Allan Nadler
Encyclopedia
Allan L. Nadler was educated at McGill
and Harvard University
, where he received his doctorate in 1988. He is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Drew University
in Madison, New Jersey
.
Nadler was ordained as an Orthodox
Rabbi
by Rabbis Aryeh Leib Baron (1911-2011) of Yeshiva Merkaz ha-Talmud in Montreal, and received a second ordination from Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Tennenbaum of the Orthodox Rabbinical Court of Justice in Boston. He studied Talmud and Rabbinical Codes for two years in the Rabbinical Program at Jews' College in London, England, and also studied privately for many years with Montreal's Chief Rabbi Pinchas Hirschsprung
. In 1982, Nadler became Rabbi of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal, Canada's oldest and largest traditional Jewish congregation from 1984-1992. Nadler was the first Orthodox-ordained rabbi at this Conservative congregation. After resigning from that congregation, he served as Director of Research of the YIVO
Institute in New York City
(1992–1999), which includes the world's largest Yiddish Archives and Library.
While at YIVO, Nadler led international Jewish efforts to repatriate libraries, archives and Torah scrolls in Lithuania
that had been plundered and confiscated by the Nazis, and later held by Soviet authorities
. His direct negotiations with then-President of Lithuania, Algirdas Brazauskas
, led to the release, to the New York
offices of YIVO for reproduction and cataloguing, of archives that had belonged to YIVO in pre-war Vilna (today, Vilnius
, Lithuania), after extensive international coverage of the story.
Nadler has been a public critic of the Chabad
-Lubavitch movement, and of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson
. His criticisms of Schneerson in The New York Times
, and his subsequent negative assessment of Lubavitch Messianism in a series of articles for The New Republic
, were denounced by many Orthodox
Canadian and American Rabbis and ultimately led to his decision to leave the Orthodox Rabbinate, and quit the Rabbinical Council of America
.
Prior to his appointment at Shaar Hashomayim, Nadler had been the Rabbi of The Charles River Park Synagogues in Boston
, at the time an "Orthodox" congregation, with a mixed seating section, and was a member of the Boston Vaad HaRabonim, serving as a Dayan, or judge, on its Rabbinical Court from 1980-1982. While at YIVO he also served as Rabbi of the Fort Tryon Jewish Center in New York City, a conservative synagogue. Nadler has been a frequent critic of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbis and institutions, including the Dean of one of America's most prominent Yeshiva
s (Rabbinical schools), Lakewood New Jersey's Beth Medrash Govoha, Rabbi Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, whom he accused, in The Forward
, of approving a racist, anti-Gentile book, "Sefer Romemut Yisrael," written by one of the Yeshiva's students. At the same time, Nadler has published scholarly studies of some of the major sects of Hasidism, such as Satmar
, Munkatch and Slonim
, in addition to a widely noted analysis of the culinary habits of the Hasidim on the Shabbat
and Jewish holidays ("Holy Kugel") that has been widely mistaken for an anti-Hasidic satire. In 2007, however, Nadler published two articles that strongly defended the Orthodox Jewish community: one in response to Noah Feldman
's negative expose of Modern Orthodoxy in the New York Times magazine, and the other—published in the Montreal English daily newspaper, The Gazette
, in defense of that city's large Hasidic community that has been frequently criticized for uncivil behavior towards their French neighbors.
Nadler's book, The Faith of the Mithnagdim: Rabbinic Responses to Hasidic Rapture, which developed out of his Ph.D. thesis, "A Religion of Limits: The Religious Thought of Rabbi Pinchas of Polotsk" from Harvard University
under Isadore Twersky
, is an investigation of the theology of the rabbis who opposed the Hasidic movement in late 18th-early 19th century Eastern Europe
. Nadler is a regular book critic for the Forward, an American national Jewish newspaper, to which he has contributed more than fifty articles, essays and reviews.
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he received his doctorate in 1988. He is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
in Madison, New Jersey
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....
.
Nadler was ordained as an Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
by Rabbis Aryeh Leib Baron (1911-2011) of Yeshiva Merkaz ha-Talmud in Montreal, and received a second ordination from Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Tennenbaum of the Orthodox Rabbinical Court of Justice in Boston. He studied Talmud and Rabbinical Codes for two years in the Rabbinical Program at Jews' College in London, England, and also studied privately for many years with Montreal's Chief Rabbi Pinchas Hirschsprung
Pinchas Hirschsprung
Rabbi Pinhas Hirschprung was a Polish rabbi of Hasidic ancestry, who later emigrated to Montreal, Canada, where he served as Chief Rabbi.- Life :He was born to Rabbi Chaim Hirschprung in the city of Dukla, in Poland in 1912...
