Ammiel Hirsch ( he, עמיאל הירש, also spelled Amiel Hirsch) (born 1959) is a

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

and is an attorney admitted to practice in New York. He is the senior

of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and former executive director of the

Association of Reform Zionists of America The Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) is the Zionist organization of the Reform movement in the United States. It was founded in 1978. History ARZA was founded in 1978 after a resolution at the 1977 UAHC 54th General Assembly bien ...

World Union for Progressive Judaism The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries ...

, North America. In 2018,
The Jerusalem Post
' named him among “The 50 Most Influential Jews of the Year.” In 2016,
City & State New York
' magazine praised him as “the borough's most influential voice” for Manhattan's more than 300,000 Jews, and in 2015, the
New York Observer
' named him among “New York’s Most Influential Religious Leaders.”

Early life and education

He was born in the United States to Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch (born 1926), a Reform rabbi who founded that movement's Religious Action Center in Washington, D.C., and is Executive Director Emeritus of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. His mother is Bella Hirsch; he has two brothers and a sister. Hirsch spent his high school years in Israel, serving in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...

as a tank commander. He speaks fluent

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. He went on to earn an LL.B Honors

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

, and became a member of the

New York State Bar The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice; ...

in 1985. He received rabbinical ordination from

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, New York, in 1989.

Reform leadership

From 1992–2004 Hirsch served as executive director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), the Israeli arm of the North American Reform movement. An ardent

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

, he guided ARZA to accept a new platform embracing Zionism in 1997. He was also a leader in the struggle against Israel's

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

religious establishment – which he called "the monopoly" – to recognize the Reform movement in Israel, and was influential in the successful lobbying effort to change Israel's

Conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

Law to recognize conversions performed by non-

rabbis in Israel. In 2004, he joined Stephen Wise Free Synagogue as Senior Rabbi. Hirsch is also an officer of the

New York Board of Rabbis The New York Board of Rabbis is an organization of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist rabbis in New York State and the surrounding portions of Connecticut and New Jersey. The roots of the New York Board of Rabbis date to 1881 w ...

and a member of the Partnership of Faith, an interfaith body of New York religious leaders. He lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Book collaboration

In 2000 a literary agent introduced Hirsch to Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Reinman, an Orthodox rabbi and

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

ic scholar, with the idea of collaborating on a book airing the Reform and Orthodox viewpoints on various issues. Their

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

correspondence over the next 18 months resulted in the book ''One People, Two Worlds: A Reform rabbi and an Orthodox rabbi explore the issues that divide them''. The book was hailed by the religious left as a breakthrough in Orthodox recognition of religious pluralism, while generating criticism in Orthodox circles for Rabbi Reinman's willingness to conduct an official rabbinic dialogue with Reform. The book was denounced by the

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (, "Council of great Torah ages) is the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of the Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah movements in Israel; and of Agudath Israel of America in the United States. Members are usually pr ...

Agudath Israel of America Agudath Israel of America ( he, אגודת ישראל באמריקה) (also called Agudah) is an American organization that represents Haredi Orthodox Jews. It is loosely affiliated with the international World Agudath Israel. Agudah seeks to ...

and the heads of

Beth Medrash Govoha Beth Medrash Govoha ( he, בית מדרש גבוה, Sephardi pronunciation: ''Beth Midrash Gavoha''. lit: "High House of Learning"; also known as Lakewood Yeshiva or BMG) is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish Misnagdim, Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' in Lake ...

Lakewood, New Jersey Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community as of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 135,158 representing an increase of 41,415 (+45.5% ...

, where Reinman received his rabbinic ordination. Reinman subsequently pulled out of a 14-city promotional tour after two appearances, leaving Hirsch to continue the tour on his own.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch free downloads
* ttps://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/25/opinion/a-looming-threat-to-israels-democracy-407798.html Letter to the Editor of The New York Times by Ammiel Hirsch, 21 October 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsch, Ammiel American Reform rabbis American Reform Jews American Zionists American chief executives Hebrew Union College alumni Rabbis from New York City Living people 1959 births 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis Reform Zionists