Bradley Shavit "Brad" Artson (born 1959) is an American

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 of ...

, author and speaker. He holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the

Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, informally known as the "Ziegler School" or simply "Ziegler", is the graduate program of study, leading to ordination as a Conservative rabbi at the American Jewish University (formerly known as the Univers ...

at the

American Jewish University American Jewish University (AJU), formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish institution in Los Angeles, California. Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in w ...

in Los Angeles, California, where he is also Vice-President. He supervises the Louis and Judith Miller Introduction to Judaism Program and provides educational and religious oversight for two Camp Ramah campuses, Ojai and Monterey Bay. He is Dean of the

Zacharias Frankel College Zecharias Frankel, also known as Zacharias Frankel (30 September 1801 – 13 February 1875) was a Bohemian-German rabbi and a historian who studied the historical development of Judaism. He was born in Prague and died in Breslau. He was the foun ...

at the University of Potsdam in Germany, ordaining Conservative/Masorti rabbis for Europe.

Education and career

Born and raised in San Francisco, Artson received an A.B. degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, cum laude, in 1981. As an undergraduate, he served as the LBJ Intern for United States Representative Burton and was an intern for United States Senator

Alan Cranston Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as a President of the World Federalist Association from 1949 to 1 ...

. Following graduation, Artson was a Legislative Assistant to the Speaker of the California Assembly for two years and was ordained with honors by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1988. He wrote his first book, ''Love Peace and Pursue Peace: A Jewish Response to War and Nuclear Annihilation'' while in rabbinical school. During his last year at rabbinical school, he served as the part-time rabbinic intern at Bolton Street Synagogue in Baltimore. For 10 years, Artson served as the rabbi of Congregation Eilat in Mission Viejo, which grew under his tenure from about 200 families to over 600. During that period, his Introduction to Judaism course helped over 200 people convert to Judaism, with ten of his congregants eventually entering the rabbinate. From 1998 to 1999, Artson was a member of the Senior Management of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and served as the Executive Vice President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California. In 1999, he began his work at the

University of Judaism A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

(now the

). In addition to his work as Rabbinical School Dean and University Vice-President, Rabbi Artson received his D.H.L. at the Hebrew Union College's Jewish Institute of Religion in Contemporary Jewish Theology, under the supervision of Rabbi Dr.

David Ellenson David Ellenson is an American rabbi and academic who is known as a leader of the Reform movement in Judaism. Ellenson is currently director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and visiting professor of Near Eastern and Judaic studies at ...

. His scholarly fields are Jewish philosophy and theology, emphasizing a process approach to integrating contemporary scientific insights from cosmology, quantum physics, evolutionary theory and neuroscience into a dynamic view of God, Torah, mitzvot and ethics. He is a charter member of the Society for the Study of Judaism and Science.

Leadership

A prominent leader of

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

, Artson serves on the

Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism The Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism, also known as the LCCJ, is a council made up of members of the various arms of the Conservative movement, a formal movement within the Jewish denomination of Conservative Judaism. LCCJ representati ...

. He supervises the Miller Introduction to Judaism Program and the Center for Jewish Outreach at

and he mentors Camp Ramah in California. Rabbi Artson writes a weekly Torah commentary that has over 13,000 internet subscribers. He is the author of 11 books, most recently ''Renewing the Process of Creation: A Jewish Integration of Science and Spirit'' and ''God of Becoming & Relationship: The Dynamic Nature of Process Theology'' both published by Jewish Lights. He is a regular contributor to Huffington Post, the Times of Israel, and he has written over 300 articles in several journals and magazines. He is also Dean of the

at the

University of Potsdam The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, capital of the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is mainly situated across three campuses in the city. Some faculty buildings are part of the New Palace of Sanssouci which is known ...

, Germany, ordaining Conservative/Masorti rabbis for Europe under the religious supervision of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. In 2008, Artson ordained Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, the leader of the Abayudaya Tribe and participated a rabbinic delegation to Uganda to install him as the first African rabbi in Sub-Saharan Africa. While in Africa he joined a Beit Din in converting 250 Africans from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and Uganda. A regional chief bestowed upon him the African name Walusansa Salongo. Artson launched the ''Walking With …'' series, an annual series of books distributed free of charge and available on the web as complimentary PDF file

In 2007 he produced ''Walking With God'', in 2008, ''Walking With Justice,'' in 2009, ''Walking With Life,'' and in 2010, ''Walking With the Jewish Calendar.'' For the past few years he has also produced an annual Selichot DVD, ''Choose Life,'' a series of conversations with Rabbi Artson, Rabbi David Wolpe, Rabbi Naomi Levy, Rabbi Edward Feinstein, and Rabbi Sharon Brous. It can be viewed a

Under his direction, the Ziegler School sponsored a podcast page that presents the monthly discussions of Rabbi Artson, a Rebbe's Tish of Reb Mimi Feigelson, lessons on the Siddur and prayer by Rabbi Elliot Dorff, and a Halakhah Yomi by Rabbi Aaron Alexander. Artson has served on the faculty of the Wexner Heritage Foundation and as a speaker for UJC/Federation communities.

Personal

Artson is married to Elana Shavit Artson, and they are the parents of twins, Shira and Jacob.

Bibliography

*''Renewing the Process of Creation: A Jewish Integration of Science and Spirit'' ( Jewish Lights) *''God of Becoming and Relationship: The Dynamic Nature of Process Theology'' ( Jewish Lights) *''Passing Life's Tests: Spiritual Reflections on the Trial of Abraham, The Binding of Isaac'' ( Jewish Lights) *''The Everyday Torah: Weekly Reflections and Inspirations'' (McGraw Hill) *''Gift of Soul, Gift of Wisdom: Spiritual Resources for Leadership & Mentoring'' (Behrman House) *''The Bedside Torah: Wisdom, Visions, and Dreams'' (McGraw Hill) *''It's A Mitzvah!'' (Behrman House) *''Making A Difference'' (Behrman House) *''Love Peace & Pursue Peace'' (United Synagogue) *''Jewish Answers to Real-Life Questions'' (Alef Design Group) * ''I Have Some Questions About God'' ( Torah Aura Productions)

References

External links

Rabbi Artson's website

Some of Rabbi Artson's speeches

"Judaism as World Wisdom"
published in

The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', known simply as the ''Jewish Journal'', is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by TRIBE Media Corp. ''The Journal'' wa ...