Rabbi Harold Schulweis Dies at 89
Conservative movement leader was known for synagogue innovation
December 18, 2014
(Rabbi Harold Shulweiss; Valley Beth Shalom)
Rabbi Harold Schulweis, leader of the Valley Beth Shalom synagogue in Encino, CA, died Thursday at age 89.
Schulweis, who was a national leader in the Conservative movement, helmed the Encino congregation since 1970, during which time he instituted a series of synagogue innovations, including, in 1971, synagogue-based Havurot discussion groups. He also founded several Jewish organizations, including Mazon and Jewish World Watch.
Here’s Schulweis giving a sermon at Valley Beth Shalom before Passover, in which he urges congregants to embrace the silent moments of the seder, the “benediction-less rites, those rituals in which there is no blessing, only silence.”
Stephanie Butnick is the founder of GOLDA, a Jewish lifestyle newsletter. She hosted the Tablet podcast Unorthodox, co-authored The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar’s and Everything in Between, and worked as a writer and editor at Tablet.
