Stanley M. Wagner (January 4, 1932 – February 23, 2013) was an American rabbi, academic, and community leader.

Early life and education

Stanley M. Wagner was born in on January 4, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York City. He attended

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

where 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 ...

in 1956. He earned a doctorate in Jewish history and Hebrew literature and five other post-graduate degrees from Yeshiva. His 1964 doctoral dissertation was titled ''Religious Non-Conformity in Ancient Jewish Life''. It was "a study of talmudic terms and categories for deviant religious behavior."

Career

Wagner worked at universities in Lexington Kentucky (1957–61) and Baldwin, New York (1961–70) before serving as the executive vice president of the

Religious Zionists of America The Religious Zionists of America (Hebrew official name: Religious Zionists of America/Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi, also known as Mizrachi, is an American-based organization that is the official body for those, mostly Modern Orthodox Jews who iden ...

(1970–72). He led the

Beth HaMedrosh Hagodol-Beth Joseph Beth HaMedrosh Hagodol-Beth Joseph, known locally as BMH-BJ or simply BMH, and for a period after 2012 also known as The Denver Synagogue, is a Modern Orthodox, Zionist synagogue in Denver, Colorado. History Beth HaMedrosh Hagodol (BMH-the Grea ...

(1972–97) congregation and was the only rabbi chaplain of the Colorado Senate (1980–98). While serving as a congregational rabbi, Wagner also worked a professor of Jewish history at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

from 1972 to 1999. In 1975, at the University, he founded and directed the Center for Judaic Studies, Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society, Beck Archives, and the Holocaust Awareness Institute. He founded the Mizel Museum in 1982 and served as the director until 2000.

Personal life

Wagner had two daughters with his wife Simmy. They were married for 34 years before divorcing. In November 1990, Wagner married psychologist and lawyer

Renee Rabinowitz Renee Ginsberg Rabinowitz (1934 – May 19, 2020) was an American-Israeli psychologist and lawyer. She was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Belgium, but fled with her family to the United States in 1941, following the outbreak of World ...

. Through this marriage, he gained two stepchildren. Wagner and Rabinowitz made aliyah to Israel in 2006 but they frequently visited the United States. After aliyah, Wagner preferred to be called Simcha. Wagner died on February 23, 2013, in Jerusalem. He was survived by his wife, children, 13 grandchildren, and 14 great grandchildren.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Stanley M. 1932 births 2013 deaths American rabbis Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients American emigrants to Israel University of Denver faculty 20th-century American theologians 20th-century American educators Rabbis from New York (state) 21st-century American Jews