Eugene Borowitz
Encyclopedia
Eugene B. Borowitz is a leader and philosopher in Reform Judaism
, known largely for his work on Jewish theology
and Jewish ethics
. He also edited a Jewish journal, Sh'ma, and teaches at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
He has been awarded the Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award by the Union for Reform Judaism
(2005), selected as a Scholar of Distinction for a retrospective on his work by the Jewish Publication Society (2002), and given the Jewish Cultural Achievement medal for scholarship by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture
. He received the National Jewish Book Award (1974) for The Mask Jews Wear. As is apparent from a bibliography of his works, Borowitz is a prolific author.
During the Korean War
, he served as a chaplain
for the U.S. Navy.
Borowitz has degrees from Ohio State University
, Columbia University
, and HUC-JIR
.
and attended Ohio State University
. After graduation, he went to Hebrew Union College
in Cincinnati, where he was ordained as a rabbi in 1948 and received his D.H.L. in 1950. He became the founding rabbi of the Community Synagogue in Port Washington, New York
, while at the same time pursuing a PhD. in religion from the joint program sponsored by Columbia University
and Union Theological Seminary
. In 1957, he was appointed as director of the Religious Education Department of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Because of this, he switched to Columbia's doctoral program in education and received the Ed.D. in 1958. Since 1962, he has been a faculty member at the New York campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he is Sigmund L. Falk Distinguished Professor of Jewish Education and Religious Thought.
Borowitz is best known for his development of "covenant theology," a term he first introduced in a 1961 article in Commentary (35). His work has concerned itself with the dilemma of the postmodern Jew: committed to individual autonomy, but nevertheless involved with God, Torah, and Israel. His interest in redefining covenant has led him to significant work in normative ethics, some of which was collected in his book Exploring Jewish Ethics (264), and his teaching on the subject led to the volume, Reform Jewish Ethics and the Halakhah (298). Borowitz's work in covenant theology found its mature expression in his 1991 book, Renewing the Covenant (273).
One of Borowitz's most significant accomplishments was his founding of Sh'ma, a Journal of Jewish Responsibility in 1970. He was its publisher and editor for twenty-three years, and he served as Senior Editor from 1993 to 1997. Sh'ma provided a forum where voices from all segments of the Jewish community could be heard on a wide range of controversial topics. Borowitz wrote numerous short book reviews for Sh'ma.
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
, known largely for his work on Jewish theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics
Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics. Like other types of religious ethics, the diverse literature of Jewish ethics primarily aims to answer a broad range of moral questions and, hence, may be classified as a normative ethics...
. He also edited a Jewish journal, Sh'ma, and teaches at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
He has been awarded the Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award by the Union for Reform Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
The Union for Reform Judaism , formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations , is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America. The current President is Rabbi Eric H...
(2005), selected as a Scholar of Distinction for a retrospective on his work by the Jewish Publication Society (2002), and given the Jewish Cultural Achievement medal for scholarship by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture
National Foundation for Jewish Culture
The Foundation for Jewish Culture is the leading advocate for Jewish cultural life and creativity in the United States....
. He received the National Jewish Book Award (1974) for The Mask Jews Wear. As is apparent from a bibliography of his works, Borowitz is a prolific author.
During the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, he served as a chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
for the U.S. Navy.
Borowitz has degrees from Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and HUC-JIR
Hebrew Union College
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
.
Biography
Born in 1924, he grew up in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and attended Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. After graduation, he went to Hebrew Union College
Hebrew Union College
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
in Cincinnati, where he was ordained as a rabbi in 1948 and received his D.H.L. in 1950. He became the founding rabbi of the Community Synagogue in Port Washington, New York
Port Washington, New York
Port Washington is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the community population was 15,846....
, while at the same time pursuing a PhD. in religion from the joint program sponsored by Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
. In 1957, he was appointed as director of the Religious Education Department of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Because of this, he switched to Columbia's doctoral program in education and received the Ed.D. in 1958. Since 1962, he has been a faculty member at the New York campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he is Sigmund L. Falk Distinguished Professor of Jewish Education and Religious Thought.
Borowitz is best known for his development of "covenant theology," a term he first introduced in a 1961 article in Commentary (35). His work has concerned itself with the dilemma of the postmodern Jew: committed to individual autonomy, but nevertheless involved with God, Torah, and Israel. His interest in redefining covenant has led him to significant work in normative ethics, some of which was collected in his book Exploring Jewish Ethics (264), and his teaching on the subject led to the volume, Reform Jewish Ethics and the Halakhah (298). Borowitz's work in covenant theology found its mature expression in his 1991 book, Renewing the Covenant (273).
One of Borowitz's most significant accomplishments was his founding of Sh'ma, a Journal of Jewish Responsibility in 1970. He was its publisher and editor for twenty-three years, and he served as Senior Editor from 1993 to 1997. Sh'ma provided a forum where voices from all segments of the Jewish community could be heard on a wide range of controversial topics. Borowitz wrote numerous short book reviews for Sh'ma.
Sources
- Batnitzky, Leora. "PostmodernityPostmodernismPostmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
and historicity : reflections on Eugene Borowitz’s postmodern turn" in Religious Studies Review, 27,4 (2001): 363-369.
