Burton L. Visotzky (born 1951) is an American rabbi and scholar of
midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
. He is the Appleman Professor of
Midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
and Interreligious Studies, Emeritus at the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...
(JTS).
Education
Visotzky was educated at the
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...
, where he received his BA,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, where he received his EdM, and the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...
, where he received his MA, Ph.D. and rabbinic ordination. He is a life member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.
Career
Visotzky joined the JTS faculty, teaching
midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
, following his ordination in 1977. He also served as associate and acting dean of The Graduate School of JTS, and he was the founding rabbi of JTS's egalitarian worship service in the Women's League Seminary Synagogue.
Visotzky was appointed as director of the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies at the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...
in 2010.
He has served in visiting faculty positions at a variety of schools including
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, Clare Hall – University of Cambridge,
Union Theological Seminary,
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...
,
Hebrew Union College
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 ...
,
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
, the
Russian State University for the Humanities
The Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH, RGGU; russian: Росси́йский госуда́рственный гуманита́рный университе́т, РГГУ, translit=Rossijskij gosudarstvennyj gumanitarnyj universit ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, the
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Rabbi Visotzky also serves on J-Street's National Advisory Council.
Interfaith dialogue
Visotzky has been active in
interfaith dialogue
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...
, including at a groundbreaking meeting of Muslims, Christians, Jews sponsored by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
in 2008. He also participated in interfaith dialogue in
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
, where he was in the first group of
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 ...
invited by the emir of
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
.
Visotzky was appointed as director of the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies at the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...
in 2010.
His work as director of the Finkelstein Institute has focused on Muslim-Jewish-Christian dialogue. In October 2010, Visotzky and
Arnold Eisen organized a group of prominent Muslim and Jewish scholars and leaders, joined by the heads of several Christian seminaries, to meet at JTS for two days for a workshop comparing the situations of Islam and Judaism in America. In 2012 Visotzky was awarded the Goldziher Prize for his work in Jewish-Muslim relations.
In 2011, as a result of a naming gift, Visotzky became director of the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at JTS. He also serves as Louis Stein Director of the Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies, charged with programming on public policy. Rabbi Visotzky is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Publications
Visotzky's books include:
*''Reading the Book: Making the Bible a Timeless Text'' (1991)
*''The Genesis of Ethics: How the Tormented Family of Genesis Leads Us to Moral Development'' (1996)
*''The Road to Redemption: Lessons from Exodus on Leadership and Community'' (1998)
*''From Mesopotamia to Modernity: Ten Introductions to Jewish History and Literature'' (co-editor with
David Fishman
David Fishman is an American academic and author. He is a professor of Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
Fishman's 2017 book, ''The Book Smugglers: Partisans, Poets, and the Race to Save Jewish Treasures from the Nazis, ...
, 1999)
*''A Delightful Compendium of Consolation: A Fabulous Tale of Romance, Adventure and Faith in the Medieval Mediterranean'' (2008)
*''Sage Tales: Wisdom and Wonder from the Rabbis of the Talmud'' (2011)
*''Aphrodite and the Rabbis: How the Jews Adapted Roman Culture to Create Judaism as We Know It' ' ( 2016)
*''The Changing Face of the American Jewish Family'' Co-editor (2018)
*''Fathers of the World: Essay in Rabbinic and Patristic Literatures'' (1995)
*''Judaism: I: History, II. Literature, III. Culture and Modernity'' Co-editor, (2021)
References
External links
*
Faculty Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visotzky, Burton
1951 births
Living people
American Conservative rabbis
American religion academics
American Jewish theologians
Jewish American writers
Judaic studies
Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni
Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni
University of Illinois Chicago alumni
Historians of Jews and Judaism
American historians of religion
20th-century American rabbis
21st-century American rabbis
Date of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)