveld, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.

== External links ==
* Arthur J. Lelyveld Papers at the [[American Jewish Historical Society]] at the [[Center for Jewish History]]
* [http://ead.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ead/view?docId=ead/OCLWHi0352.xml;query=;brand=default Arthur J. Lelyveld Papers] at the [[Western Reserve Historical Society]]

{{Authority control}}


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lelyveld, Arthur}}
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[[Category:American pacifists]]
[[Category:American pacifists]]
[[Category:Jewish pacifists]]
[[Category:Jewish pacifists]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Cincinnati, Ohio]]
[[Category:Rabbis from Cincinnati]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:Columbia College (New York) alumni]]
[[Category:Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American rabbis]]
[[Category:Reform Zionists]]

Revision as of 20:31, 13 September 2024

Arthur J. Lelyveld
Born(1913-02-06)February 6, 1913
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 15, 1996(1996-04-15) (aged 83)
Beachwood, Ohio, U.S.
Resting placeCleveland Heights, Ohio, U.S.
Alma materHebrew Union College
Occupation(s)Rabbi, activist
Spouse(s)Toby Bookholtz
Teela Stovsky

Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld (February 6, 1913 – April 15, 1996) was a rabbi within the movement of Reform Judaism and activist.

Early life and education

Lelyveld was born in Manhattan on Feb. 6, 1913. He graduated from Columbia College in 1933. At Columbia, he was the first Jewish editor of the Columbia Daily Spectator, leader of the glee club, and competed on the wrestling team. In 1939, he graduated from the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio.[1]

Career

After marrying Toby Bookholtz, an actress and scholar of Shakespeare, Lelyveld moved to Omaha, Nebraska in 1941, where he led Temple Israel.[2] In 1944, he then moved to New York, where he took on organizational rabbinic roles, including heading up the national Hillel organization. He served as a rabbi in Cincinnati for a time. He also served as president of the Zionist Organization of America from 1944.

From 1958 until 1986, Lelyveld served as rabbi of Fairmount Temple in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood, Ohio.[3] From 1966 to 1972, he was president of the American Jewish Congress, a 50,000-member organization. He served as president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and of the Synagogue Council of America.

Lelyveld retired from the rabbinate in 1986. As senior rabbi emeritus, he served as a lecturer in Jewish thought at John Carroll University.[4]

Rabbi Lelyveld was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and died at the Montefiore Home in Beachwood, Ohio, on April 15, 1996. His funeral at Fairmount Temple was attende by more than 1,200 people. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton sent condolences. He was interred at Mayfield Cemetery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.[4]

Activism

During the Second World War Lelyveld was a pacifist and conscientious objector, though he did propose sending a Jewish relief force to Europe.[5] He headed the Jewish Peace Fellowship, a coalition, formed in 1941, of a number of groups of Jewish antiwar activists.[6]

Lelyveld voiced his support for the recognition of the State of Israel[7] and was the executive director for the Committee on Unity for Palestine.[1] in 1946, lobbying Harry S Truman to that end.[8] He was also active in attempts to create harmonious relations between Jews and blacks in the United States. While he was in Omaha, he was a member of the local Urban League. He was also active in the registration of black voters in the South during the 1960s. During the Freedom Summer of 1964 he suffered a concussion after he was beaten with a tire iron by segregationists in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.[9][5]

Family

Lelyveld had five children. His son Joseph Lelyveld was the executive editor of The New York Times, and won a Pulitzer Prize for journalism.[10] His son David Lelyveld was a professor of history at William Paterson University; he retired in 2012. Another son, Michael S. Lelyveld consults on Russian and Caspian energy[clarify]. His daughter, Robin Lelyveld, is a psychologist. Lelyveld's youngest son, Benjamin, died in 1988 at the age of 30.

His second marriage, to Teela Stovsky, lasted 35 years.

Bibliography

  • A study of the Tanya of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Ladi. AJ Lelyveld, Hebrew Union College, 1939.
  • The Virtues of Uncertainty, A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1950.
  • Religion in Higher Education, A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1952.
  • A Collection of Chapel Sermons, A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1956.
  • Atheism Is Dead: A Jewish Response to Radical Theology, A Lelyveld, The World Publishing Company, 1968.
  • Punishment: For and against, A Lelyveld, New York: Hart, 1971.
  • The Virtues of Uncertainty: The Role of the University in Training for Social Welfare, A Lelyveld, Journal of Higher Education, 1979.
  • The unity of the contraries: paradox as a characteristic of normative Jewish thought, AJ Lelyveld, Syracuse University, 1984.
  • The Steadfast Stream: An Introduction to Jewish Social Values, A Lelyveld, The Pilgrim Press, 1995.

References

  1. ^ a b Gelder, Lawrence Van (1996-04-16). "Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld, 83, Rights Crusader". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  2. ^ Jacobson, Bob. "Omaha Blues: A Memory Loop by Joseph Lelyveld". Baltimore Jewish Cultural Chavurah. Archived from the original on 10 February 2006.
  3. ^ "Temple History" Archived June 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2007
  4. ^ a b Shepard, Paul (April 18, 1996). "Bittersweet Memories: Mourners Gather at Mayfield Cemetery to Say Goodbye to Rabbi Lelyveld, Who Lived to Improve the Lives of Others". The Plain Dealer. p. B1.
  5. ^ a b Exhibit captures Freedom Summer of '64 Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Joseph Tkacik, The Colonade, December 6, 2002
  6. ^ L'Chaim to Life Archived February 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, a history of the Jewish Peace Fellowship, Isador B. Hoffman
  7. ^ Arthur Lelyveld, Britannica Yearbook 1997, obit.
  8. ^ The Scoop of His Life Stephen J. Dubner, New York Magazine, February 2006
  9. ^ "Review of 'Omaha Blues'", Cynthia Ozick, The New York Times, April 3, 2005
  10. ^ "Lelyveld, Arthur Joseph". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2017-05-01.

Further reading

  • Omaha Blues: A Memory Loop, Joseph Lelyveld, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.
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