Download Daniel Gordis - Shalem College

Daniel Gordis
Higher Education
1992
Ph.D. in Religion (Social Ethics), School of Religion, University of
Southern California
Dissertation: "Law as Dialectic of Community, Continuity and Compassion: The Legal Writings of Rabbi David Zevi Hoffmann and their
Philosophic Foundations"
Adviser: Dr. Ronald R. Garet
1984
M.A., Rabbi, Jewish Theological Seminary of America
1981
B.A. in Political Science, Columbia College
(Magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa)
1979-1980
Visiting Student, Hebrew University
Career
2007-Present
Senior Vice President and Senior Fellow, Shalem Center
2004-2007
Director of the Mandel Leadership Institute, Mandel Foundation
2003-2007
Vice President, Mandel Foundation
1999-2004
Director, Jerusalem Fellows, Mandel Foundation
1994-1999
Vice President for Public Affairs and Community Outreach, University
of Judaism (Los Angeles)
1994-1999
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Judaism (Los Angeles)
1994-1999
Dean, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, University of Judaism (Los
Angeles)
1992-1994
Dean of Administration, University of Judaism (Los Angeles)
1990-1994
Assistant to the President, University of Judaism (Los Angeles)
1986-1994
Lecturer in Rabbinic Literature, University of Judaism (Los Angeles)
1986-1992
Dean of Student Affairs, University of Judaism (Los Angeles)
1985
Instructor in Rabbinics, University of Judaism (Los Angeles)
1981-1984
Administrative Assistant for Public Affairs, Department of Educational
Projects, JTSA
Awards and Fellowships
2010
Winner of 2009 National Jewish Book Award for Saving Israel: How the
Jewish People Can Win a War That May Never End in the
Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice Category
2007
First Place, American Jewish Press Association's Simon Rockower
Award for Best Feature Writing, for "Israel – the Eternal Nation," in The
World Jewish Digest IV(1) (Sept. 2006)
2003
First Prize, "2002 Books for a Better Life Award" for If a Place Can
Make You Cry in the Inspirational Memoir Category
2002
First Place, American Jewish Press Association's Simon Rockower
Award (Israel Ministry of Tourism Mosaic Award for Excellence in
Feature Writing About Israeli Peoplehood, Culture and Society), for
"Sunday Mourning," in Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles (Dec. 7,
2001)
2000
Finalist, 1999 National Jewish Book Awards, for Becoming a Jewish
Parent
1998-1999
Mandel Fellow at the Mandel Institute and the Center for Advanced
Professional Educators to support a year of study in Philosophy of
Education.
1986, 1987, 1988
Anthony VerPlanck Miller Memorial Fellowship (USC)
1984
Bernard and Sydell Citron Scholastic Prize (Valedictorian) (JTSA)
1984
Honorable Mention, Lamport Homiletics Prize (JTSA)
1983
Rabbi Wolfe Kelman Prize in Contemporary Jewish History and
Sociology (JTSA)
1983
Alexander Kohut Memorial Prize in Rabbinics (JTSA)
1983
Joseph Zubow Memorial Prize in Codes (JTSA)
1981
Phi Beta Kappa (Columbia University)
List of Publications – Refereed
Books
1.
David Ellenson and Daniel Gordis, Pledges of Jewish Allegiance: Conversion, Law,
and Policy-Making in 19th and 20th Century Orthodox Responsa, Stanford University
Press, 2012.
Book Chapters
1.
"A Basic Religious Datum," Languages and Literatures in Jewish Education: Studies in
Honor of Michael Rosenak, vol. I, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 2007, pp. 215-246.
2.
"Israel and Zionism in the Religious World View of Contemporary Conservative
Judaism," Israel, the Diaspora and Jewish Identity, Danny Ben-Moshe and Zohar
Segev, eds., Sussex: Sussex Academic Press, 2007, pp. 67-78.
3.
"Conservative Judaism – Critical Documents," The Blackwell Reader in Judaism, Jacob
Neusner and Alan Avery-Peck, eds., Oxford: Blackwell, 2001, pp. 256-276.
4.
"Contemporary American Conservative Judaism: The Struggle between Ideology and
Popularity," The Blackwell Companion to Judaism, Jacob Neusner and Alan AveryPeck, eds., Oxford: Blackwell, 2000, pp. 334-353.
Articles
1.
2.
3.
4.
"David Zevi Hoffmann on Civil Marriage: Evidence of a Traditional Community under
Siege," Modern Judaism IX(1) (Feb. 1990).
"Wanted – A Role for Ethics in Jewish Bioethics: Thoughts on the Use of Text in a
Continuing Conservation," Judaism: A Quarterly Journal XXXVIII(1) (Winter 1989).
