Harry Halpern
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Harry Halpern (February 4, 1899 – June 10, 1981) was an American religious and community leader, a powerful orator, a respected religious educator, and a prominent
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
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 ...
who served for almost 49 years as the rabbi of the East Midwood Jewish Center (EMJC), in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.


Life and works

Halpern was born on the Lower East Side of
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 ...
, attending Brooklyn's Public School (PS) 37 and Eastern District High School. He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from the City College of New York in 1919 and a master's degree from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1925.Waggoner, Walter H.
"Harry Halpern, 82, Jewish leader dies"
''The New York Times'', June 12, 1981, retrieved March 1, 2011.
He also received both a bachelor and doctoral degree from
Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...
, studied at the
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan ...
, and earned
ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...
as a rabbi from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), in 1929. He later received a Doctor of Hebrew Literature degree from JTS in 1951. Halpern served as the first "pupil rabbi" for the Talmud Torah "junior congregation" of
Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom (also known as "Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Shalom") ("House of Jacob Lover of Peace") is an Orthodox synagogue located at 284 Rodney Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. It is the oldest Orthodox c ...
in Long Island, New York. He also served for a short time as the "student preacher and spiritual leader" of the Jewish Communal Center of Brooklyn, before taking the position of rabbi for the East Midwood Jewish Center in 1929, where he served for almost 49 years.Alvin Kass
"Brooklyn Is In!"
, Rabbi's viewpoint, East Midwood Jewish Center website. Accessed March 10, 2011.
At the EMJC, his sermons constantly educated, challenged and inspired the congregation both in terms of Jewish identity and larger social concerns such as the rights of minorities, and he "pleaded for intensive Jewish Education of the Day School-Yeshiva type long before private schools became fashionable.Silverstein, Baruch, "Harry Halpern," Proceedings of the 1982 Convention, Rabbinical Assembly Press, 1982, pages 155–157. He retired from the EMJC in 1977 to live in
Southbury, Connecticut Southbury is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Southbury is north of Oxford and Newtown, and east of Brookfield. Its population was 19,879 at the 2020 census. Southbury comprises sprawling rural country areas, sub ...
until his death four years later, in 1981. A leader in both the general Jewish community and numerous major rabbinic groups, he served as president of both 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, a ...
, the organization of conservative rabbis, and the
New York Board of Rabbis The New York Board of Rabbis is an organization of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist rabbis in New York State and the surrounding portions of Connecticut and New Jersey. The roots of the New York Board of Rabbis date to 1881 w ...
, and Chairman of the JTS Rabbinic Cabinet, advising the seminary chancellor on issues important to the Jewish people. He was also Chairman of the Rabbinical Assembly Social Actions Commission, visiting professor of
homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or ...
at JTS, and adjunct professor of pastoral psychiatry at JTS. In addition to his work at JTS, he served as chairman of the board of the
Yeshiva of Flatbush The Yeshivah of Flatbush is a Modern Orthodox private Jewish day school located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York. It educates students from age 2 to age 18 and includes an early childhood center, an elementary school and a secondary ...
. During his tenure as president of the Rabbinical Assembly, a number of major changes and new institutions for the conservative movement were introduced, often in conjunction with the Jewish Theological Seminary, reaffirming those two organizations as the leadership groups for the movement.Dugan, George
“New marital law to stem divorce adopted by conservative Judaism,” New York Times, November 14, 1954
retrieved March 2, 2011.
These included the Joint Bet Din(rabbinical court) of the Conservative Movement and the "Joint Conference on Jewish Law." Halpern was a leader in many organizations and philanthropic affairs, including service as a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission (1967–1978), and the Kings County Commission Against Discrimination, and on the executive committees of the Brooklyn Red Cross and the Brooklyn Cancer Society. He also served on the executive committee of the New York Division of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He opposed the use of taxes to support private schools (including religious schools) during his chairmanship of the Social Actions Commission of Conservative Judaism, also speaking out against the idea as President of the New York Board of Rabbis.Spiegel, Irving
“City’s rabbis oppose allocation of public funds to private schools,”
''
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 ...
'', January 26, 1961, retrieved March 2, 2011.
The Board of Rabbis resolution was especially opposed to the idea of public funding of private religious schools, calling such action a "violation of our understanding of the hallowed principle of church-state separation." As one of his colleagues wrote upon the occasion of Halpern's death, "There was hardly a National Jewish Conference where Harry Halpern had not delivered the keynote address or one of the major speeches." Halpern's sermons, lectures, and addresses, in and out of the synagogue, were "challenging, demanding, and even disturbing ... Rabbi Halpern preached social justice and human rights when those values were still associated with
Hosea In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea ( or ; he, הוֹשֵׁעַ – ''Hōšēaʿ'', 'Salvation'; gr, Ὡσηέ – ''Hōsēé''), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BCE prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is t ...
,
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, and
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
." Halpern was well respected by civic leaders for his actions, and sought out for his advice. In 1968, when a Brooklyn Jewish School was attacked by youths with rocks and molotov cocktails on the night of Halloween, New York Mayor John Lindsay visited the site the next day, also visiting other Jewish schools, he stopped to pick up Halpern and have lunch with him in between the school visits. Halpern was a frequent speaker for organizations whose causes he supported, such as the November 1960 benefit for Brooklyn's "Pride of Judea Children's Services," an organization supporting the needs of orphaned, needy, and emotionally disturbed children. He also saw his leadership positions in rabbinic organizations as opportunities to highlight needs and support ministry to those in need, as evidenced by the special conference he convened on prison ministry during his tenure as Chairman of the New York Board of Rabbis chaplaincy program. Halpern was an ardent Zionist, supporting the rights and needs of the Jewish community in pre-Israel Palestine, and later in the newly established State of Israel,Spiegel, Irving
“Jewish religious leaders are exhorted by Rabbi Halpern to press Negro cause,”
New York Times, April 24, 1956, retrieved March 1, 2011.
but was also a strong proponent of solving problems through peaceful means. For example, at the annual meeting of the Rabbinical Assembly, where he was re-elected president of the group, a resolution was passed under his leadership, praising President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
's stand for peace."Eisenhower Lauded On Stand For Peace"
''The New York Times'', May 6, 1955, retrieved March 4, 2011.
The resolution read, "We commend the President for the restraining influence he has exercised upon those in our country who would resolve the present international impasse by a resort to arms. We pray that he may be granted wisdom from on High to lead our country into the path of a lasting peace." Well known as an orator, his sermons were often quoted in the press. A 1961 article in ''The New York Times''"Jewish Observance of Shabuoth, Giving of Law, Opens Tomorrow"
''The New York Times'', May 19, 1961, retrieved February 28, 2011.
quoted his explanation of the message of the festival of Shavuot for Jews, both in terms of their religion and their responsibilities as Americans: "Shavuot conveys two crucial messages to the world today. It stresses the role of the law in society and its binding validity on the conduct of our individual and national life, and it cautions us against yielding to discouragement because of initial failure." Similarly, his words about the meaning of
Purim Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book ...
, linking it to the meaning of the right to be different within a democracy, were also quoted by the Times: "True religious freedom in a democratic society means not only the acceptance of the legitimacy of differences, but it regards the diversity of culture and religions as a source of enrichment and ennoblement." Halpern was married to the former Mollie Singer until her death, later marrying his second wife, Jean Rosenhaus. He had one daughter with Mollie, Debbie Halpern Silverman, and one granddaughter, Meredith Silverman Fontecchio. He had three brothers: Rabbi Peretz (Pete) Halpern of
Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends into the northern part of Massachusetts Bay. Attache ...
, Isadore (Izzy) Halpern, a trial lawyer of note in Brooklyn, New York, and Louis Halpern who worked in insurance in New York.


