Michael Strassfeld
Encyclopedia
Biography
Michael Strassfeld is rabbi of the Society for the Advancement of JudaismSociety for the Advancement of Judaism
The Society for the Advancement of Judaism is a synagogue and Jewish organization in New York City, on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Founded in 1922 by Rabbi Mordecai M...
, a Manhattan synagogue. He was formerly the rabbi of Congregation Ansche Chesed.
Strassfeld is a graduate of the Maimonides School
Maimonides School
Maimonides School is a coeducational, Modern Orthodox, Jewish day school located in Brookline, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1937 by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and his wife Tonya Soloveitchik...
. He started college at Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
, but transferred to Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
and graduated in 1971. He holds an M.A. from Brandeis Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and completed his doctoral coursework in Jewish History at Brandeis but did not submit a thesis. He was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College , is located in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of central Philadelphia. RRC is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and...
in 1991.
Strassfeld first received wide public attention as one of the authors of the Jewish Catalog. He was a leader of the Chavurah
Chavurah
A chavurah or havurah is a small group of like-minded Jews who assemble for the purposes of facilitating Shabbat and holiday prayer services, sharing communal experiences such as lifecycle events, and Jewish learning...
movement and was the founding chairperson of the National Havurah Committee from 1979 to 1982.
Strassfeld is married to Rabbi Joy Levitt.
He is father to sons Max, Noam, and Benjamin and stepdaughters Sara and Ruthie Friedlander, as well as being grandfather to Micah Strassfeld.
Jewish Catalog
The Jewish Catalog was published by the Jewish Publication Society of America (Philadelphia) in three volumes (1973, 1976, and 1980). It is a collection of far-ranging topics that should aid any Jew - whether steeped in tradition or just discovering Judaism - to become personally involved in aspects of Jewish life, customs, cooking, crafts and creation.Publications
- The First Jewish Catalog. A Do-It-Yourself Kit. Compiled and edited by Richard Siegel, Michael Strassfield, and Sharon Strassfeld (1973).
- The Second Jewish Catalog. Comp. and ed. by Michael Strassfeld and Sharon Strassfeld (1976).
- The Third Jewish Catalog. Compiled and ed. by Sharon Strassfeld and Michael Srassfeld (1980).
- Shabbat Haggadah for Celebration and Study (1980).
- The Jewish holidays: a guide and commentary. With Arnold M. EisenArnold EisenArnold M. Eisen, Ph.D. is Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University...
and Betsy Platkin Teutsch (Illustrations) (1985). - A Night of Questions, a Passover Haggadah with Rabbi Joy Levitt (2000).
- A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice, Schocken Books (2002).