Arthur Green
Encyclopedia
Arthur Green is a scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidism
. He is a professor in the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College
in Boston
. He was a dean of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
in 1987–1993.
, New Jersey
in a nonobservant Conservative movement
Jewish home and attended Camp Ramah
. He describes his father as a "militant atheist," but his mother, from a traditional family, felt obligated to give her son a Jewish education.
, where he went through a crisis of faith and sought new approaches to Judaism. Green's professors at Brandeis included Nahum Glatzer and Alexander Altmann
. After earning his Ph.D., Green became Philip W. Lown professor (now emeritus) of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. In 1967, he was ordained as a Conservative
rabbi
by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
. In 1968, Green was one of the founders of Havurat Shalom
.
Green has published many works on Jewish mysticism and hasidism. Invited to deliver a series of lectures at Yale University
, Green was described as "one of the preeminent authorities on Jewish spirituality, mysticism and Hasidism."
Neo-Hasidism
Neo-Hasidism is a name frequently given to the significant revival of interest in Hasidic Judaism on the part of non-Orthodox Jews in different decades due to the writings of non-Orthodox teachers of Hasidic Judaism like Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Lawrence Kushner, Zalman...
. He is a professor in the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College
Hebrew College
Hebrew College is an accredited college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, near Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, Hebrew College is committed to Jewish scholarship in a transdenominational academic environment. The president of the college is Rabbi Daniel Lehmann...
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...
. He was a dean of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College , is located in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of central Philadelphia. RRC is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and...
in 1987–1993.
Biography
Arthur (Art) Green grew up in NewarkNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in a nonobservant Conservative movement
Conservative movement
Conservative movement may refer to:*Conservatism - Political philosophy*Conservative Judaism - A Jewish denomination, unrelated to political ideology....
Jewish home and attended Camp Ramah
Camp Ramah
Camp Ramah is a network of Jewish summer camps affiliated with the Conservative Movement. The camps operate in the United States, Canada, and Israel. Ramah camps serve kosher food and are Shabbat-observant.-History:...
. He describes his father as a "militant atheist," but his mother, from a traditional family, felt obligated to give her son a Jewish education.
Academic and rabbinic career
In 1959, he studied at Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, where he went through a crisis of faith and sought new approaches to Judaism. Green's professors at Brandeis included Nahum Glatzer and Alexander Altmann
Alexander Altmann
Alexander Altmann was an Orthodox Jewish scholar and rabbi born in Kassa, Austria-Hungary, today Košice, Slovakia. He emigrated to England in 1938 and later settled in the United States, working productively for a decade and a half as a professor within the Philosophy Department at Brandeis...
. After earning his Ph.D., Green became Philip W. Lown professor (now emeritus) of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. In 1967, he was ordained as a Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
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 the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
. In 1968, Green was one of the founders of Havurat Shalom
Havurat Shalom
Havurat Shalom is a small egalitarian chavurah in Somerville, Massachusetts that has 30 members in a large yellow house. Founded in 1968, it is not affiliated with the major Jewish denominations.- Further reading :Havurat Shalom Siddur...
.
Green has published many works on Jewish mysticism and hasidism. Invited to deliver a series of lectures at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, Green was described as "one of the preeminent authorities on Jewish spirituality, mysticism and Hasidism."
Published works
- Radical Judaism: Rethinking God & Tradition. Yale University PressYale University PressYale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
, 2010. - A Guide to the Zohar. Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
Press, 2003. - Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow. Jewish Lights Publishing, 2003.
- Seek My Face: A Jewish Mystical Theology. Jewish Lights Publishing, 2003.
- These Are the Words: A Vocabulary of Jewish Spiritual Life. Woodstock VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1999.
- The Language of Truth: Teachings from the Sefat Emet. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998.
- Keter: the Crown of God in Early Jewish Mysticism. Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
Press, 1997. - Your Word is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer (co-ed. Barry Holtz). Paulist Press, 1993.
- Devotion and Commandment: The Faith of Abraham in the Hasidic Imagination, The Efroymson Lectures of 1986. Hebrew University Press, 1989.
- Editor, Kol Ha-Neshamah. The Reconstructionist Prayer Book, 1989.
- Ed. Jewish Spirituality. Crosswood Books, 1987.
- Co-editor. Mysticism, Hermeneutics, and Religion: Studies in Judaism. SUNY Press, 1984.
- Ed. & trans.. Upright Practices and The Light of the Eyes: Homilies on Genesis, Menahem of Chernobyl. Paulist Press, 1982.
- Tormented Master: A Life of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav. University of AlabamaUniversity of AlabamaThe University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
Press, 1980.