Rabbi Ira Eisenstein (November 26, 1906 – June 28, 2001) was an American rabbi who founded

Reconstructionist Judaism Reconstructionist Judaism is a Jewish movement that views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization rather than a religion, based on concepts developed by Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983). The movement originated as a semi-organized stream wi ...

, along with Rabbi

Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (born Mottel Kaplan; June 11, 1881 – November 8, 1983), was a Lithuanian-born American rabbi, writer, Jewish educator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructionist ...

, his teacher and, later, father-in-law through his marriage to Judith Kaplan, over a period of time spanning from the late 1920s to the 1940s. Reconstructionist Judaism formally became a distinct denomination within Judaism with the foundation of the

Reconstructionist Rabbinical College The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) is a Jewish seminary in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. It is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Associa ...

in 1968, where he was the founding president.

Biography

A native 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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Rabbi Eisenstein held a bachelor's degree and a doctoral 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 1931, he was

ordained 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 va ...

by the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he first met and married Judith Kaplan Eisenstein, daughter of founder Mordecai Kaplan. After his ordination, Rabbi Eisenstein became associate rabbi and then rabbi of the

Society for the Advancement of Judaism The Society for the Advancement of Judaism, also known as SAJ, is a synagogue and Jewish organization in New York City, on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Founded in 1922 by Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, the synag ...

, the first Reconstructionist congregation, which Kaplan founded in 1922. He also served as religious leader of the

Anshe Emet Synagogue Anshe Emet Synagogue is a Conservative synagogue located in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the oldest congregations in Chicago. History of Anshe Emet Synagogue Anshe Emet Synagogue was established in 1873 in a buil ...

in Chicago, as well as the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, N.Y. A former president of the Conservative

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 ...

of America, Rabbi Eisenstein served as president of the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation from 1959 to 1970. From 1935 to 1981, he was editor of '' The Reconstructionist'', the movement's magazine. Alongside Rabbi Jack Cohen, Rabbi

Milton Steinberg Milton Steinberg (November 25, 1903 – March 20, 1950) was an American rabbi, philosopher, theologian and author. Life Born in Rochester, New York, he was raised with the combination of his grandparents' traditional Jewish piety and his fath ...

, and Rabbi

Eugene Kohn Eugene Kohn (January 26, 1887 – April 1, 1977) was an American Reconstructionist rabbi, writer and editor. Born in Newark, New Jersey he attended the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and in 1912 received ordination. It was here that he me ...

, he was one of Kaplan's main disciples. Ira Eisenstein was the grandson of Julius (Judah D.) Eisenstein.

Works

* ''Creative Judaism'' (1941) * ''The Ethics of Toleration Applied to Religious Groups in America'' (1941) * ''Judaism Under Freedom'' (1956) * ''What We Mean by Religion'' (1958) * ''Varieties of Jewish Belief'' (1966) *
Reconstructing Judaism: An Autobiography
' (1986)

References

Notes

Sources

*''

The Jewish Exponent ''The Jewish Exponent'' is a weekly community newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the second-oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the United States. History ''The Jewish Exponent'' has been published continuously since Apri ...

'', December 5, 2004 *""Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, 94, Dies; Led Reconstructionist Jews", ''New York Times'', Sunday, July 1, 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenstein, Ira 1906 births 2001 deaths People from Manhattan American Reconstructionist rabbis American Conservative rabbis Jews and Judaism in New York City Rabbis from Chicago Columbia University alumni Jewish Theological Seminary of America semikhah recipients American Jewish theologians Jewish American writers Religious naturalists Rabbis from New York (state) 20th-century American rabbis