Reprinted in Generation: A Journal of Australian Jewish Life, Thought and
Community, Melbourne: Vic., 1993.
"Lies, Wives and Sisters: The Wife/Sister Motif Revisited," Judaism: A Quarterly
Journal XXXIV(3) (Summer 1985).
"Scripture and Halakhah in Two Parallel Sugyot," Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish
Literary History V(2) (May 1985).
Other Publications
Books
1.
Israel Alone: How the Fate of One Small Nation Could Determine the Fate of the
Whole World, New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, forthcoming.
2.
Saving Israel: How the Jewish People Can Win a War That May Never End, New
York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Paperback edition published in 2010.
3.
Coming Together, Coming Apart: A Memoir of Heartbreak and Promise in Israel, New
York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 2006.
4.
If a Place Can Make You Cry: Dispatches from an Anxious State, New York: Crown
Publishers, 2002. Revised and expanded version published as Home to Stay: One
American Family's Chronicle of Miracles and Struggles in Contemporary Israel,
California: Three Rivers Press, 2003.
5.
Becoming a Jewish Parent: How to Explore Spirituality and Tradition with Your
Children, New York: Harmony Books, 1999. Republished in paperback edition with
Three Rivers Press, 2000.
6.
Does the World Need the Jews?: Rethinking Chosenness and American Jewish
Identity, New York: Scribner, 1997.
7.
God Was Not in the Fire: The Search for a Spiritual Judaism, New York: Scribner,
1995. Republished in paperback edition with Touchstone Books, 1997.
8.
Am Kadosh: Celebrating Our Uniqueness, New York: United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism, Department of Youth Activities, 1992. Second, revised edition
published in 1993.
Selected Articles
1.a. "The Tower of Babel and the Birth of Nationhood," Azure 40 (Spring 2010), pp. 1936.
1.b. Hebrew translation published in Techelet 40 (Summer 2010), pp. 65-78.
2.
"Dear Chancellor: Letters of Welcome, Words of Advice," Conservative Judaism
Magazine (Winter 2007), pp. 4-7.
3.
"Revelation: Biblical and Rabbinic Perspectives," Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary,
New York: Rabbinical Assembly and United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, 2001,
pp. 1394-1398. Reprinted in Etz Hayim Study Companion, Jacob Blumenthal and Janet
Liss, eds., Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2005, pp. 45-54.
4.
"Positive Historical Judaism Exhausted: Reflections on a Movement's Future,"
Conservative Judaism XLVII (1) (Fall 1994), pp. 3-18. Republished in Signposts on the
Way of Torah, Jacob Neusner, ed., Belmont: Wadsworth and Thompson International,
1998 (Sixth Edition), pp. 166-182.
5.
"Precedent, Rules and Ethics in Halakhic Jurisprudence," Conservative Judaism
XLVI(1) (Fall 1993), pp. 80-94.
6.
Daniel Gordis and Joel Roth, "Textual Tradition and Sociological Reality: Their
Tension in the Marriage Contract," Proceedings of the Rabbinical Assembly
Committee on Jewish Law and Standards 1980-1985, New York: Rabbinical Assembly,
1988.
7.
"Elitism and Conservative Judaism: An Afterthought," Conservative Judaism
XXXVII(2) (Winter 1983).
8.
"The Elusive Conservative Third Generation: A Reaction to Elitism," Conservative
Judaism XXXVII(1) (Fall 1983).
9.
Daniel Gordis and Joel Roth, "Keruv and the Status of Intermarried Families,"
Conservative Judaism XXXV(4) (Summer 1982).
Monographs
1.
"Behaving and Believing, Behaving and Belonging: The Role of Norms in Jewish
Continuity," Jewish Identity Today Monograph Series (New York: American Jewish
Committee, 1995).
2.
"'Give Me Progeny...': Jewish Ethics and the Economics of Surrogate Motherhood,"
University of Judaism Monograph Series, Los Angeles: University of Judaism, 1988,
vol. 8(1).
3.
"Significance Through Symbol: Redefining Authority in Jewish Law," University of
Judaism Monograph Series, Los Angeles: University of Judaism, June 1986, vol. 5(3).
In addition: over 140 columns and articles published in Commentary Magazine, New York
Times, World Jewish Digest, Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility, Jerusalem Post, and
in other newspapers and magazines.
Book Chapters
1.
"It is My Brothers I am Seeking," Educational Deliberations: Studies in Education
Dedicated to Shlomo (Seymour) Fox, Mordecai Nisan, and Oded Schremer, eds.
(Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House and Mandel Leadership Institute, 2005), pp. 343372.
