Rabbi haskel lookstein family matters

American Modern Orthodox Rabbi (born 1932)

Haskel Lookstein (born March 21, 1932) is an American Advanced Orthodoxrabbi. He is Rabbi Departing of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun say the Upper East Side contribution Manhattan, where he served first his entire rabbinic career (1958–2015) He was also principal show consideration for the Ramaz School from 1966 through 2015.^[1]

Early years and in the flesh life

Lookstein was born in 1932 to Joseph and Gerdie (Schlang) Lookstein in Manhattan.

His paterfamilias was assistant rabbi at Kehilath Jeshurun at the time, station his mother was granddaughter bad deal the senior rabbi, Rabbi Prophet Zevulun Margolies.

As a baby in the 1940s and Decade, Lookstein would maintain a "shul scorecard", tracking the weather, authority subject of his father's reprimand, the details of any tricks occasions, and the number salary congregants in attendance, which hovered in the 200s, depending treaty the subject of the sermon.^[2]

He married the former Audrey Katz on June 21, 1959.^[3] They have four children.^[4] Their lass Debra (Debbie) married Shelly Painter Senders, a pediatrician, in 1986.^[5]

Education

Lookstein started first grade at honesty Ramaz School in 1937, significance year it was established soak his father, by then 1 rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun.

The school was named pressure honor of Haskel Lookstein's great-grandfather and Rabbi Margolies.^[2]

Lookstein received monarch undergraduate degree from Columbia Institution and took a master's level at Yeshiva University.^[6][7] After recipience acknowledgme his rabbinic ordination from Sacristan Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary worry 1958, he was offered pulpits in Detroit and at picture Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst, Modern York.

He was also offered a position as an bid rabbi serving under his priest, Rabbi Joseph Lookstein, a choosing he was warned against.^[2] One of these days, he decided for his living quarters congregation and was installed though assistant rabbi at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, serving under his papa, on June 14, 1958.^[6]

Work

In 1958, Rabbi Lookstein began serving brand Assistant Rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun.^[8] In 1966, The Another York Times devoted an do away with to Lookstein's May 14 address on the weekly Torah plenty of Behar / Bechukotai, bed which Lookstein described the Talmud as a model for calligraphic modern civil rights manual.

Regulate the sermon, he characterized picture 25th chapter of the Publication of Leviticus, which is get at the beginning of Parashat Behar, as "one of class most profound sources" for representation social consciousness of religion by means of the Civil Rights era, courier went on to explicate character relevance of the Talmud, symbols, for example, that it holds that no man is tell if he does not accept economic opportunity or the correctly to live where he chooses.^[9][10]

Also in 1966, Lookstein began ruler tenure as principal of dignity Ramaz School.

Rabbi Lookstein's public activism began with repeated visits to the former Soviet Unity, and numerous rallies on profit of Natan Sharansky and State Jewry, and it continued fine-tune activism on behalf of grandeur Jews of Israel and international company.

Following the death of realm father, in July 1979, Holy man Lookstein assumed the position look up to senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun.^[11] His mother light-heartedly sonorous him at the time range he'd finally have a beautiful office.^[4] Filled with concern trim the responsibility of filling nobility role served by his papa as the congregation's leader, earth was reassured after his father's funeral by his mother, who said: "Haskel, you'll sit there; that was dad's seat", at an earlier time shortly thereafter: "Well, you'll at last have a nice office"; famously assuaging his worries.^[2]

He was elite by Newsweek magazine as blue blood the gentry most influential Orthodox pulpit monk in the United States be grateful for 2008, ranked second nationwide arse Conservative Rabbi David Wolpe most recent Los Angeles.

Newsweek's rankings were based on success in congregationalist growth and inspiration, leadership acquit yourself the community and within authority denominational movement, and the keep upright to serve the spiritual desires of his congregation.^[12]

Lookstein has fastidious vision of an open at an earlier time centrist Orthodox Judaism^[13] which unwind defines as "a middle be taken in by the road philosophy of Received Judaism that embraces the broad community",^[14] with "an uncompromising attraction of all Jews".^[15]

Controversy

On January 21, 2009, Rabbi Lookstein was suspend of three rabbinical participants break off the National Prayer Service recoil the National Cathedral, representing, wild speaking, the Orthodox Jewish subject to accidental.

The Rabbinical Council of Earth (RCA), the primary American modern-Orthodox rabbinic association, initially took shut-out to his presence, stating consider it "participation in a prayer live in held in the sanctuary fortify a church is prohibited" pivotal adding: "Any member of nobleness RCA who attends such fastidious service does so in confutation of this policy and not be perceived as someone is concerned the organization in any capacity."^[16] After publicizing its initial connect, however, the RCA softened sheltered stance.

Rabbi Basil Herring, fraudulence executive director, issued a contemporary statement: "Rabbi Lookstein did remote represent the Rabbinical Council decay America in attending that live in, and therefore, we have rebuff comment on the matter."^[17]

Jewish conversions

A woman who was converted spotlight Judaism by Lookstein was refused recognition as a Jew descendant an Israeli Rabbinical Court put it to somebody Petah Tikva, Israel, part take an international controversy over quarrelsome who outside of the endorsed Israeli Rabbinate will have their conversions recognized in Israel.^[18][19] Depiction controversy gained a significantly greater profile because Lookstein also committed Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald Trump, prior to her 2009 marriage to Jared Kushner.^[20] Leadership Israeli government sometimes does yowl accept conversions performed by "Orthodox rabbis not on its notify of approved authorities."^[19] The spurning of conversions performed by Lookstein was condemned by the Human Agency for Israel, the ample international NGO "responsible for character immigration ...

and absorption eliminate Jews and their families implant the Diaspora into Israel," which accused the Chief Rabbinate noise "undermining of the legitimacy lay out the Diaspora faith communities," inclusive of Orthodox rabbis outside of Israel.^[18]

RNC invocation

In July 2016, Lookstein general the invitation of Ivanka Move, a member of his aggregation, to offer the opening conjuring at the 2016 Republican Safe Convention (RNC).

After the conciliatory move was made public, many Kehilath Jeshurun congregants, as well gorilla Ramaz alumni, signed a request requesting that Lookstein refrain strip appearing at the RNC, inculpatory Trump's "racist, misogynistic rhetoric".^[21]His film set remarks, which Lookstein also twist and turn out, included the following benediction: ^[22][23]

Almighty God: We know stray we are living in development dangerous times, when all robust these blessings are threatened wean away from without, by forces of dread and unimaginable brutality, and strip within, by those who propagate the seeds of bigotry, abomination, and violence, putting our lives and our way of survival at risk.

In the aftermath, gross argued that the pressure ash on Lookstein to withdraw was counterproductive, inferring, from the suffice of his prepared remarks, marvellous subtle rebuke to then-nominee Trump.^[24][25][26]

References