Views

A keen observer of religious life in America, he once summed up the inconsistencies of Judaism in America by describing a sign he had seen on a store window: "Closed Thursday and Friday for Rosh Hashanah – open Saturday." A passionate speaker, Halpern was also a staunch advocate of civility in both private and public discourse. In 1968, when then New York Mayor
John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...
was "booed and jeered" during a synagogue meeting on school decentralization in New York City, Halpern took the microphone to challenge the conduct of the congregation: "I say this with a great deal of sadness in my heart. As Jews, you have no right to be in this synagogue acting the way you are acting," he said, continuing:
This is the spot on which for close to 40 years I preached to my people to be respectful and understanding. Is this the exemplification of the Jewish faith? I understand rebellion: Jews were leaders in every revolution all over the world. But there is one thing about being rebellious and being a dissenter. One can be a rebel with good manners and that is all I'm asking you.


Civil rights

A strong supporter of equal rights, he opened the 56th annual convention of the Rabbinical Assembly during his time as president of the organization, by calling for more involvement on the part of all rabbis in the fight for civil rights for "negroes" in America. Praising the dignity, the restraint, and the "truly religious spirit" of African Americans (using the term "
Negro In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...
," current at that time) to fight for the constitutional rights guaranteed to them in the constitution and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court, his words became an important force in later rabbinic support of this cause:
We recognize the social and economic problems which are faced by our colleagues and their members in the heated atmosphere of bigotry. We can understand that there can be a difference of opinion concerning the method of achieving the desired result and the pace at which it should proceed, but we feel that no one can be true to the principles of the faith he professes unless he ranges himself on the side of those who are struggling for liberation from the Pharoahs of the twentieth century.


