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 of ...

and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

, was president emeritus of 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 known as 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 ...

)Honored Colleague - Rabbi David Lieber
by AJU 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 The Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, an ...

He helped pioneer the Ramah camps, serving as the founding head counselor in the first of the camps in Wisconsin, a director in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, the founding director of

Camp Ramah in California Camp Ramah in California is a Jewish summer camp located in Ojai, California. The camp is affiliated with the Conservative Movement and observes the laws of Judaism, Shabbat, and the laws of Kashrut. History The camp was founded in 1956 by Rabb ...

, and the founding director of the Mador.David Lieber, PhD
by AJU

Biography

Early life

David Leo Lieber was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

on February 20, 1925 in the town Stryj (the city is now part of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). His parents, Max and Gussie Yarmush Lieber, moved with him to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

, 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, 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 Bnei Akiva ( he, בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929. History B ...

). 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 Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. 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 The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. In 1956, he was named Dean of Students at the

. In 1964, he was named president of the

, 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

from 1996 to 1998, and he also served as senior editor for the

, the first official Torah and commentary of the Conservative Movement.The Lieber Humash
by the AJU 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 ''Chumash'' (also Ḥumash; he, חומש, or or Yiddish: ; plural Ḥumashim) is a Torah in printed and book bound form (i.e. codex) as opposed to a Sefer Torah, which is a scroll. The word comes from the Hebrew word for five, (). A more f ...

previously used by the Conservative movement, the

Hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

, 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 Kislev or Chislev (Hebrew: כִּסְלֵו, Standard ''Kīslev'' Tiberian ''Kīslēw''), also 'Chisleu' in the King James (authorized English) Bible, is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Heb ...

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

Awards

2002:

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.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