David L. Lieber (1925-2008),

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 scholar, was president emeritus of the University of Judaism (now known as the American Jewish University)Honored Colleague - Rabbi David Lieber
by

AJU Aju (or Achu; Khalkha Mongolian: ; ) (1227–1287) was a general and chancellor of the Mongol Empire and the Yuan dynasty. He was from the Jarchud clan of the Mongol Uriankhai. His father was Yuan dynasty general Uriyangkhadai and his grandfather ...

and the senior editor of the

Etz Hayim Humash ''Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary'' (also published with the subtitle ''A Torah Commentary'') is a ''humash'' (the Torah in printed form) published and used by Conservative Judaism. Its production involved the collaboration of the Rabbinical Ass ...

.Publications Humash
by the Rabbinical Assembly He helped pioneer the

Ramah camps Camp Ramah ( he, מחנה רמה, Machaneh Ramah) is a network of Jewish summer camps affiliated with the Conservative Movement. The camps operate in the United States, Canada, and Israel. All Ramah camps serve kosher food and are ''Shabbat''-ob ...

, serving as the founding head counselor in the first of the camps in Wisconsin, a director in Maine, the founding director of Camp Ramah in California, and the founding director of the Mador.David Lieber, PhD
by

Biography

Early life

David Leo Lieber was born in Poland on February 20, 1925 in the town Stryj (the city is now part of Ukraine). His parents, Max and Gussie Yarmush Lieber, moved with him to the United States, when he was two years old. The family spent some time on a relative's farm before ultimately settling in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

of Manhattan, where David grew up.

Education

At age 19, he graduated from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

while simultaneously receiving a bachelor's degree in Hebrew literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary ( JTS). In 1947, at age 22, he earned his master's in philosophy from

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, and he received his ordination from JTS a year later, in 1948. In 1951, he received a doctorate in Hebrew literature from JTS. His dissertation was on

Tehilim The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

, which he loved.

Family

David met the love of his life and wife of 63 years, Esther Kobre, through her brother, with whom he was good friends, and also through

Hashomer Hadati Bnei Akiva ( he, בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest Religious Zionism, religious Zionist Zionist youth movement, youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established i ...

(now Bnei Akiva). In 1943, when David Lieber was 18 and Esther Kobre was 16, they became engaged, and they married two years later on June 10, 1945.CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions of Remarks E129
/ref> David and Esther Lieber had four children: Michael, Daniel, Deborah, and Susan.

Career

From 1950 to 1954, he served as rabbi at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. From 1954 to 1956 he served as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

in the U.S. Air Force. In 1956, he was named Dean of Students at the University of Judaism. In 1964, he was named president of the University of Judaism, a post which he held for 29 years. As the university's first full-time president, Lieber oversaw the institution's expansion and established its rabbinic program, the first on the West Coast for

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 ...

, as well as its MBA program for non-profit management. When he stepped down as president in 1993, David Lieber was one of the nation's longest-serving college presidents. His career did not end with his retirement. After stepping down from the post of president, Lieber continued to teach as the Flora and Arnold Skovron Distinguished Service Professor of Biblical Literature and Thought at the UJ, he served as president of the Rabbinical Assembly from 1996 to 1998, and he also served as senior editor for the

, the first official Torah and commentary of the

Conservative Movement Conservative movement may refer to: *Conservatism in the United States, in politics *Conservatism, a political philosophy *Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious moveme ...

.The Lieber Humash
by the

Lieber first conceived of the idea of writing the

in 1969, in order to create a "new Torah commentary to reflect the age in which it is made," but began working on the project eighteen years later, in 1987. The

is more accepting of

biblical criticism Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...

than the Humash previously used by the

Conservative movement Conservative movement may refer to: *Conservatism in the United States, in politics *Conservatism, a political philosophy *Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious moveme ...

, the Hertz, containing a number of essays which challenge the historicity of some of the biblical narratives. It also reduces the frequency with which the word "He" is used to describe God. Lieber described his work on the

as "a great privilege" and stated that he "worked with great scholars," and "Just seeing how they worked was an inspiration. It was a great honor and zechut, merit. It is a great joy to see it done."

Death

Lieber died at age 83 on December 15, 2008 due to a lung illness. His

Yahrtzeit Bereavement in Judaism () is a combination of ''minhag'' and ''mitzvah'' derived from the Torah and Judaism's classical rabbinic texts. The details of observance and practice vary according to each Jewish community. Mourners In Judaism, the p ...

is observed on Yud-

Tet Tet or TET may refer to: Vietnam *Tết or Tết Nguyên Đán, the Vietnamese new year, Lunar new year *Tet Offensive, a military campaign during the Vietnam War that began in 1968 **Tet 1969 Geography *Têt (river) in Roussillon, France *Tét, ...

Kislev (יט כיסלו). His wife, Esther Lieber, died January 27, 2017 (כט טבת).

Awards

2002: National Jewish Book Award in the Nonfiction category for '' Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary''

References

External links

American Jewish University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieber, David L. 1925 births 2008 deaths American Conservative rabbis American Jewish University faculty Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni City College of New York alumni Polish emigrants to the United States American people of Polish-Jewish descent United States Air Force chaplains Rabbis in the military People from the Lower East Side 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American Jews