Support for Israel

A strong
Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
, Halpern was elected president of the Brooklyn region 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 ...
in 1944. He was a fervent spokesman for Israel, sharply criticizing Jewish organizations which lacked the courage (in his words) to take a stand for the new State of Israel. For example, referring to the
American Council for Judaism The American Council for Judaism (ACJ) is an organization of American Jews. In particular, it is notable for its historical opposition to Zionism, though it is Zionist today. The ACJ has also championed women's rights, including the right for women ...
, he called them "terrified Jews who are attempting to convince the American people that a love for Israel is tantamount to disloyalty to our country." Disagreeing with such a stand, he proclaimed that "all Americans who understand the true meaning of American democracy have seen no division of American loyalty in American Jewry's sympathy with and whole-hearted support of those heroic people who make up the population of Israel." Halpern also criticized the American State Department for its lack of sufficient support, publicly calling on the United States to send "defensive weapons" to Israel "to thwart Communist aggression and design in the area." On June 3, 1946, Halpern, in his position as head of the Brooklyn division of the Zionist Organization of America, presided over a rally "to mobilize Jews to support the Zionist program.''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'', May 26, 1946. Halpern declared that the rally would voice "the common determination of Brooklyn Zionists to fight the ritishdelaying tactics now being pursued to block the granting of 100,000 certificates of immigration, recommended by the Anglo-American Committee on Palestine." In 1948, when Dr. Chaim Yassky, the director of the
Hadassah Medical Organization Hadassah Medical Center ( he, הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem – one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus –, ...
in Palestine, was slain in an attack by Arabs, Halpern spoke at a meeting of more than 1500 Hadassah members in Brooklyn, calling on the group to observe a moment of silence in memory of Dr. Yassky, other doctors, nurses and laboratory assistants working for the cause of medicine in Palestine."Slaying Of Yassky Saddens Hadassah"
''The New York Times'', April 15, 1948, retrieved March 2, 2011.
''The New York Times'' reported that many of the participants in the meeting openly wept, and that Halpern's words added to the "emotional intensity" of the group. Halpern continued to support Israel throughout his life, and in 1951 served as the Honorary Chairman for Brooklyn Israel Bond dinners as part of a national effort to raise $500,000,000 in
Israel Bonds Israel Bonds, the commonly-known name of Development Corporation for Israel (DCI), is the U.S. underwriter of debt securities issued by the State of Israel. DCI is headquartered in New York City, and is a broker-dealer and member of the Financial ...
. Chairing a 1959 dinner to honor departing Israeli Ambassador
Abba Eban Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; he, אבא אבן ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. During his career, he served as For ...
, Halpern called for a greater awareness of
Hebrew language 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 ...
and culture "to achieve a closer relationship between Israeli and American Jews."


Family strength

Halpern gained notoriety for his 1957 sermon that declared that "the American father is a moron," speaking on the need for stronger parental leadership in American families to ward off the "dire consequences" we would face without it.“Fathers’ laxity decried by rabbi, December 29, 1957”
retrieved March 4, 2011.
In the sermon, reprinted in ''
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 ...
'', Halpern went on to clarify that the image of the modern father as a "moron" came from "television and comics," while the same media portrayed fathers in earlier times as tyrants. His sermon continued:
Aside from being a moron, the man spends half his life building a home and the other half getting out of and running away from it. As a result, today's families lack the definite spiritual and cultural links which only a responsible parent can provide. How can children mature and grow up into responsible citizens in such an environment? Today's youth should be fully equipped with the cultural heritage by the time it enters the higher educational institutions, yet how many parents fail to provide that heritage? Too many parents are under the false impression that it is in colleges that their children will acquire the characteristics they should have received at home.
During his tenure as Rabbinical Assembly president, Halpern represented that organization in a joint announcement by the RA and the Jewish Theological Seminary, that a revision in the traditional Jewish marriage document, the
ketubah A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...
, would require Jewish couples to consult with a newly established conservative "
Bet Din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...
" (rabbinical court) before a divorce. Halpern noted that part of the reason behind the change was to protect Jewish women from "unscrupulous" men, who would abuse them (and Jewish law) by granting a civil divorce without a religious divorce ("
Get Get or GET may refer to: * Get (animal), the offspring of an animal * Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law * GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request * "Get" (song), by the Groggers * Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia * Get AS, a ...
") – a situation that would prevent religious Jewish women from being able to remarry, but that the change would also help support marriages, through the opportunity to seek marital counseling "to heal marital rifts and to ward off hasty divorce actions." Halpern often spoke out about the importance of human relationships, among family members, colleagues, and friends.Finkelstein, Louis, "In Praise of Harry Halpern," 1956 Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly, 1956, Rabbinical Assembly Press, NY. In 1956, at the annual gathering of the Rabbinical Assembly, he said, "I know this, that all religion and all life comes down to this – to the effort of the human soul to break through the barriers of loneliness and to make some contact with another seeking soul or to that which all souls seek, namely, God. Therefore, I think we can dedicate ourselves and devote ourselves to assisting and aiding and comforting one another."


