Michael Strassfeld is an American

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 ...

. Strassfeld was rabbi of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, a Manhattan synagogue. Before that he was the rabbi of Congregation Ansche Chesed.

Biography

Michael Strassfeld is a graduate of the

Maimonides School , image = Maimonides School Logo (Hebrew Only).png , alt = , caption = , streetaddress = 34 Philbrick Road , city = Brookline , state = MA ...

. He started college at

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

, but transferred to

Brandeis University Brandeis University is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational institution sponsored by the Jews, Jewish community, Brandeis was established on t ...

and graduated in 1971. He holds an M.A. from Brandeis in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and completed his doctoral coursework in Jewish History at Brandeis but did not submit a thesis. He was ordained by 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 Asso ...

in 1991. Strassfeld first received wide public attention as one of the authors of ''

The Jewish Catalog ''The Jewish Catalog'' is a series of books published by the Jewish Publication Society in three volumes (1973, 1976, and 1980), which had a significant cultural impact upon the Chavurah movement of Judaism, and in the broader Jewish world, and ...

''. He was a leader of the

Chavurah A ''chavurah'' or ''chaburah'' (חבורה Hebrew: "fellowship", plural ''chavurot'') is a small group of like-minded Jews who assemble for the purposes of facilitating Shabbat and holiday prayer services, sharing communal experiences such as li ...

movement and was the founding chairperson of the National Havurah Committee from 1979 to 1982. The original version of ''Passover Haggadah: The Feast of Freedom'' was edited by Strassfeld. After publishing it for members of 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 ...

in their rabbinical journal, Rachel Anne Rabinowicz came on board next as editor of the project. She brought the work to its final form. Strassfeld is married to Rabbi

Joy Levitt Joy Levitt is an American rabbi and from 1987 to 1989 was the first female president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. Levitt is also the founder of the Jewish Journey Project, an initiative that attempts to replace individual synago ...

and he is father to sons Max, Noam, and Benjamin and stepdaughters Sara and Ruthie Friedlander, as well as being grandfather to Micah Strassfeld.

Publications

* ''The First Jewish Catalog''. A Do-It-Yourself Kit. Compiled and edited by Richard Siegel, Michael Strassfeld, and Sharon Strassfeld (1973). * ''The Second Jewish Catalog''. Comp. and ed. by Michael Strassfeld and Sharon Strassfeld (1976). * ''The Third Jewish Catalog''. Compiled and ed. by Sharon Strassfeld and Michael Strassfeld (1980). * ''Shabbat Haggadah for Celebration and Study'' (1980). * ''The Jewish holidays: a guide and commentary''. With Arnold M. Eisen and Betsy Platkin Teutsch (Illustrations) (1985). * ''A Night of Questions, a Passover Haggadah'' with Rabbi Joy Levitt (2000). * ''A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice'', Schocken Books (2002).

References

External links

SAJ Society for the Advancement of Judaism - Rabbi Michael Strassfeld

Being Jewish
(

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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Strassfeld, Michael American Reconstructionist rabbis Brandeis University alumni Living people Maimonides School alumni Year of birth missing (living people)