- Borowitz, Eugene B., Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, Susan Handelman, David NovakDavid NovakDavid Novak is a Jewish theologian, ethicist, and scholar of Jewish philosophy and law . He is an ordained Conservative rabbi and has also trained with Catholic moral theologians...
, Peter Ochs, Thomas Ogletree, Norbert Samuelson, Edith WyschogrodEdith WyschogrodEdith Wyschogrod was an American philosopher. She received her A.B. from Hunter College in 1957 and her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1970.Wyschogrod joined Rice's Religious Studies Department in 1992. She retired in 2003....
. Reviewing the Covenant: Eugene B. Borowitz and the Postmodern Renewal of Jewish Theology. Edited by Peter Ochs. Albany: SUNY Press, 2000.
- Breslauer, S. Daniel. "Building a postmodern Reform Judaism : the example of Eugene B. Borowitz" in Platforms and Prayer Books: Theological and Liturgical Perspectives on Reform Judaism. Edited by Dana Evan Kaplan, 247-260. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002.
- Breslauer, S. Daniel. "[On] Eugene B. Borowitz, 'Reform Judaism Today: Book Two: What We Believe' (1977)" in Judaism 28,3 (1979): 382-384.
- Daum, Robert A. "Two views on authority -BleichJ. David BleichJ. David Bleich is an authority on Jewish law and ethics, including Jewish medical ethics. He is rabbi of Cong. B'nei Jehuda...
and Borowitz" in Journal of Reform Judaism 33,1 (1986): 55-64.
- Dorff, ElliotElliot N. DorffElliot N. Dorff is a Conservative rabbi. He is a professor of Jewish theology at the American Jewish University in California , author and a bio-ethicist....
. "Autonomy vs. community: the ongoing Reform/ConservativeConservative JudaismConservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
difference" in Conservative Judaism 48,2 (1996): 64-68.
- Duff, Nancy J. "[On] Eugene B. Borowitz, "Contemporary ChristologiesChristologyChristology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
: a Jewish Response" in Union Seminary Quarterly Review 38, 2 (1983): 231-235.
- Ellison, David Harry. "Eugene B. Borowitz" in Interpreters of Judaism in the Late Twentieth Century, 17-39. Edited by Stephen T. Katz. B'nai B'rith Book Service 1993.
- Ellison, David Harry. "Eugene B. Borowitz: a tribute" in Jewish Book Annual 51 (1993): 125-236.
- Helfman, Amy W. . "Bibliography of the writings of Eugene B. Borowitz" in Eugene B. Borowitz: Studies in the Meaning of Judaism (JPS Scholar of Distinction Series), 443-465. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002.
- Kolodny, Ralph L. . "Catholics and Father CoughlinCharles CoughlinFather Charles Edward Coughlin was a controversial Roman Catholic priest at Royal Oak, Michigan's National Shrine of the Little Flower church. He was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience, as more than thirty million tuned to his weekly broadcasts during the...
: Misremembering the past" in Patterns of Prejudice 19, 4 (1985): 156-25.
- Kraut, Benny. "A liberal Jew looks at Christianity" in Tradition 21, 4 (1985) 80-86.
- Levitt, Laura S. . "Covenant or contract? Marriage as theology" in Cross Currents 48,2 (1998): 169-184.
- Melamed, Abraham. "[On] Eugene B. Borowitz, 'Renewing the Covenant : a Theology for the Postmodern Jew' (1991)" in Jewish Political Studies Review 6,1-2 (1994): 179-186.
- Mittleman, Alan Lee. "[On] Eugene B. Borowitz, 'Renewing the Covenant: a Theology for the Postmodern Jew' (1991)" in Jewish Political Studies Review 6,1-2 (1994): 173-179.
- Ochs, Peter W. . "Borowitz and the postmodern renewal of theology" in Cross Currents 43,2 (1993): 164-183.
- Samuelson, Norbert Max. "A critique of Borowitz’s postmodern Jewish theology" in Zygon 28,2 (1993): 267-282.
- Talmage, Frank Ephraim. "[On] Eugene B. Borowitz, "Contemporary Christologies : a Jewish Response" in Journal of Reform Judaism 30, 3 (1983): 72-75.
- Weiss, Andrea L. "Creative readings of the covenant: a Jewish-Christian approach" in Journal of Ecumenical Studies 30,3-4 (1993): 389-402
- Yuter, Alan J. "A theology for liberal Jews : is it possible? A reflection on Eugene Borowitz’s 'Renewing the Covenant; a Theology for the Postmodern Jew' (1991)" in Le’ela, 35 (1993) 29-32.
Selected works
Bibliography, 1944-1999, additional works.- Contemporary Christologies: A Jewish Response. US: Paulist Press International, 1980.
- Exploring Jewish Ethics: Papers on Covenant Responsibility. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990.
- Liberal Judaism. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1984.
- Reform Jewish Ethics and the Halakhah: An Experiment in Decision Making (Editor). Behrman House Publishing, 1995.
- Renewing the Covenant: A Theology for the Postmodern Jew. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991.
- The Talmud's Theological Language-Game, a Philosophical Discourse Analysis. Albany: State University of New York, 2006.