Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld (February 6, 1913 - April 15, 1996) was a rabbi within the movement of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

and activist.

Early life and education

Lelyveld was born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

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 Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

Career

After marrying Toby Bookholtz, an actress and scholar of Shakespeare, Lelyveld moved to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

in 1941, where he led Temple Israel. 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 Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

for a time. He also served as president of the

Zionist Organization of America The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) () is an American non-profit pro-Israel organization. Founded in 1897, as the Federation of American Zionists, it was the first official Zionist organization in the United States. Early in the 20th centur ...

from 1944. From 1958 until 1986, Lelyveld served as rabbi of Fairmount Temple in the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

suburb of

Beachwood, Ohio Beachwood is a city in eastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 14,040. History The land that eventually became Beachwood was originally part of the Connecticut W ...

. 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 The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada. The CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world. I ...

, and of the Synagogue Council of America. Lelyveld retired from the rabbinate in 1986 and died on April 15, 1996.

Activism

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Lelyveld was a pacifist and conscientious objector, though he did propose sending a Jewish relief force to Europe. He headed the Jewish Peace Fellowship, a coalition, formed in 1941, of a number of groups of Jewish antiwar activists.''L'Chaim to Life''
, a history of the Jewish Peace Fellowship, Isador B. Hoffman Lelyveld voiced his support for the recognition of the State of Israel and was the executive director for the Committee on Unity for Palestine. in 1946, lobbying

Harry S Truman Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

to that end. He was also active in attempts to create harmonious relations between

Jews 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 ...

and

blacks Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

in the

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. While he was in Omaha, he was a member of the local

Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

. 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 Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

s in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.''Exhibit captures Freedom Summer of '64''
, Joseph Tkacik, ''The Colonade'', December 6, 2002

Family

Lelyveld had five children. His son

Joseph Lelyveld Joseph Salem Lelyveld (born April 5, 1937 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American journalist. He was executive editor of ''The New York Times'' from 1994 to 2001, and interim executive editor in 2003 after the resignation of Howell Raines. He is a ...

was the executive editor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', and won a Pulitzer Prize for journalism. His son David Lelyveld was a professor of history at William Paterson University; he retired in 2012. Another son, Michael S. Lelyveld consults on cu Russian and Caspian energy. 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.

External links

* Arthur J. Lelyveld Papers at the

American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...

at the

Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City: American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva University Museu ...

Arthur J. Lelyveld Papers
at the

Western Reserve Historical Society The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) is a historical society in Cleveland, Ohio. The society operates the Cleveland History Center, a collection of museums in University Circle. The society was founded in 1867, making it the oldest cul ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lelyveld, Arthur American Reform rabbis American Zionists American pacifists Jewish pacifists Rabbis from Cincinnati 1913 births 1996 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni Hebrew Union College alumni 20th-century American rabbis Reform Zionists