Religion in public schools

During heated 1950s debates on the subject of religion in the public school, Halpern spoke out as President of the Rabbinical Assembly in opposition to the idea."Religion In Schools Debated By Rabbis"
''The New York Times'', April 25, 1956 retrieved March 3, 2011.
After a presentation to members of the group by Rabbi Morris Adler of Detroit, Michigan, in which Adler took a strong stand against "any religious intrusions upon public education," Halpern personally supported this position, adding that it was a "long-established policy" of the organization. Halpern continued his opposition to religion in public schools through the 1960s, publicly supporting the Supreme Court ban on prayer in public schools.


Faith and hope

Throughout his career, Halpern was known for his ability to identify and confront problems – but to fight the tendency to despair, preaching the need to keep faith, and keep hope, even in humanity itself.New York Times, November 10, 1957
retrieved March 2, 2011.
Among his most notable sermons, quoted in ''The New York Times'', was his call to look at leaders and heroes from all religions and cultures—individuals like Jesus, Confucius, Gandhi, and Albert Schweitzer—as a means to keep faith in humanity itself: "There is too much a tendency in our day to condemn humanity, or large sections of it. We condemn all nations or groups of citizens within nations. But, like Abraham of old, we must plead for sinful cities with the thought that every group, every city, every nation does contain some righteous people. It is for these righteous people, if for no one else, that the world is worth saving." His talks often focused on the challenge of looking ahead, not back, linking the ideas of courage and faith:
I love to play with words and look at them closely. I wonder if it has ever occurred to you to examine the word, ''life,'' l-i-f-e? In the middle of every life is an "if," i-f, and therefore a great many things can be. There is no point in thinking in terms of what might have been. One has to have faith, one has to have courage, and faith and courage go together, because you cannot have courage without faith. On the other hand, faith leads to courage.


Honors and memorials

The many honors Halpern received during his life and in his memory, after his death, include the renaming of the East Midwood Jewish Center educational center as the "Rabbi Harry Halpern Education Center"
, retrieved March 5, 2011.
on March 17, 1995, and a 1947 gift of $50,000, raised by members of his synagogue congregation and friends, to establish a fellowship in
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
ic study at the Jewish Theological Seminary in his honor. In 1948, the East Midwood Jewish Center sisterhood honored Halpern by asking him to present an ambulance on the group's behalf to the "American Red Mogen Dovid for Palestine, Inc." (precursor to the Red Magen David), which he called in his presentation remarks "the Red Cross of Israel." In April 1954, the EMJC held a weekend-long celebration honoring Halpern's 25th year in the rabbinate and the Center's 30th anniversary.''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'', April 10, 1954, page 2. Among those who paid tribute to Halpern were Abraham L. Sacher, president of
Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...
," who spoke at a dinner in Halpern's honor, and Supreme Court Justice Maximilian Moss, who delivered a greeting at the Friday evening worship services that began the weekend program. Rabbi Simon Greenberg, Vice-chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, officiated at the service. Additionally, the East Midwood Jewish Center's school presents the annual Dvora Halpern Memorial Award, named in memory of Halpern's mother,''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'', June 22, 1951, page 15. In a presentation made at the annual convention of the Rabbinical Assembly the year after Halpern's death, his colleague Rabbi Baruch Silverstein included these words:
But it is not only Rabbi Halpern's passionate and persistent demands for a maximum Jewish life that we remember today. As we part with our beloved rabbi and teacher of half a century, we wish to pay tribute also to his many other qualities: his wide scholarship, both Jewish and secular, his perceptive and sharp mind, his refined aesthetic tastes, his sparkling sense of humor, his brilliant eloquence, his poetic imagination and literary style and, above all, his human tenderness and love of people. With what natural glee he would play with the schoolchildren, kissing them and hugging them and sitting on the floor with them. And who among us had not seen Rabbi Halpern wiping his tears and actually sobbing at a funeral? With what sympathetic involvement Harry Halpern counselled hundreds of troubled individuals, often carrying on his very soul ''their'' pains, ''their'' sorrows, ''their'' scars.


Published works

*"From Where I stand" (collection of sermons, essays, and lectures), Ktav Publishing House, New York, 1974: . *"Bible Readings for the Young: Volume I," Behrman House, 1922.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halpern, Harry American Conservative rabbis Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni 1899 births 1981 deaths American clergy American religious leaders Brooklyn Law School alumni Columbia University alumni City College of New York alumni Jewish Theological Seminary of America semikhah recipients Eastern District High School alumni People from the Lower East Side 20th-century American rabbis