. In 1982, Nadler became Rabbi of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal, Canada's oldest and largest traditional Jewish congregation from 1984-1992. Nadler was the first Orthodox-ordained rabbi at this Conservative congregation. After resigning from that congregation, he served as Director of Research of the YIVO
YIVO
YIVO, , established in 1925 in Wilno, Poland as the Yidisher Visnshaftlekher Institut , or Yiddish Scientific Institute, is a source for orthography, lexicography, and other studies related to the Yiddish language...
Institute in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(1992–1999), which includes the world's largest Yiddish Archives and Library.
While at YIVO, Nadler led international Jewish efforts to repatriate libraries, archives and Torah scrolls in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
that had been plundered and confiscated by the Nazis, and later held by Soviet authorities
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. His direct negotiations with then-President of Lithuania, Algirdas Brazauskas
Algirdas Brazauskas
Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas was the first President of a newly independent post-Soviet Union Lithuania from 1993 to 1998 and Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006....
, led to the release, to the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
offices of YIVO for reproduction and cataloguing, of archives that had belonged to YIVO in pre-war Vilna (today, Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania), after extensive international coverage of the story.
Nadler has been a public critic of the Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
-Lubavitch movement, and of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
. His criticisms of Schneerson in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and his subsequent negative assessment of Lubavitch Messianism in a series of articles for The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, were denounced by many Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
Canadian and American Rabbis and ultimately led to his decision to leave the Orthodox Rabbinate, and quit the Rabbinical Council of America
Rabbinical Council of America
The Rabbinical Council of America is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU...
.
Prior to his appointment at Shaar Hashomayim, Nadler had been the Rabbi of The Charles River Park Synagogues in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, at the time an "Orthodox" congregation, with a mixed seating section, and was a member of the Boston Vaad HaRabonim, serving as a Dayan, or judge, on its Rabbinical Court from 1980-1982. While at YIVO he also served as Rabbi of the Fort Tryon Jewish Center in New York City, a conservative synagogue. Nadler has been a frequent critic of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rabbis and institutions, including the Dean of one of America's most prominent Yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
s (Rabbinical schools), Lakewood New Jersey's Beth Medrash Govoha, Rabbi Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, whom he accused, in The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
, of approving a racist, anti-Gentile book, "Sefer Romemut Yisrael," written by one of the Yeshiva's students. At the same time, Nadler has published scholarly studies of some of the major sects of Hasidism, such as Satmar
Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
Satmar is a Hasidic movement comprising mostly Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...
, Munkatch and Slonim
Slonim
Slonim is a city in Hrodna Voblast, Belarus, capital of the Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa rivers, 143 km southeast of Hrodna. The population in 2008 was 50,800.-Etymology and historical names:...
, in addition to a widely noted analysis of the culinary habits of the Hasidim on the Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
and Jewish holidays ("Holy Kugel") that has been widely mistaken for an anti-Hasidic satire. In 2007, however, Nadler published two articles that strongly defended the Orthodox Jewish community: one in response to Noah Feldman
Noah Feldman
Noah Feldman is an American author and professor of law at Harvard Law School.-Education and career:Feldman grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended the Maimonides School....
's negative expose of Modern Orthodoxy in the New York Times magazine, and the other—published in the Montreal English daily newspaper, The Gazette
The Gazette (Montreal)
The Gazette, often called the Montreal Gazette to avoid ambiguity, is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with three other daily English newspapers all having shut down at different times during the second half of the 20th century.-History:In 1778,...
, in defense of that city's large Hasidic community that has been frequently criticized for uncivil behavior towards their French neighbors.
Nadler's book, The Faith of the Mithnagdim: Rabbinic Responses to Hasidic Rapture, which developed out of his Ph.D. thesis, "A Religion of Limits: The Religious Thought of Rabbi Pinchas of Polotsk" from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
under Isadore Twersky
Isadore Twersky
Isadore Twersky was an Orthodox rabbi and the Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University, a chair previously held by Harry Austryn Wolfson. Twersky was an internationally recognized authority on Rabbinic literature and Jewish philosophy...
, is an investigation of the theology of the rabbis who opposed the Hasidic movement in late 18th-early 19th century Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. Nadler is a regular book critic for the Forward, an American national Jewish newspaper, to which he has contributed more than fifty articles, essays and reviews.
External links
- http://depts.drew.edu/rel/ANadler.html
- New York Times news about Allan Nadler
- http://www.forward.com/articles/charedi-rabbis-rush-to-disavow-anti-gentile-book/
- http://www.forward.com/articles/ultra-orthodox-officials-go-to-bat-for-anti-gentil/