2.
"From the Depths I Call You: Prayer as a Response to Evil and Suffering," Pray Tell: A
Hadassah Guide to Jewish Prayer (Woodstock: Jewish Lights – Hadassah Education
Department Publications, 2003).
3.
"The Miracle of Survival," Noam Zion and Barbara Spectre, A Different Light: The
Hanukkah Book of Celebration, Jerusalem: The Shalom Hartman Institute, 2000, vol. I,
p. 198 ff.
4.
"Marriage: Judaism's 'Other' Covenantal Relationship," Celebration and Renewal, Rela
Geffen Monson, ed., Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1993, pp. 90-131.
5.
"Probing Classical Sources for Ethical Commitments" (presented at the First Annual
Whizin Conference on Technology and Ethics at the Technion), Technology and
Ethics, E. A. Halevi, and D. Kohn, eds., Haifa: S. Neaman Institute Press, 1993.
Selected Book Reviews
1.
Review of Giulio Meotti, A New Shoah, in Commentary Magazine (Dec. 2010), pp. 5355.
2.
Review of David Horovitz, Still Life with Bombers, in The Jerusalem Post Literary
Supplement, April 5, 2004, pp. 3-5. (Includes interview with David Horovitz, entitled
"Blown Up and Blamed for it").
3.
Review of Alan Dershowitz, The Case for Israel, in The Jerusalem Post Weekend
Magazine, March 12, 2004, p. 30.
4.
Review of Arthur Hertzberg, The Fate of Zionism, in The Jerusalem Post Weekend
Magazine, Jan. 9, 2004, p. 30.
5.
Review of Yitzchak Lozowick, Right to Survive – A Moral Defense of Israel's Wars, in
The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 7, 2003, pp. 27, 31.
6.
Review of Burton Visotzky, The Genesis of Morals, in The Jewish Spectator 62 (1)
(Summer 1997), pp. 48-51.
7.
Review of Michael Lerner, Jewish Renewal, in INSIDE Magazine (Fall 1994).
8.
Review of Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Literacy; and of David Cahn-Lipman, The Book of
Jewish Knowledge, in The Jewish Spectator 56(4) (Spring 1992), pp. 44-46.
9.
Review of Bradley Artson Shavit, Love Peace and Pursue Peace, in The Jewish
Spectator 56(1) (Summer 1991), pp. 53-55.
10. Review of Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way, in The Jewish Spectator 55(1) (Summer
1990), pp. 53-55.
11. Review of Walter Jacob, ed., Liberal Judaism; and of Jack Simcha Cohen, Intermarriage
and Conversion, in The Jewish Spectator 54(3) (Winter 1989), pp. 53-54.
12. Review of Simon Greenberg, On the Ordination of Women as Rabbis: Studies and
Responsa, in Tikkun Magazine 15(2) (March-April 1989).
13. Review of Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation and The Fathers
According to Rabbi Nathan: An Analytical Translation and Explanation, in Hebrew
Studies 30 (1989).
14. Review of Nicholas de Lange, Judaism; of Dan Cohn-Sherbok, The Jewish Heritage;
and of Michael Fishbane, Judaism: Revelation and Tradition, in The Jewish Spectator
(Winter 1988).
Other Relevant Activities
2009
"Anxious State": A one-man play by Marc Sirinsky based on If a Place
Can Make You Cry was staged at Oregon Stage Works in May 2009, with
Anthony Heald playing the main role.
2007
"Indestructible": Participation and role in documentary on ALS disease,
discussing theological explanations for human suffering. Film is recipient
of Best Feature Documentary 2007, Cinequest.
2003
"Voices from Jerusalem": a project of Chicago NextTheater's Artistic
Director Jason Loewith and Steppenwolf Associate Artist Jessica
Thebus, using If a Place Can Make You Cry and other diaries, letters and
emails by Jewish, Arab and Christian residents of Jerusalem to create a
workshop production of the book. Performed in Chicago in May 2003.
1993-1998
Expert Witness: Consultant to attorneys and their clients on matters of
Jewish law, for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Levinson, Lieberman &
Maas, among others.
1992-1995
Book Reviewer for volumes on Codes, Halakhah and Jurisprudence,
Conservative Judaism Magazine.
1993-2003
Faculty Member, Wexner Heritage Foundation Editorial Positions
1992-1993
Faculty Member for Board of Directors and Young Leadership Course,
American Jewish Committee (Los Angeles, CA)
Editorial Positions
1990-2000
The Jewish Spectator (Calabasas, CA): Contributing Editor (1990-1991);
Senior Contributing Editor (1991-1997); Member, Board of Critics
(2000- )